The Florida winter golf season is
in full swing, and golf courses throughout the state are hosting
peak seasonal play, although many courses are reporting reduced
rounds relative to the past couple of years. There is intense
competition to attract and retain members, and, naturally,
without a full membership, operating costs must be reduced. The
current economic slowdown is definitely impacting golf
operations throughout the state.
As far as course conditions, the mild winter temperatures have
prevailed, and throughout the central and southern part of the
state, bermudagrass and seashore paspalum have maintained a
green color character and some growth. This has been a positive
since many facilities experienced a less than satisfactory fall
overseeding and cutbacks in overseeding were implemented because
of concerns about pending irrigation restrictions. At least
along the lower east coast of Florida, timely and adequate
rainfall has occurred such that the mandated Phase III water use
restrictions have not had a big impact. During my TAS visits
over the past two to three weeks, golf course superintendents
are providing appropriate and good quality overall conditioning
for daily play.
In contrast, at courses with moderate to heavy daily play,
typical wintertime cart traffic wear and damage is apparent. The
result is golfer complaints about tight fairway lies, loss of
definition between the fairway and rough cuts, and a clumpy and
inconsistent rough. At courses through the middle part of the
state and along the west coast where a moderate to severe
drought has persisted, cart traffic wear and damage has been
greatly exacerbated. Over the years, the importance of proper
preparations during the late summer and early fall, along with
aggressive cart traffic management, have been stressed for
minimizing damage and surviving early winter season play in the
best possible condition. The goal at courses in central to south
Florida is to survive until early to mid-March when sustained
growth and recovery begins to occur in response to increasing
day length and temperatures.
For the 2008 winter golf season, surviving until early to
mid-March continues to be a primary goal; however there also is
tremendous concern about what lies ahead. As we move through the
spring, increasing day length and temperatures results in a
corresponding increase in turfgrass water use rates and
irrigation needs. For courses in the South Florida Water
Management District, the Phase III water use restrictions
requires a 45% reduction in permitted pumping allocations, which
presents a challenging, but manageable, situation.
A big problem arises because the reductions are based on a
monthly predictive calculation, and, at many facilities, it has
been determined that allocations are actually 60% to 70% less
than actual irrigation usage based on the past five year
averages during February, March and April. If timely and
adequate rainfall does not occur during this three month period,
many courses will have to limit supplemental irrigation to
greens and tees, and significant portions of the fairways and
roughs will go into drought stress. While bermudagrass and
seashore paspalum have good drought tolerance, a much greater
impact beyond off-color turf will be experienced.
In previous Florida Region web updates, drought management tips
have been offered, such as raising heights of cut and mowing
less frequently. At this point, however, while no doubt
unpopular with golfers, an extremely proactive and aggressive
cart traffic management program is needed. Along with strictly
enforced cart usage polices, directional control devices need to
be put into place before excessive wear and damage occurs.
There are golf courses that are lucky enough to have an
unrestricted irrigation water source available such as recycled
water. At these facilities it will be possible to maintain an
overall uniform green color, which will only create more
problems at facilities that must manage with a restricted water
source. There is no doubt that abundant summertime rains will
once again occur in Florida, but golfers as well as the general
public need to accept that water conservation and use
restrictions will be a fact of life in Florida as we go forward.
Desperate Times,
Desperate Measures
If desperate times call for desperate measures, then these must
be desperate times for some water management districts. It was
mentioned recently that the Southwest Florida Water Management
District will be implementing Phase III irrigation restrictions
beginning in January. The supposed objective for Phase III water
restrictions is a 45% reduction. As mentioned in the previous
regional update, the supposed objective for Phase II
restrictions was a 30% reduction, when actual irrigation
allotments for many courses revealed nearly 70% reductions as
compared to previous years. Many courses are quite frantic over
the outcome of the upcoming Phase III restrictions and how this
will affect playing conditions and turf health.
The following are my observations of the restrictions and how
golf course maintenance programs in Florida are impacted:
Phase I (15% reduction) – Most bermudagrass playing
surfaces can be irrigated as necessary to provide acceptable
turf quality. Roughs become off-color and localized dry spots
occur at times, but no change in maintenance is necessary.
Phase II (30% reduction) – Primary play areas (greens,
tees, fairways) are kept alive and generally green in color.
Regular wetting agent treatments are necessary to reduce the
severity of localized dry spots. Increased mowing heights and
decreased mowing frequency are necessary to improve rooting and
increase the turf’s ability to uptake water. Plant growth
regulators also have shown some benefit in drought tolerance and
can be applied on a regular basis. Cart traffic management is
vital as the turf begins to lose color.
Phase III (45%
reduction) – Phase III will cause severe loss of turf color.
Progression of brown conditions will begin from the outer roughs
and work their way into primary playing areas. Since there is
only a small percentage of water allotted as compared to
previous years, greens and tees should be kept alive and the
remaining water delivered to fairway landing areas when
available. Healthy bermudagrass is quite drought tolerant and
courses should do everything possible to maintain healthy turf
conditions. In addition to the previously mentioned practices,
it is important to restrict traffic as much as possible. Clubs
should divert traffic away from areas that appear stressed and
off-color, as the additional stress can kill turf. Eventually,
it may be necessary to completely restrict cart traffic to cart
paths and designated areas. Some areas may die off from drought
accompanied by other stresses like shade, nematodes and traffic.
These may need to be re-grassed in late spring, if irrigation
restrictions are lifted at that time.
Having an efficient irrigation system and design allows golf
course superintendents to conserve water and apply it exactly
where it is needed. It may be time to have your system audited
by a professional irrigation consultant. If restrictions become
a normal part of golf course maintenance in the future, it may
also be necessary to consider decreasing irrigated bermudagrass
turf acreage by installing/enlarging natural areas or utilizing
drought-tolerant bahiagrass is outer rough areas. |
