The calendar now reads September and there's abundant proof around the course that fall is truly here. September is a month full of f's, and no, I'm not referring to a certain expletive known to occasionally escape a few frustrated golfers lips. September is a month were fog, frost, fertilizer and falling leaves and trees can be frequently found!
As the days shorten and night time temperatures fall two phenomenon begin to occur. The first is fog. Fog forms when warm air moves over colder land. The result is the formation of a low layer of cloud. Fog is tough on golfers and maintenance crews. It is damp and cold and reduces visibility to the point where it is impossible to track the flight of a golf ball or safely transport equipment. A heavy fog usually keeps golfers off the course but it can slow down or stop maintenance as well.
The second phenomenon is frost. Frost is basically frozen dew, deposited on the grass in the form of crystals. Grass itself holds a lots of water so often, with a heavy frost the pant is frozen too. Frost is is found most often in the shoulder seasons of early spring or late fall. It happens most frequently when clear nights allow the surface temperature to drop close to freezing.
Walking on frosted grass causes the brittle frozen plants to break and crushes the plant at a cellular level. Once broken frosted plants cannot repair themselves. Frosted grass that has been walked on will die. It takes between 48 and 72 hours for harm to become apparent but the resulting damage, especially late in the season, can seriously affect the plant's ability to successfully survive the coming winter. A good rule of thumb is if its frozen, don't play on it!
With the end of the season approaching September also means time to fertilize. The grass is nearing the end of its seasonal growth cycle. Fall fertilizing helps keep the plants green and growing to the end of the season and, in combination with verticutting, helps the pants deepen and strengthen their root systems as they prepare for winter dormancy. At Links fertilizer on the greens usually looks like small green grains or dots. The trick is to lay down the fertilizer at the best time. Just before it rains is optimal. A good watering helps the fertilizer dissolve and soak in. Without a good soaking fertilizer can burn the grass and much of it can be picked up by the greens mower, limiting its effect.
Perhaps the most obvious messenger of fall are the trees. The deciduous trees around the course will start to have their leaves turn and fall. Balls that may have already been tough to find in the rough or edges of the fairway will soon be further obscured by leaf litter. While many home owners dutifully rake and bags the leaves that fall on their yards, the sheer volume of leaves that fall at a course make pick up impossible. The decomposing leaves also play a role under the coming snow in protecting and naturally fertilizing the turf beneath them.
You may have noticed that course staff have been falling a number of trees around the course. This is because, in most cases, if we don't fall them, they may fall themselves. The trees that are being culled at this time of the year are diseased, dying or already dead. The best example in the beetle killed pine that had been guarding the left side of number 3. It was sad to see the old tree have to go, but better it be taken down safely than by the wind or nature exposing golfers to risk. Tree maintenance can elicit strong reactions in golfers. Some are quite attached to the trees and find removal of even one quite hard to take. Other members are only too happy to recommend particular trees as potential victims for the chainsaw. Most og the have had instances where they wish they had a Husqvarna in their bags. The lone branch overhanging the left side of the sixth tree box is a frequent nominee for pruning!
With fall upon us winter must certainly be approaching. Whether it be be frost, fog, fertilizer, failing daylight or falling leaves or branches, the autumn is certainly has its challenges The days, and season may be getting short, but there's still a little time left to get out and cut a few shots off your handicap. And while you're doing that I'll be counting down the days I have left to still make the cut!
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