Why the greens aren't consistently green...

As I'm sure you have all noticed, our greens are sporting a pretty funky appearance this winter.  They are quite "blotchy" and not as consistently green as they have been in the past during this time of year.  The turf growth rates have also been quite inconsistent from one green to another and even within each individual green.

#6 green - March 20, 2014

This is due to a couple environmental factors that are uncommon for our typical west coast winters.  First off, we have experienced some unusually cold stretches of weather this winter where the average daily temperatures were below zero.  For example, in early December we had an 8-day stretch where the average daily temperature was below zero and another 9-day stretch in early February where we experienced the same freezing temperatures.  Our turf can handle below zero temperatures, but they are not accustomed to the lengthy stretches of these freezing temperatures.  

Our greens are most affected by the cold due to their much lower height-of-cut (HOC) when compared to the tees and fairways.  The HOC of our tees and fairways is four times higher than that of our greens.  Some high-traffic turf areas on our greens have "thinned out" a bit and the overall "off-colour" of the greens is a symptom of cold stress.

Secondly, we are actually experiencing abnormally dry conditions this winter.  I know this may be hard to believe with the recent wet weather, but we have had some lengthy droughty periods throughout the past few months that have produced some very low soil moisture levels throughout the course.  As you can see below, there is even some drought stress in some of our rough areas:

Winter drought stress in the right side rough on #18

 

Moisture level readings in the rough this time of year are traditionally between 35% and 50% so needless to say readings such as 14.9% are very low.  The current moisture level readings of our greens are coming in at between 15% and 20% in the "yellowish" less dense areas and between 30% and 40% in the greener lush areas.  Our greens are healthiest when moisture levels are between 20% and 30%.  As you can see, that 10% range when they are healthiest is not a very wide range to work within and can be very difficult to achieve this time of year when we tend to have too much moisture.  

 

Adversely, when we do experience droughty conditions in the winter we can't simply irrigate to reach adequate moisture levels as our irrigation system is winterized and remains shut down until early April.  There is a substantial amount of wet weather in the forecast and before long we will have the irrigation system fired up and ready to go to ensure we can maintain adequate moisture levels.

Overall, the greens are very healthy and their appearance will improve as soil temperatures continue to rise and we move into some more consistent sunny and warmer weather.  The irrigation system will be fired up next week so we will also be able to begin adding supplemental moisture where necessary.  The growth and recovery rates of our turf are still quite low this time of year so patience is key as we can very easily do more harm than good by being too aggressive in attempts to expedite the process.