Fall Cultural Practices

Over the next months temperatures will drop, the days will become shorter, birds will start heading south and the Michigan State Spartans will begin their domination of the Big Ten.  These changes in weather will also bring changes in our maintenance practices.  

Right around September, most courses see a reduction in staff members (college students returning to school or seasonal employees leaving).  With a smaller staff certain practices are no longer feasible.  For instance, walk-mowing greens can no longer be accomplished because it takes 5-6 people that are needed elsewhere.   

While autumn colors are beautiful, they are a herald of leaves dropping.  Rotary mowers will be converted into mulchers and several weeks will be dedicated to the removal, mulching and cleaning of the leaf debris that will litter the course.  However the staff at MCC does a good job of keeping greens and fairways playable throughout the fall.
Because of the lower temperatures our pesticide spray schedule changes as well.  Fungal disease are most active during the months of summer and only a few are present in the fall.  With this reduction in disease pressure we can apply less pesticides to the golf course.  Without the majority of fungal diseases, 90 degrees days and extreme humidity's the turf plant will have an optimum environment for growth and we hope to see an increase in root length and shoot density. 
Even though fall is not quite here yet, turf managers are already planning for winter.  Sunlight is key during this period because it has a major influence on plant growth.  A healthy turf system has the best potential to survive the snowy months and everything we do during the fall will be geared to having the healthiest plant possible at the end of it.   This is a drastic difference from the mindset of summer in which superintendents management practices are based on just getting through the day. 

We hope you enjoy and utilize the best time of year for golf.