It's not secret that the clubhouse putting green has struggled this winter after looking so good going into season. Suspecting the problem has to do with something out of my control I did some investigation. Like most causes to problems on a golf course, it's the things that you can't see that get you and the clubhouse putting green is no different. Turns out that the putting green has excessively high counts of nematodes. A nematode is a microscopic worm (it looks like an earthworm) that feed on plant roots.
To confirm this theory, I had the University of Florida's nematology department do some analysis on some soil samples I sent in. They're count results showed large numbers of nematodes above tolerable levels. The results of the sample counts can be found by clicking this link Clubhouse nematode results .
If you are interested in more information on nematodes and their devastating power on golf courses you can find everything you wanted to know by clicking this link Nematodes and golf .
For the treatment of nematodes there are few options that really work and they usually involve some pretty nasty chemicals. Fortunately there has been some products recently released that work on a biological basis. Their focus is to promote the plant to help the plant withstand the constant attack from the nematodes, as opposed to dealing with the nematode directly. The clubhouse green has been treated with this new biological to promote a better root system. If we can grow some good roots, the part that we can see will take care of itself.
Interestingly though, when the samples from the Clubhouse putting green were taken I also had some samples from #7 green taken and tested at the same time. The sample from #7 green came back with a high count of nematodes as well. The difference between the two putting surfaces is in their maturity. As you would expect, the nematodes tend to have more effect on the lass mature grass plant root system. This is good news for us. Hopefully as the clubhouse green gets a full summer of growth and development the affect of the feeding nematodes will not be as apparent.
201300436 putting green Bermuda
MiniVerde
Lance Hoplolaimus 266
Root-Knot Meloidogyne 11
Diagnosis:
This crop is at high risk of damage caused by the nematodes indicated.
201300437 #7 green Bermuda
MiniVerde
Lance Hoplolaimus 319
Root-Knot Meloidogyne 4
Diagnosis:
This crop is at high risk of damage caused by the nematodes indicated.
I've been reading up on synthetic grass and turf because I'm thinking of having a putting green set up in my backyard. Right now, I'm just practicing with ball targets from http://shop.annestone.com/collections/putt-a-round indoors. I think that a putting green would improve my game.
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