Summer Blues

In the over 28 years I have been taking care of golf courses I have always looked forward to the end of summer. Even though this has been a relatively mild summer by most standards, it has still been summer and not without the issues that come with it. We have had our share of cool season turf losses, we have fought the up and downs of too wet and too dry and the subsequent results of each. We have battled or more appropriately stated, are currently battling opportunistic weeds in some areas. On top of all of this we are really fighting a severe grub infestation which shows up on the course now as the skunks, raccoons and crows continue tearing up turf while going after the grubs as a food source. At Granite Bay all of these stresses, with varying degrees, will always converge at the end of summer. Refined maintenance programs will hopefully mitigate future issues but summer will always be our Achilles’ Heal at Granite Bay as long as we

are taking care of cool season turf.

Turf in #10 traffic zone closeup

Golf Courses that have warm season turf or bermuda grass in our area typically thrive in the summer but as the bermuda starts into dormancy they deal with their own set of issues. The seasonal ups and downs of golf course conditions have always been and will always be a part of the game. We all want consistent perfection and the Granite Bay maintenance department will always have that as our goal. Hopefully we wont be setting ourselves up for some level of disappointment next summer.

#10 fairway to #11 tee traffic zone