What do you know about Weeds on the golf course?
Weeds on golf courses come in all shapes and sizes. They can appear on tees, greens and fairways, and in rough and native areas – they can even be found floating in water features. They are often unsightly, sometimes unplayable, and almost always unwelcome. Here are some key facts about weeds on the golf course that every golfer should know.
How do you keep grass green on a golf course?
Deep roots help the grass stay strong, lush and green. Fertilize Regularly. Golf course turf receives adequate nutrients from regular fertilizing. Fertilizers typically contain a balance of potassium and nitrogen, which helps the grass stay strong, even when it’s subjected to extreme temperature and heavy traffic.
How do you grow grass on a golf course?
Keep It Cultivated Golf courses use aerators to create small holes in their fairways, so water, air and nutrients can reach down to the grass roots. This helps the grass grow deeper roots and it also creates an opening to help it break through to the topsoil.
What are the biggest weed-management challenges on a golf course?
Golf course superintendents face an array of weed-management challenges in putting greens, tees, fairways, and roughs. Many weed-management challenges have no simple solutions, particularly those pertaining to peren- nial weeds like bermudagrass.
What do golf courses use to control weeds?
3-D Herbicide Excellent selective control of broadleaf weeds in turfgrass on golf courses, residential turf and sod farms as well as non-crop areas such as highways and rights-of-way.
How do golf courses keep grass so nice?
Golf courses use aerators to create small holes in their fairways, so water, air and nutrients can reach down to the grass roots. This helps the grass grow deeper roots and it also creates an opening to help it break through to the topsoil.
Do they use Roundup on golf courses?
Roundup is one of the most widely used herbicides in the world, and, in my ex- perience, is applied on most U.S. golf courses. So, when people raise concerns about glypho- sate's carcinogenicity — its potential to cause cancer — golf course superintendents are a particularly interested party.
How do golf courses keep grass so short?
To keep the grass so short on greens, special mowers are used. Golf course mowers are reel mowers, not rotary like most lawn mowers used at home. The reel spins and cuts the grass like a tight scissor cut. The cut height is set by adjusting the difference between the front and rear rollers.
What fertilizer does golf courses use?
What is Golf Course Fertilizer?Nitrogen. The N (nitrogen) of these three nutrients promotes healthy leaf and stem growth. ... Phosphorus. The P (phosphorus) of these three mainly helps grow the stem and the grass. ... Potassium.
How do golf courses get watered?
Golf courses use a variety of water sources for turfgrass irrigation including groundwater, surface water (lakes, rivers and reservoirs), recycled water, and municipal potable water supplies.
What kind of pesticides do golf courses use?
Chlorpyrifos. Chlorpyrifos is an organophosphate insecticide used extensively in the agricultural industry, as well as on golf courses, green houses, and as mosquito adulticide.
Is it unhealthy to live near a golf course?
"Anyone on the golf course or nearby is at risk. Finally, pesticides applied to the turf may run off into surface waters or leach down to groundwater, which can then expose people to contaminated drinking water. These people may live far from the place where pesticides were used."
Is it bad to live next to golf course?
One of the biggest concerns you may have living next to a golf course is a golf ball landing on your property. While small, golf balls can cause big damage. You can up your home insurance coverage, but that will lead to a higher monthly premium.
How often do golf courses water the grass?
It's better to water “deeply and infrequently,” Cutler says. About a third of an inch every two to three days is a good goal.
How often do golf courses spray?
To the casual observer, spraying greens every one or two weeks may appear to be overkill. However, short spray intervals allow superintendents to observe putting green performance throughout the season and apply products only at the appropriate time to maximize their efficacy.
How do you mow fairways on a golf course?
9:0515:52Basic Fairway and Rough Mowing - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipMake a slow wide turn to avoid scuffing the turf then line up your second pass to slightly overlapMoreMake a slow wide turn to avoid scuffing the turf then line up your second pass to slightly overlap the first by about three inches. With gang mowers move completely on to the fairway.
What is doveweed?
Doveweed is a late summer annual and you’ll recognize it by its blue to purple flowers and narrow, lance-shaped leaves growing in alternate patterns. It’s prevalent in the southeastern United States and prefers moist areas, which is why it likes to take up residence in golf course turf.
What is a kyllinga weed?
Like other members of the sedge family, kyllinga can take up uninvited residence in turf for years on end. Commonly called spikesedge, kyllinga encompasses both annual and perennial species. You can easily identify it by its sweet smell of mown or crushed leaves—but don’t be fooled, there’s nothing sweet about this weed.
What is goosegrass called?
Goosegrass goes by many names—wiregrass, stickyweed, Velcro weed, grip grass and silver crabgrass because of its silvery white color at the base of the plant. We’d like to add the name “Rasputin grass” to the list as this pesky weed grows above the cutting height and can lie down as mowers pass over, simply springing up again once the mower has passed. Prevalent throughout the U.S., goosegrass re-seeds with the wind so eradicating it is tough.
How deep is Torpedograss?
Underground rhizomes of torpedograss have been found up to 6 feet deep in soils, so it is a tenacious weed and very tough to control completely.
Why do nutsedges proliferate?
Considered one of the most invasive weeds, nutsedge can proliferate quickly due to tubers or small “nuts” that fall to the ground and lie dormant in the soil for extended periods. One plant can produce thousands of sedge-producing tubers, which is exactly why you want to identify and eradicate these weeds quickly.
Is dallis grass a weed?
This coarse, densely matted weed produces an unsightly clump in golf courses, making it as unattractive as it is annoying and potentially hazardous. Dallisgrass is drought and frost resistant and can be found throughout the U.S. The weed spreads easily, germinating in spring and summer and growing quickly as summer weather warms. Some dallisgrass patches can be a foot or more in diameter and like crabgrass, it can withstand mowing.
Can you use herbicide on putting greens?
As with any treatment, herbicide labels should be read carefully with attention paid to turfgrass tolerance and use restrictions. Many golf course maintenance products are restricted for use on putting greens and other low-cut areas, so be mindful when using these products.
What are the challenges of managing golf course weeds?
Resistance poses many challenges to effectively managing golf course weeds. First, when a weed population evolves resistance to a particular herbi- cide, all other herbicides employing the same mechanism of action are no longer effective. Take the acetolactate synthase (ALS) inhibitors, for example.
What is weed in golf?
There are many answers to the question “What is a weed?” but perhaps the most specific was offered by Aldrich: “A weed is a plant that originated in a natural environment and, in response to imposed or natural environments, evolved, and continues to do so, as an interfering associate with our crops and activities” (R. J. Aldrich, 1984, “Weed Crop Ecology: Principles in Weed Management”). When applied to golf courses, the definition offered by Aldrich communi- cates that weeds not only hamper aesthetic and functional turfgrass quality, but also that they are a product of both the natural growing environment and imposed maintenance practices. Successful weed-control strategies need to address both of these param- eters to be effective for a sustained period of time.
What weeds are in Bermuda grass?
Another weed that has become increasingly problematic in bermuda- grass putting greens is green — aka perennial — kyllinga (Kyllinga brevifolia). Green kyllinga has a similar appear- ance to yellow and purple nutsedge, but it can persist and produce flowers at mowing heights less than 0.25 inch.
What is the name of the seed on the sole of a golfer's shoe?
Annual bluegrass (Poa annua) seed on the sole of a golfer’s shoe. Photo courtesy of Robert Raley, M.S. has developed an online tool to help superintendents develop herbicide programs that rotate mechanisms of action to manage resistance when controlling annual bluegrass.
Can MSMA be used on golf courses?
Until 2019, MSMA can be used as a spot treatment — i.e., less than 100 square feet — for dallisgrass on golf courses (EPA, 2015). In tall fescue, several researchers have found that fluazifop (Fusilade®II) can be an effective tool to manage dallisgrass (Elmore et al., 2013).
Can weed seeds be tracked?
If left uncontrolled, weed seeds can be tracked to other portions of a course by golfers, equipment tires, or other means and result in situations where control becomes more chal- lenging — i.e., tracking from roughs onto putting greens (Figure 2).
Can you control crabgrass in fairways?
However, while numerous herbicides can control smooth c rabgrass in fairways post- emergence, the choices to control tropical signalgrass are quite limited. Often, it requires more than just selec- tive herbicides to eradicate tropical signalgrass infestations.
Features - Turf Health
From annual bluegrass to white clover, researchers tell us which weeds to expect this fall and how best to prepare for the battle.
Herbicide resistance problematic
Bert McCarty, Ph.D., professor of turfgrass science at Clemson University in South Carolina, says weed pressure throughout his area likely will be normal this fall. However, in the face of herbicide resistance, turf managers are having a harder time controlling annual bluegrass.
Rotation, rotation, rotation
Superintendents can rotate their herbicides from year to year, most importantly. Rotating will lessen the chances of resistance to certain chemistries.
Tropical signalgrass
While Poa is a fact of life in Florida, superintendents in the central southern part of the state also have tropical signalgrass to grapple with this fall.
White clover
It’s been a wet year so far in Dr. Nick Christians’ neck of the woods. The dampness will have an impact on fall weeds not only in his state of Iowa but elsewhere in the Midwest.
Nutsedge and kyllingagrass
In the Mid-Atlantic, it’s hard to predict which weeds will pose problems for golf courses this fall, says Elliott L. Dowling, agronomist for the USGA Mid-Atlantic Green Section.
Bottom line
A superintendent’s battle against weeds is perennial. But with wise judgment, effective cultural practices and attention to labels, greenkeepers can hold their own.
What is the process of removing plugs of soil from your lawn to relieve the compaction and introduce air, water
Aeration is the process of removing plugs of soil from your lawn to relieve the compaction and introduce air, water and nutrients to the roots. Dethatching removes the layer of dead and decaying plant material between your grass and the soil.
What are some ways to improve soil fertility?
More importantly, he says homeowners must ensure good fertility in their soil by introducing, among other elements, composted fertilizer and more exotic inputs such as kelp (seaweed), humic acid, and compost tea (simply a mix of compost and water).
Do lawns need phosphorus?
Of those three, experts agree the first one—nitrogen—is the most important. “Most lawns do not need much phosphorus, ” says Lyons, adding that, in general, “the last number on the bag should be about half to equivalent of the first number.”. Generally, says Schneider, use the same fertilizer all year long.
