As I sit and write this, we will be entering into July of the 2021 golf season. Along with that, I realize I have not updated the blog since April. I apologize for that and will strive to get one out once a month in the future. The 2021 season has been one of the most challenging I can remember due to successive years of low rainfall. In past dry years, we would get some rainfall in April and sometimes May, but the rain basically ended mid -March this year. Because of this, irrigation cycles started in March, which would normally start in May. I have always told people, it is not necessarily how much rain we get during the rainy season, it is agronomically more important regarding how late into the spring we receive rainfall. The rainfall totals are important to fill up our reservoirs. Irrigation systems are just a supplement to Mother Nature’s events, so when you factor in an aging irrigation infrastructure, water supply quality and quantity, along with the arid climate, years like this can be quite challenging.
The month of June was stressful on our Poa annua greens. The heat spikes of over a 100 degrees during the 16th – 18th of the month were not received well. Poa annua is a shallow rooted cool season grass that does not perform well at those temperatures. During the next couple of weeks, you will notice some slower green speeds until we get them in full recovery mode. Below is a picture of one of the greens.
Projects that have been completed to date in 2021 are 6,000 square feet of cart path replacement, removal of all the railroad ties on the property, PLC upgrade to the pump station, removal of Bulrush at our irrigation pond and repairing the leaking dam structure on that same pond. Along with that we replaced the asphalt on the bridge at Hole #14. Below is a before and after picture of the bridge.
The next project we have scheduled is to replace more cart path areas and repair the bridge at hole #7. The contractor is tentatively scheduled to start this work July 19th. We will more than likely have a temporary tee set up on #7 during the bridge work so the contractors will be able to perform the work safely and efficiently.
Please remember to fix you ball mark and one other to ensure quality playing conditions for everyone.
Yours in turf,
Stacy L. Wallace, Golf Course Superintendent
Sonoma Agronomy 