Page 3 - March 2022 Newsletter

C O U R S E U P D A T E

F R O M D I R E C T O R Y

O F A G R O N O M Y

N O A H G E S S L E R

Spring on the Golf Course

As we enter March and head toward spring, we can expect to see some of the best
weather of the year. We typically see the end of frost delays and start to notice a
difference in day length and temperatures. Overall this winter has been fairly mild in
regards to weather with an average amount of frost delays and a little below average
amount of rainfall.

As the days lengthen and warm up, we will see an increase in soil temperatures which
is the key to triggering changes in turf growth. Both the ryegrass and bentgrass will
begin to grow more actively, as both cool season grasses enjoy the warm days and cool

nights. As this happens we will need to increase the mowing frequencies of both. We
will also make changes to practices such as rolling and watering the greens to
maintain the conditions and speeds.

Irrigation management becomes much more critical during the spring months. Not
only is there the management of the nightly irrigation cycles, but we begin to spend
much more time monitoring moisture in the greens. We do not see this during the
winter months, but we are also in a state of minimal root growth and development.
Sometimes we can experience rapid warming in the spring which the turf isn’t quite
ready for due to this limited root density. Daily monitoring of the moisture levels helps
the turf initiate new and deeper roots which will be very important once we progress
into the hotter summer months.

As for the dormant bermudagrass, not a lot will happen until soil temperatures reach
the mid to upper fifties. At this point the bermudagrass will begin to break dormancy
and start to green up. At first this is only noticeable in the non-overseeded areas
around the bunkers. The overseeded areas will hide the green up of any bermuda
underneath and the presence of the ryegrass also slows the process in these areas.
During what is known as “transition”, the bermudagrass has to compete with the
ryegrass for water, sunlight and nutrients. Throughout the spring we increase the
things we do to help the bermudagrass through this process while gradually phasing
out the ryegrass.

Thank you,
Noah Gessler
Director of Agronomy
ngessler@gcdovemtn.com