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« Back Post Date: Thursday, July 18, 2019
Beat the Heat

Summer is prime golf season, especially at Green Bay Country Club.  With long days and warm temperatures, there are plenty of opportunities to get out and play.  For the Grounds Crew, delivering the best playing conditions possible during the busy season involves a delicate balancing act between the demands of play and the impacts of harsh summer weather.

Last week, you may have noticed more crew members with hoses trailing behind their carts.  The reason why, is during high temperatures and humid conditions, we are to closely monitoring where and the amount of water being applied to the turf.  Irrigation sprinklers are used as a substitute for rain but the distribution of water is so wide and inconsistent, we must be more precise, by using soil moisture meters and hand watering. 

Agronomically, too much water in this heat and humidity can result in disease, leaf scorching, canopy thinning and/or dead turf.  Too little water can result in dormant, weak, and/or dead turf.  Furthermore, precise watering practices will provide the best conditions for playing. Otherwise, too much water leaves surfaces spongy and slow, while dry conditions are great but the recovery after, or dead turf, will negatively affect conditions for weeks after.

Last week, one key cultural practice we performed to help with the water efficiency and movement in the soil is venting. Venting and aerifying are basically the same thing but the difference is in the size of the tine.  We vented the greens with a small ¼” tine (seen below) that is visibly gone after a couple days.


Venting is performed every 3 - 4 weeks, dependent on the weather.  Below, are the four main reasons for venting throughout the summer golf season:

  • Rooting

  • Oxygen Exchange

  • Soil Temperature Cooling

  • Water Percolation

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