Managing Greens in Hot, Humid Weather

The picture above shows turf thinning on #15 green Seaside.  This is not uncommon in traffic areas on greens during very hot, humid weather.  The soil based greens on Seaside are MORE susceptible to thinning.  Things we do to help the greens survive are:  we aerified the greens BEFORE this weather event with 1/4" solid tines to release carbon dioxide from the root zones and let fresh oxygen into the soil.  We read a USGA recommendation and raised mowing height by .005 inch.  We also will use solid rollers on the greens mowers.  The rollers we use most of the year are grooved.  The grooves stand the grass up allowing for a cleaner cut.  The grooved rollers put a lot of mechanical stress on the greens.  Until the weather cools for the summer, we have put smooth 19 pound rollers on the Seaside greens mowers.  We have to give the soil greens every advantage to survive the harsh conditions.  We take a long term approach to management.  It is easy to maintain the same way during stressful weather.  We are trying to be proactive.  Smoothness will not suffer, but the speeds won't be what everyone would like.  In addition, the bentgrass and poa annua "puffs up" during extreme heat as a defense mechanism.  If the height was to be maintained at the original level, the greens would scalp and be severely damaged.  We have to be very careful with our chemical and fertilizer selections.  So now you have a little glimse of what we face when maintaining your playing conditions.  We also try to see problems before they become problems.