Greens update

     Greens have struggled since July 1.  High heat, humidity and Nematodes have some of our greens hurting to say the least.  I have been applying nematicides to our greens to control nematodes the past 3 months.  I am killing some nematodes but not all especially Lance.  There is no nematicide on the market today that can effectively kill Lance nematode.  By killing the competition the Lance nematode have exploded in numbers.  I have tested #5, #6 and #9 greens and all 3 have come back positive for Lance nematode over the threshold.  No other nematode species was hardly found.  This is very disturbing.   After talking with Dr. Crow from University of  Florida yesterday all options for Lance nematode control are poor.  What our greens need is cooler temperatures so they can outgrow this pest.  At this time greens 1, 4, 5, 6, 9, 11, 12, 14 are hurting.  All of these greens have tested positive with Lance nematode this season and in past years. This is a problem we will be dealing with until a new nematicide comes out that controls Lance.

     So where do we go from here.  As you probably know we have raised the mowing height.  Our normal mowing height is .125 or 1/8''.  We have raised it to .140 or 9/64''.  That is 1/64'' higher.  Our 4 worst  greens 10 ,11, 12, 14 we are walk mowing at .180 that is just under 3/16''.  We will continue this until we get a significant break in the weather and we get some recovery.  #11 green is the most impacted green.  Nematodes are not the only problem with this green.  Sunlight is a big factor.  This green is not clear of shade until about 9:30 a.m. The trees that impact this green the most are on our neighbors property.  I have 2 trees on our side of the fence I will be removing this fall or winter  they impact the front of the green which is the weakest area.  Morning sunlight is very important to good healthy bentgrass greens.  We will also be clearing out all of the underbrush all the way back to #12 black tee to help with add air flow.  In the next 2 weeks we will be overseeding the greens with a newer variety of bentgrass.  The newer bentgrasses are not tolerant of nematodes but they are more drought and disease tolerant.  Nematodes are feeding on the root system making them shorter and more prone to wilt. The newer bentgrass will give us more time before wilt sets in.   I have been overseeding greens the past 4 years.  We are slowly converting our greens over to newer bentgrasses.

     This is very hard.  Losing grass is never fun.  I have worked on 3 other golf courses and never had to deal with nematodes at any of them.  What makes it  so bad is you are dealing with a nematode you can not kill.  By trying to kill it I have made it worse.  I ask to please be patience.  Cooler temps are coming and we will get through this.

#11 green shaded at 8:00am.

Up close look at Nematode damage #9 green.