Summer Begins
Following the summer solstice on June 21st, a significant heatwave is headed our way. Next week’s forecast includes four days hovering near 100 degrees. This intense heat, coupled with the persistent drought conditions that began this spring, will place considerable stress on both our turfgrass and our grounds staff.
Additionally, Monday night’s fast-moving storm brought radar-indicated winds of 60 to 80 mph, causing measurable wind damage across both courses. While both properties are covered in debris, the Farm took the brunt of the storm, losing four trees around holes 16 and 17. Because of this, a large percentage of our manpower has been temporarily redirected to storm cleanup. Despite these unexpected demands, we also successfully took delivery of a truckload of sod at each course for scheduled installation, making it an incredibly busy week for our team.
Protecting Our Bentgrass Greens: Understanding "Syringing"
The recent U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills brought a lot of discussion around a vital turf management practice called syringing greens. Back in 2004, several Shinnecock greens dried out so severely that green speeds became unmanageable, and the USGA was deemed to have "lost control" of the course. Learning from those windy conditions and sloped surfaces, USGA agronomists took the highly unusual step this year of pre-planning a syringing schedule during active play. This proactive strategy successfully prevented a repeat of the 2004 incident.
While this tournament may be the first time much of the public has heard the term, syringing is a daily, vital tool for those of us managing Bentgrass putting surfaces in the South.
What is Syringing?
Syringing is the process of applying light amounts of water to cool the turf canopy. It prevents excessive wilting during extreme heat or abnormally low humidity, when the plant loses water faster than its roots can absorb it.
- The Goal: Cool the leaf blades, not soak the soil.
- The Danger of Excess: Heavy watering does more harm than good. It can trap heat and effectively scald both the leaf surface and the root system.
- The Species: Unlike resilient Bermudagrass, Bentgrass is a delicate, cool-season turf. It is not physiologically designed to survive repeated 100-degree days with 75% humidity.
What to Expect on High-Stress Days
On most summer days, our staff can easily work around your play, causing little to no disruption to your round. However, when high-risk conditions collide with a busy course, our crew does not have the luxury of waiting for golfers to clear the green.
For syringing to save the turf, it must be light and frequent. On extreme days, you will see the following protocol:
- Crew Footprint: We will deploy up to five staff members dedicated entirely to cooling the greens.
- Frequency: Teams must spend 5 to 10 minutes lightly watering a single green, returning to repeat the process every 30 to 45 minutes.
- Play Interruptions: Occasionally, a crew member must temporarily pause play. They will remove the flagstick and quickly cool the surface before letting you putt.
We kindly ask for your patience and cooperation with our agronomy team during these weather events. A 1–2-minute delay for a light misting ensures our greens stay healthy, smooth, and alive for the rest of the season.
Farm Aerification July 6-10
Summer Aerification Schedule: Preparing Our Courses for Peak Performance
Annual aerification is a labor-intensive but crucial process required to keep our playing surfaces healthy, vibrant, and smooth. Once a year, our team pulls out all the stops to aerify all short-cut areas, including greens, tees, approaches, and fairways. Because our two properties differ in size and turf type, each requires a distinct timeline and strategy to ensure full recovery.
Here is what you need to know about this year's schedule and the logistics involved:
Property Timelines & Recovery
- The Irving Park Course: Being slightly smaller, we can complete the entire aerification process across all short-cut areas here in four days.
- The Farm Course: Because this is a much larger property, it requires a full five days of intensive labor to complete.
- Turf Considerations: The greens at The Farm consist of Bermudagrass. The ideal window to aerify Bermuda turf is during the hot summer months. We target this timeframe to allow the greens to fully recover by early August.
Holiday Logistics & Scheduling Changes
We typically schedule this heavy maintenance in late June to avoid conflicting with major club events. Historically, this places the work right before the 4th of July holiday, which is generally a quieter weekend at the club due to summer travel.
However, our schedule must adapt when the holiday changes the calendar dynamic:
- The Holiday Shift: When July 4th falls on a weekday, we aerify before it. When the holiday falls on a weekend, it does not take away the weekdays we need to complete the work. Therefore, we push the schedule until after the holiday.
- This Year's Dates: Since July 4th falls on a Saturday, we will officially begin our aerification process on Monday, July 6.
- Looking Ahead: You can expect a similar post-holiday schedule next year, as the 4th of July will fall on a Sunday.
Thank you for your patience and support as our agronomy staff works around the clock to protect and improve our courses.
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