Hot, Hot, Hot

July has come in strong. The week is forecasted to be above 90 each day meaning a great deal of stress on the turf. The kicker with the day time highs are the forecasted lows not getting under 75 degrees. Night temps are key to turf recovery after warm days and when you stay mild the turf stays stressed. Along with these two components we are tossing in higher humidities, humidity is good in that we'll be able to keep some moisture in the ground but the combination of these 3 creates a breeding ground for disease.
Today we are putting on the armor and preparing ourselves for war. Preventative fungicide applications are being done to approaches and fairways. Our fear is that we receive one of these pop up thunderstorms and accumulate a good amount of rain only upping the conditions for disease to take over. Today we've also needle tined the greens. Needle tining has become a constant management practice for our greens. This creates small holes helping rid the soil of toxic gases and get fresh oxygen to the roots.
We keep trying to stay ahead of Mother Nature as much as we can, it's a battle out here but that's what makes it fun. Stay cool!