Fall Practices

On Monday I was asked through a comment on this site about the cultural practices that we can do on the golf course to provide quicker spring green up. Though there are many ways to prepare the golf course for the winter and spring, this climate mostly depends on Mother Nature. After four winters on this course, it is rare to find an area that comes through consistently year after year. Spring green up mostly relates to soil temperatures and how quickly they can rise, however there are a number of ways we can promote healthier turf when those temperatures do rise.

Much like our own bodies, stress relief is one of the best ways to prepare a golf course for the winter. In other words, we want to pump up each plant and make it as healthy as possible to survive the stresses of winter. The plant has slowed down in growth significantly and is beginning to go into dormancy. This is the period where plants do not respond to much, mainly because soil temperatures are too low and there is not as much sunlight for photosynthesis.

You will notice many areas of the course where the turf is longer than normally maintained. This practice allows as much plant tissue intact to store carbohydrates through the winter. A fall fertilizer such as Ammonium Sulfate is a cheap an easy way to accumulate carbohydrates to ease the stress of winter. Due to this fertilizer's high salt index and burn potential it is critical to apply when soil temperatures are below 40 degrees and the plant has slowed in growth.

Aerification and topdressing also help with winter preparation. Open aerification holes help with drainage and help reduce ice damage. The melting snow helps sand topdressing get into the soil profile and protect the crown of the plant. Leaf clean up is important to prevent molds from forming through the wintertime.

One of the most critical areas we pay attention to and spend significant dollars with are fungicide applications. With prolonged snow cover, snowmold can be a severe disease to golf courses in the north and can do a lot of damage. Snow mold is a soil borne pathogen that can attack the leaf blades of turfgrass plants and many times can be fatal. The control for this disease can significantly make or break a golf season in the mountains.

The proper application can leave the plant "untouched" through the winter and allow us to pick up where we left off. If chemical applications are not done correctly, we are then forced to play "catch-up" with seeding, sodding, applying more fertilizer, using more water and even using more herbicides as weeds begin to creep into areas that turfgrass once was.

Other practices we do prior to winter is keep carts on paths by the middle of October, use "winter cups" (having multiple cups set on a green to vary pin locations to relieve stress), rope off greens to prevent skiers and use reflectors to scare away elk which has been an increasing problem in the winter here in Vail.