Heat Wave

Looks like this week we are in store for a little bit of summer over the next four days. Highs are forecast to be in the mid to upper 90's through the weekend. Instead of being on the offense like we have been able to be all summer with verticutting, topdressing, rolling, etc. we will have to be a little defensive this week with our greens management. Our rolling practices will be less and we will have to be watering a few times more on the greens by hand during the day. So if you come across my guys as they are cooling a green I would appreciate you giving them the time to finish up quickly and get out of your way. They should only need a few minutes to cool the greens down. Another practice we use is utilizing our portable Sub-Air units and back pack blowers to blow air into the drain lines of the greens. This helps the root zone of the greens to cool down as the air coming out of the drain lines is 60 degrees and it also helps give the roots of the plants some much needed oxygen to help them survive during the hot and humid days. I have attached a picture below of a back pack blower installed on one of our greens. We use plumber caps to block off the drain lines forcing the air up into the green profile. It is a very beneficial practice and one that we have been using over the past couple of years. Also this week we are going to continue doing some sod work on the short end of #14 fairway. I know this area got hit hard by our winter this year due to how much moisture this areas tends to hold from the clay soil that is underneath. Our plan this winter is to install some drain lines in this area to hopefully eliminate some of these issues. I hope everyone has a great week and stay cool as the summer weather is on it's way!!!