After a dry spring and early summer, many parts of the Southeast have been saturated in July and August. With seasonal labor going back to school, this is a difficult time of year for golf courses to keep up with the aftermath of excessive rainfall. There are many maintenance challenges that come with heavy rainfall, saturated soils and cloudy, wet conditions. Here are some of the most common issues and ways to deal with them, in both the long and short term.
Bunker Washouts
Heavy rainfall can lead to erosion, sand contamination and standing water in bunkers. Recurring bunker washouts are a morale killer for the maintenance team and frustrating for golfers.
- Short-term fix: Patience and hard work.
- Long-term solution: Address the underlying issues causing the washouts. See our article “Making Old Bunkers New Again.”
Drainage Issues
Saturated soils or standing water do not allow maintenance teams to mow. This is exacerbated by increased growth after rain events. Standing water and saturated turf also impacts golf and revenue.
- Short-term fix: Patience and sound decision-making.
- Long-term solution: Improved surface and subsurface drainage. See our article “Enhancing Playability With Improved Drainage.”
Increased Disease Pressure
Unfortunately, most turfgrass diseases thrive in wet conditions. Pythium and soilborne diseases are a challenge, especially on putting greens and poorly drained soils. Preventative fungicide programs and accurate disease identification are critical to success.
- Short-term fix: Play defense and use effective fungicides on tighter intervals. See our article “Slow Grass Is Better Than No Grass.”
- Long-term solution: Improve drainage, reduce shade and improve air movement.
Breakdown of Preemergence Herbicides
Heavy rainfall encourages weed growth and reduces the efficacy of weed control programs. On top of that, it is difficult to make post and preemergence applications with saturated conditions. You may see a few more weeds around the course and may need to pivot your programs for a successful fall. See our collection of materials on turfgrass weed management.
- Short-term fix: Patience and careful timing of herbicide applications
- Long-term solution: Improve growing environments to promote turfgrass health and density.
Hurricanes and heavy thunderstorms are definitely a concern in the Southeast right now, and golf courses need to be prepared. Patience is important for golfers and maintenance teams when weather challenges arise. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to your regional USGA agronomist for support.
Southeast Region Agronomists:
Jordan Booth, Ph.D., senior director, USGA Course Consulting Service – jbooth@usga.org
Chris Hartwiger, director, Agronomy – chartwiger@usga.org
Chris Neff, agronomist – cneff@usga.org