Summer of 2011

Once again we wrap up a summer that was a brute!  After last season I know I sat back and hoped that I'd never see a summer like that again, and thought I never would.  Lots of discussion last year between Superintendents was that the summer of 2010 would go down in the books as the worst ever and that we'd probably never see one like it again.  Well, we were wrong.  Instead we seen the exact same if not a bit worse during this summer of 2011.  This year yet again there was a period of very warm, humid air along with a great deal of rain.  Golf courses turned into petri dishes for colonizing turf disease as the heat and humidity trigger them.  You put these together with the large amounts of rain we had in middle to end of July and there is an absolute battle between Superintendent and the elements. 
I've heard from some members about the conditions of other courses while playing them during our renovation.  Some comments have been good and some comments have not been.  It was a tough season for all throughout Chicago and lots of turf loss occurred again.  Most loss was due to standing water in low areas coupled with high temperatures.  When water sits for a couple of days and you experience highs in the 90's you've basically created a boiling pot and that turf will not survive.  This points to why drainage is so important!  When an area is saturated with water there is no open poor space for oxygen to get to the roots of the turf.  Imagine yourself in a pool of hot water with no air available, wouldn't last long.  Anyway, I wanted to pass along a write up from the CDGA's Plant Pathologist which explains what we've went through the last few years, hopefully help you to understand some conditions you've maybe run across here or at neighboring courses.

http://library.constantcontact.com/download/get/file/1101692018717-158/What+Happened+Summer+2011+CAGCS-D.+Settle.pdf