Cold Weather

As you all are well aware, two weeks ago we experienced record breaking low temperatures and, after a short break, it looks like we will have another stretch of temperatures in the teens with single digit lows. This cold weather is beneficial and detrimental to a golf course. When the weather gets very cold and the wind kicks up, it can damage turf that isn't covered by snow. We did see damage of this kind on the golf course after the cold and windy weather of January 7-9. While the damage looks bad, it is usually just superficial and once the plant is actively growing in the spring and putting out new leaves, the damaged plants will be green and healthy again.  As you can see from the picture above the damaged grass has more of a brown look to it, but this should quickly green up in the spring.

The good news is that all this cold weather tends to kill a lot of the pests that feed on our grass. A majority of the insects that damage our turf overwinter on the course, and while they can withstand a cold winter, extremely cold temperatures do kill off populations. Insects burrow down into the soil and use the insulation of the ground above them to keep from freezing. Additionally, heavy snow cover acts as a blanket and further insulates the ground, keeping soil temperatures relatively high compared to ambient air temperatures. So, the further insects burrow, the more snow on the ground, and the milder the winter, the greater the chances of their survival. When we had those very cold temperatures the ground didn't have very thick snow cover, as is evident from the wind damaged turf on the golf course. So hopefully the ground was able to freeze a few inches down, into overwintering areas for insects, and kill off a good portion of the population. While there is no doubt that insects will survive this winter, the reduced numbers should make for less insect pressure next summer.

Thanks,
Ian