Herbicide Warning for Homeowners

Dupont's Imprelis (a broadleaf herbicide) hit the market in the fall of 2010 and many lawn care companies, superintendents and homeowners used this product on its release in the fall and in the spring of 2011.  Unfortunately, it is the suspected cause of death or damage to numerous trees and landscape ornamental.  There have been reports from 22 different states of tree dieback thought to be caused by Imprelis.  As a precautionary measure, if any MCC members have their lawns sprayed for weeds in the fall, request that your landscape companies not use Imprelis.  This is especially the case if you have Blue Spruces in your yard, they are very susceptible to the herbicide.  For more information, check out this link from the Purdue agronomy department.

Suspected Imprelis Injury Guide

Common Summer Diseases

Fungal pathogens are most detrimental to turf health from the months of May to late Septemeber (based on geographical location).  Along with the heat, irregular events and amounts of precipitation can cause huge outbreaks of disease.  Here are some of the major diseases that have superintendents pulling their hair out.

Dollar Spot:  A common disease found on most species of turf during periods of higher temperatures.  Symptoms appear as white/tan spots smaller than 6" in diameter.  On short mown turf, the spots rarely get larger than a couple inches.  Dollar spot is easily managed but can cause turf desiccation if left unchecked. 

Brown Patch:  Occurs during periods of high heat and humidity, especially when night time temps stay above 70 degrees.  The pathogen appears in turf stands as a large, brown/orange patch (some several feet in diameter).  When dew is present (or high humidity) a gray ring appears around the patch; a smoke ring.  This is where the fungus is active and is a good indicator of it's health.  While patches are large and unsightly, it is rare that brown patch will actually cause turf death.

Pythium:  Outbreaks occur during periods of extreme heat and humidity (over 90 degrees for several days combined with 90 % humidity).  The initial symptoms of Pythium are small sunken patches in an irregular pattern.  They are orange or dark gray in color.  Pythium can spread rapidly through drainage or even equipment making control of the disease difficult.  Finally, the turf will appear dark and greasy and if not treated can be fatal to the plant.

Anthracnose:  A devastating disease that occurs when areas are totally saturated for extended periods of time (heat helps the fungus but is not a necessity).  There are two types of Anthracnose, foliar and crown-rot.  Foliar effects only the leaf of the plant while crown-rot attacks the plant in its entirety.  Symptoms of anthracnose vary but may appear as yellow/orange spots or small patches (usually less than a foot in diameter) in turf stands.  Crown-rot Anthracnose is identified by dark, rotting plant structures such as the crown or roots of the turf.  It can spread quickly and is usually fatal.   

Localized Dry Spot:  A problem common in sand-based root zones.  It is a combination of little moisture and fungus activity that will actually seal off a portion of the soil from water (making the soil hydrophobic), so the symptoms appear as defined areas of wilt.  A wetting-agent is used to break up the tension between soil particles and allow water to filter through.

14 Blade Reels; New Greens Mowers

Greens are the most viewed and played area on a golf course.  All the action happens on the dance floor so it needs to be pristine.  To achieve that degree of quality, reel mower technology has evolved accordingly.  The most recent advancement that Meadowbrook has upgraded too, is the change from 11 blade to 14 blade reel mowers.  With the extra blades on the reel, we have seen a higher clipping yield (amount of grass removed) which leads to other benefits.  These include a smoother surface for truer putts and increased green speed.  Another advantage, is an option the 14 blade gives us during periods of heat and drought; we can increase the height of cut without losing green speed.  Even a slight increase in height will allow the turf to better survive temperature extremes. 

The following is a collection of images from the Brook, highlighting the putting surfaces.

Irrigation vs. Rain Water

During the summer months golf courses rely heavily on their irrigation system.  To keep fairways and greens playable the turf obviously has to have a constant source of water.  With today's technology the process of irrigating the course is no longer a problem.  The problem that faces many courses (MCC included) are the contents of their water. 

With water becoming the new gasoline, many courses are starting to utilize recycled irrigation water.  Some of these sources may contain heavy metals or dissolved salts that can be detrimental to turf health.  While MCC has it's own on-site water source, we do face a potential for soil physical structure damage because of the sodium bicarbonate levels (dissolved salts).  After two weeks without rain water we see elevated compaction on areas of the fairways, primarily the edges because of these bicarbonates.  However, the problem is not too severe and our management practices alleviate most needs for concern.  A periodic flush and use of Calcium fertilizer is required to keep the bicarbonate levels to a minimum on greens.

These practices still cost money, time and effort.  So while one hears superintendents complain about rain, a slight steady dose of it is welcomed.  Rain water doesn't contain these toxins and usually is a very pure source.  Precipitation events are near impossible to predict and amounts always vary (as MCC found out in the spring).  A light rain of about .2" a night would be ideal but unheard of.  As is the case for most thing, a balance between irrigation and rain water is necessary.

No-Play Mondays

On Monday, July 11th, the course was closed and no shotguns were scheduled.  This was fortuitously timed because the Detroit area had just experienced it's 9th 90-degree day and MCC was showing signs of stress. The closing was welcomed and the crew had the opportunity to accomplish tasks that the presence of golfers would have hindered.  Here is a list of completed tasks made possible by the day off.

1. Lightly Topdressed Greens: A light application was made because of the severe heat the past couple days.  This required the greens to be dragged only once to work some of the sand through the canopy.  
2. Fertilized Greens with a Ca/Mg/K Granular: Potassium is an essential nutrient for the plant in times of stress because it helps with recovery.  Calcium was applied to deplete the sodium bicarbonate content of the greens (a toxin to turf).  This fertilizer cannot be sprayed and has to be watered in, making it a time consuming process, one not accomplished with golfers. 
3. Heavily Hand Watered Greens:  This worked the granular fertilizer and sand into the soil to reach the root zone.
4. Watered Greens with the Irrigation System:  The extensive watering was in the hope of flushing the salts through the rootzone, which are detrimental to turf health.
5. Hand Blew Greens:  In order to clear them off of any leftover debris or large sand fragments that could damage mowers.
6. Rolled Greens.
7. Sprayed Greens: The spray consisted of fungicide and more fertilizers.
8. Sprayed Tee's: The spray consisted of a fungicide specific to the disease Pythium which is prevalent in 90 degree and 90% humidity weather. 
9. Watered Tee's with Irrigation System: Banol, the fungicide, needs to be watered in to reach the turf roots.  This is were Pythium inoculation of the plant occurs. 
10. Checked/Fixed Sprinkler Heads:  Perhaps the most important task accomplished yesterday, the crew was able to determine the location of malfunctions within the irrigation system.
11. Maintained Club Grounds/Annual Beds/Perennial Beds.
12. Cleaned Duck Weed from 6 Pond.
13. Mowed Problematic Fairways in case of a Rain Event.
14. Mechanical Checks on Machinery.

All of these tasks were accomplished before the rain we received around 11:30 am.  It is an amazing benefit to have the course closed for a day.  We know course closings will be few and far between with the current state of the economy so the crew took advantage and we hope you enjoy the results. 

<====== K/Mg/Ca Granular Fertilizer applied to greens (not recommended for legs)

Heat Stress

Summer has arrived in full force now in southern Michigan and 80/90 degree days are going to become more common.  With this heat comes turf that displays poor color, vigor and growth (along with a large amount of stress for superintendents).  Combined with these high temperatures, the Northville area has seen precious little precipitation over the past couple weeks.  This is painfully obvious in non-irrigated portions of the golf course (i.e. the rough).  Both of these factors will be the crews main combatants for the rest of the summer. 

                                                Non-irrigated vs. Irrigated

Why does heat have such a negative effect on plant health? There are several reasons, some similar to the effect of heat on humans, while others are specific to plants.  Here are a few of the major ones. 

• High temperatures inhibit enzyme function, which are the catalysts of the important metabolic pathways within plants, such as photosynthesis and aerobic respiration.
• Along with heat comes the release of free radicals (toxins in the plant).  Plants have natural defenses towards these but in periods of high temps and low moisture the plant cannot produce the anti-oxidants necessary to combat the free radicals. 
• Heat can make plant membranes too fluid (not structurally sound).  The turf cannot recover from traffic as well and gives long cut grass a drooping appearance. 

The turf at MCC is of the cool-season variety, which prefers temperatures within the 65-80 degree range.  During periods of high temperatures the turf depends heavily on an extensive root system it grows during the spring. Poa annua (the grass on our tee's, greens and fairways) is a plant that can survive on extremely shallow roots.  However it gets into trouble during times of low moisture and heat because it doesn't have the root length and mass necessary to uptake enough water.  We help it out by frequent, light watering.  Heavy irrigation would keep a large amount of water in the soil but open the door for fungal pathogens that thrive in high heat and moist conditions.        

Dark purpling is a sign of heat stress

The summer of 2010 was one of the hottest on record and while we have not reached those extremes this year, the crew will be babysitting the turf for the next couple months.  Until we have past this tenuous period enjoy the summer weather and quick greens. 

Good Golfers

"Consider the following definitions of good players and good golfers.  Good players have low handicaps, usually hit the ball a mile and occasionally post very low scores.  Good golfers fill divots, repair ball marks, and practice good etiquette each and every time they are on the course." -James Francis Moore, USGA Green Section's Construction Education Program

The pursuit of perfection is the main goal of the staff at MCC.  We want our greens fast and firm, our fairways green and clean, and our bunkers white and well defined.  The crew hopes that the membership shares this desire and that they will consider the following when playing the course.  Together, we can keep The Brook looking great. 

1. Remove tee's after use on tee boxes.  These damage the mower reels which can be very expensive.
2. Exit bunkers from the back instead of walking up the face.  Turf on steep slopes is very susceptible to damage from traffic.
3. Fill divots properly.  If divot mix is left mounded, it too can damage mower reels.
4. Fix ball marks properly, with a pushing motion instead of a lifting and pulling (see previous article)
5. Carts are one of the most detrimental factors to turf on a golf course so please keep the carts on paths whenever possible, specially around the greens and tee's.
6. Please keep carts out of mulch areas.
7. Remember you are playing on a living carpet avoid sharp turns, fast acceleration's and quick stops.  
8. Do not follow another golf carts path.  This will only increase compaction and lead to desiccated turf.
9. Tree's will never shrink in size.  When they do overgrow and cause problems with their shade they have to be removed not only from a turf health standpoint, but for the safety of the golfers and crew.
10. Safety, safety, safety.  Please wait the extra second for a crew member to notice your group and we will remove ourselves and equipment from your shot.

We appreciate your help and look forward to seeing you out on the course.  Enjoy the holiday weekend.