Greens

     If you have played golf in the past week you are aware some of our greens are stressed.  Every year we struggle with 3 or 4 greens on the back nine.  10, 11, and 12 are the weakest greens.  This season has been very tough.  We had a wet May followed by hot and dry June and now we are having a wet and hot July.  We have recorded 8.5 inches of rain in the month of July with temperatures well above 90 degrees.  The greens I am most worried about are 4, 5, 10, 11, 12 and 15.  12 is the most critical.  We have lost a lot of grass on the right side of this green.  It will take a little time to get this green back in shape. 
     As of July 18th we were in pretty good shape.  We had some thin spots on our weaker greens 10, 11, 12, but for the most part I was feeling pretty good about getting through this season with some minor issues.  On Monday July 18th I sprayed my last application of Nematode control along with a fungicide and wetting agent.  Tuesday Morning I notice  whitish patches throughout # 4 and 5 greens.  Tuesday evening we received 2 inches of rain.  On Wednesday morning I noticed some of the patches on 4 and 5 were turning brown.  With all the rain we received  I had to wait and spray greens Thursday.  We sprayed Thursday morning.  By Thursday afternoon we had wide spread loss of turf on a number of greens.  Friday I called  Dr. Miller from University of Missouri.  He said he was getting a number of samples in with Pythium root rot.  He advised I should spray another application of a different Pythium control and aerate greens.  We aerated the 5 worst greens and I sprayed the Pythium application that evening on all greens. I mailed off samples for Dr. Miller to diagnose on Friday.  They should have arrived to his office on Monday July 25th, but our great Postal Service lost the package.  As of today he has not received the package.  So I collected another sample and my wife ran the sample to Columbia for me.  He found Pythium root rot and a little anthracnose in my sample.  Our root system is very shallow with the combination of the Pythium and high temperatures turf has been lost.  He feels my Pythium applications was successful in controlling the out break but the damage has been done.  What is most disappointing to me is I am on a 2 week spray interval for disease control.  A Pythium control is in my tank every 2 weeks throughout the summer.  I use the rate that suppose to last 2 weeks.  My last application did not make it the full 2 weeks before it ran out.  We had 4.5 inches of rain during that time period and the fungicide could not hold on for the entire time. 
      The cooler temperatures have been a blessing this week.  That will give us time to start healing.  We will need to seed and plug areas on greens 4, 5, 10, 11, and 12.  Not all greens were affected like the ones mentioned above.  The Putting green and holes 1-3,6-9, 14-18 are in much better shape  some of them without a blemish.  Dr. Miller advises we aerate every 2 weeks raise mowing height and alternate mowing and rolling.  We raised our mowing height last week and have already been alternating mowing and rolling.  We are also walk mowing 4, 5, 10-12 greens.  We still have some summer left the fight is not over.  We are working hard not to lose anymore turf.  I feel terrible this has happened.  We will work very hard to get the greens back in shape as soon as possible.
Thank you for your patience during this time.
Ed Wachter

 Picture taken 7/19/16

Picture taken 7/22/16