Golf courses are singing the blues as the drought continues. In fact, a light haze of smoke has wafted in on TAS visits lately. The smoke is not from roughs burning out, but from multiple wildfires throughout the region. Record low rainfall has caused phase II restrictions (30% reduction) throughout most of the region to be in effect, with some areas experiencing Phase III restrictions (45% reduction). The water management districts are to be applauded for working with golf course superintendents and allowing them to decide when to irrigate, as previous restrictions limited usage to certain week days. After several meetings with concerned golf course superintendents, it was decided to allow courses to irrigate by a reduced percentage than their normal allotment.
Golf courses utilize only a small percentage of water compared to other users, especially home lawns, and can easily monitor and reduce water usage as needed. Enforcing restrictions on other groups is much more difficult for the water management districts, as it is difficult to effectively monitor them. Golf courses report monthly on their usage, and restriction enforcement is a much easier task. Most golf courses truly are stewards of natural resources as they are a refuge for a variety of wildlife and natural biofilters for many environmental contaminants.
The good news for the water reductions is that bermudagrass is drought tolerant and goes dormant until regular rainfall occurs. The bad news is that lush, green playing conditions cannot be sustained in such conditions. Localized dry spots initially occur, causing a leopard-like pattern of brown and green turf and, eventually the entire area becomes brown.
 |
|
| Bermudagrass can survive extended periods of drought, but becomes brown as it goes dormant. |
Water restrictions prioritize water use to primary play areas, with putting greens receiving highest priority. Teeing grounds are next, with fairways (particularly landing areas) ranking third. Roughs and non-play areas (like driving ranges) receive lowest priority among playing surfaces and should receive the least amount of water. As a result, many non-play areas and roughs are in various stages of drought dormancy on many golf courses at this time.
Several guidelines for managing drought-stressed turf were listed in the previous regional update and it is recommended to implement these important strategies. Also, normal cultivation practices like core aeration and verticutting on tees, fairways, and roughs may need to be postponed until normal rainfall occurs and water restrictions are lifted. Having some flexibility in scheduling is important to ensure that these necessary cultural practices are implemented at a later date.
Source: Todd Lowe, tlowe@usga.org or 941-828-2625
