February By The Numbers

February was a cold month where the average high was 26 degrees Fahrenheit and the average low was 7 degrees. We began the month with lows of -22 and -23 respectfully. I heard somewhere that temperatures that low for three consecutive days could wipe out pine beetles. I would think two days would be troublesome enough.

Today we began clearing greens and the picture above gives you a good idea of exactly how much snow has fallen in Vail for the season. For the month of February, we have received 52 inches which amounted to 1.95 inches of moisture.

January By The Numbers

January 2011 was a cold and wet month, with a few warm, spring-like days. The average high temperature was 24 degrees topping off at 36 degrees on the 18th and 30th of the month. The average low was 7 degrees, bottoming out at -15 on New Year's Day.
Plenty of snow with a total of 45inches equating to 2.22 inches of water, which isn't bad as long as Mother Nature takes her time melting this spring.
The other day the Vail Daily had a great article about what local water officials are saying about this year's snow fall. Click Here to read.

July By The Numbers

This has been a funny season weather wise. The winter seemed to drag on with some late snowfalls through May. June started summer with temperatures reaching well into the high 70's and some days in the 80's which lead to flooding and bank erosion.

July started off as an extension of June with very warm days before coming back to center. Fifteen days in the 80's which we haven't seen since 2007. We only had one day in July in the 80's for 2009. Our average low for July was 43.7 degrees, which was almost 6 degrees warmer than 2009. Our average high temperature was 77.4 degrees and we received 2.24 inches of rainfall. Overall July seems to be getting back to normal, but June was much drier and warmer than normal.

So what do these warmer temperatures mean? Well it's great for growing Kentucky Bluegrass and Ryegrass, however the extended periods of high temperatures for this climate does affect the poa. When the poa is stressed it will produce more seeds and begin to lose color. Light daytime handwatering of greens can help cool them down to help prevent stress.

Recently Mother Nature has been quite helpful. Prior to the heavy rains there were many stressed areas around the course leading up to the last week. On the 28th we received just over a half inch of moisture. Today we arrived at the shop to see another half inch had fallen overnight. The moisture and cooler temperatures mixed with last week's fertilizer application, means that you just need to get out here and play. The course is getting into top shape and some of the finest conditions I have seen in five years.

We'll continue with irrigation tuning through the rest of the season and the system should be as close to 100% as possible by next season.

Wet Conditions

With almost two inches of rainfall over the last three days equals damp conditions at the golf course. The weather is looking great and fortunately things will clear up shortly. The next blog will focus on the flood clean up. This blog will discuss the funky stuff you may notice on some of the greens.

After almost 5 years of maintaining these greens and having numerous superintendents, consultants and plant pathologists view them we have come to the conclusion that they can resemble disease stricken after a rainy stretch.

Well, we have determined that it is not a disease at all, they just become anaerobic and the turf begins to wilt. The only practice we have determined that can fix these spots are opening the soil profile with a spike or an aerification hole. Creating a dry environment will allow the plants to breathe properly and bounce back quickly.

This usually happens once a year around this time when we get a stretch of wet weather over a period of a few days.

Today we spiked the greens with a new piece of equipment called the greens slicer. We can penetrate up to 2 inches and achieve good gas exchange in the soil profile. The surface can get a little bumpy, but we will follow this with sand and a roller to smooth out any imperfections.

May 2010; By the Numbers

Average High Temperature: 57 Degrees F
Highest Recorded Temperature: 77 Degrees F
Average Low Temperature: 29 Degrees F
Lowest Recorded Temperature: 21 Degrees F (yesterday morning we reached 28 degrees)
Total Moisture: 3.14 inches
Total Snowfall: 12 inches

By the Numbers

2009 has been a tumultuous year at Vail Golf Club. We began the season with Landscapes Unlimited moving into town for the irrigation project and to renovate #3 tee. The third hole was the focus of much attention early on. Then the rains came and came and came. LUI continued to work through the weather until they completed in the middle of August. September was the busiest month of the year for golf with numerous (and successful) tournaments.
The staff explored new ideas with pace of play management and at the end of the year the GCM staff began constructing some new tee boxes of their own on holes four and eight.

As I eluded to earlier, the weather has been a bit out of sorts in 2009. So here are the final weather numbers. (We obtain daily weather information since 1990):
The highest daily temperature recorded: 83 degrees Fahrenheit
The lowest daily temperature recorded: -12 degrees Fahrenheit
The coldest December in 20 years with an average of 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit
The driest November in 20 years with a total of 0.60 inches of moisture, edging out 1999 with 0.66 inches of moisture.
21.23 inches of total moisture
3.15 inches fell in June (wettest month)
179.5 inches of snow for the calendar year
42 inches fell between October 1st and December 31st

June or July?

July is beginning to look a lot like June. Here is a picture of what Friday afternoon looked like after a half an inch of rain fell in about 20 minutes. 3.15 inches fell throughout the month of June. So far after 5 days in July we have reached .79 inches. The rains are keeping the course green but there are wet spots. We are trying to keep up with them daily, however with the lack of elevation change throughout the course it makes it difficult in areas. The temperature was 37 degrees this morning, it provided some frosty leaf blades throughout the course. C'mon sun.