Water, winter and watchfulness

Whatever form it comes in – liquid, humidity, frozen – too much water is never a good thing. But too little is no picnic, either. It should be news to no one that right now, while certain regions of the country are in dire need of water, others have had way more than their share in the form of rain, snow, hail and otherwise.

But that was last year, or last week. What are you doing about water now to prepare for the future? No matter what part of the country you’re in, you can’t be waiting until Labor Day, Thanksgiving, or worse yet, Christmas, before you make plans and take action to reduce water’s harmful effects next year.

The future will come first to those of you in the Southwest and other regions where water shortages have become disastrous. I’m sure you are doing all you can to find what water you can and prepare your course for severe shortages. But are you also doing enough to convey the severity of the situation to your members and the general public? Are you communicating to one and all what effects a lack of water has on golf courses, and what effects that can have on the local economy? While there is no silver lining to the water crisis we’re facing, it is an opportunity for golf course superintendents everywhere to step up, start talking and becoming the leaders you wish and need to be.

Those of you anywhere else in the United States, if you’ve been in the business less than about 15 years, have probably never seen a winter like 2013-14, and with luck you never will again. But those of us with 20 and more years have lived through numerous cycles and climatic changes. We don’t know how to avoid them, but we do know that ignoring climate fluctuation can cost your job.

Again, one of the most important things you can do wherever you live is become a spokesperson for our industry and what it’s doing to work within regional water restrictions. Proactive education is everyone’s responsibility.
 

Don’t wait. Think water now

Even though you’re probably in the throes of tournament season and the time of heaviest play and greatest demands on your course, you should be thinking about next winter. What are you doing right now to protect the turf in 2015? Are you watching turf deal with the heat and humidity? If it’s hurting now, just think if we have to contend with another polar vortex next January?

What are the three most important concerns on your golf course? Drainage, drainage, drainage. Retained water and ice probably cost you turf last winter. So you should be using the nicer weather now to evaluate low spots (tees, fairways, roughs), areas that drain poorly, and surface run-off (sheet flow), looking for ways to move excess water away more quickly.

Wherever you live, think about water conservation on older, soil greens without sub-surface internal drainage (non-USGA construction). Water stays in the soil under these greens; give serious consideration to modernizing their construction and drainage.

Look at your areas of shade and your long-range tree-removal plan. (Don’t have one? You should!) Are there areas not getting enough sunlight? Patches that don’t thaw quickly enough in spring, dry out after rain, or allow for proper sunlight and air movement?

Get rid of unnecessary and harmful trees. Of course, that’s easier said than done, and you’ll likely face a fight from the members. But you already know that trees are key to the long-term health of your course, and thinning them out will increase sunlight penetration.

Have you considered a turfgrass-conversion plan for greens, teeing grounds and fairways? Again, this is a smart way to protect your agronomic investment ­­– and perhaps your job. In the Northeast and central parts of the country, reduce poa annua and replace it with bentgrass, a more cold-tolerant species especially when wet.

Do you have adequate funds to pursue a sand topdressing program? This cultural practice promotes a drier golf course and, over time, the course will become firmer and play faster. And sand does not retain water.

Are you following current research from the major universities regarding water? North Carolina State University is taking the lead with plant-health research and how it relates to water usage. Check out this resource at www.turffiles.ncsu.edu.

Do you have the proper equipment to encourage good healthy turf?

Verti-drain for deep tine aerification, compaction relief and drainage. The result will be good, strong turf with less retained water.

How’s your plant-health know-how? Strengthening a plant helps protect it against severe weather fluctuations. Are you using fungicides and other treatments to prevent disease and encourage strong, healthy turf? As Dr. Joe Troll of the University of Massachusetts puts it, “Healthy turf is happy turf.” Add to that, “and creates happy golfers.”

Speaking of golfers, are you paying attention to their traffic patterns: where carts go, entrance and exit patterns on greens, low points? Believe it or not, all of this impacts water retention.

Consider keeping hole locations away from sensitive areas such as compacted areas and low spots that are more susceptible to ice and other harm in cold weather.

And it’s not too early to be thinking how you’ll set up the course in fall and winter for the diehards who will play whenever they can (even when the course should be resting).

And I repeat, you must let your members/golfers know what you are doing and why, how long it will take, when it will occur, and the desired outcomes and advantages. Stress that ignoring vital practices and preventative efforts will hurt them – their golf course, their games, their investment.

I can’t say it enough: communicate, communicate, communicate.

What we learned. What you’ll do

In college, I learned the phrase, “Those who ignore the past are doomed to repeat it.” The phrase means we have to learn from each year past how to protect our courses and our jobs in the year to come.

Where was your winterkill last year? In shade, weak turf, heavily trafficked areas? Take inventory throughout the remainder of the summer to get a jump on next winter. You work in winter to prepare and protect the course for the following summer; so it’s no different.

And if you tried something in the past that didn’t work, fix it for the future.

Maybe we’ll be lucky and next winter won’t be as bad as last winter. But do you really want to take that chance?

Tim Moraghan, principal, ASPIRE Golf (tmoraghan@aspire-golf.com). Follow Tim’s blog, Golf Course Confidential at http://www.aspire-golf.com/buzz.html or on Twitter @TimMoraghan