By the time you read this update, the first significant heat wave of 2026 will have hopefully passed. But we will probably be looking down the barrel of another one soon enough. Periods of extreme heat and humidity are common in the Northeast during summer and depending on the duration of the extreme weather, superintendents might benefit from changing daily agronomic procedures to maintain optimal plant health during suboptimal weather.
Given the relatively short duration of this most-recent heat wave, superintendents probably didn’t need to upend their programs to get through a few days, especially with most courses in good condition at this point in the summer. If the heat wave were to extend for a week or more, then you would likely scale up your defensive practices to compensate for the long period of difficult weather.
One adjustment that is common during short periods of extreme weather is alternating mowing and rolling. Rather than mowing every day, or not mowing and only rolling, alternating the two practices for as long as the extreme weather conditions persist will maintain good green speed and ball roll while relieving some stress on the grass by not mowing every day. Research from the University of Tennessee found no statistical difference in green speed between greens that were mowed six days per week and rolled three days per week, and those that were mowed and rolled on alternating days (Strunk, 2006).
My guess is that since this first bout of very hot weather is only going to last a few days, superintendents will not need to make many changes and golfers will not notice any changes in playability. Yes, the maintenance team might be out hand watering or running sprinklers more often during the heat wave, but there isn’t cause for concern yet. If the same level of heat and humidity lasts for weeks or occurs later in the summer when grass has already experienced more stress, then more defensive practices would be prudent.
Reference
Strunk, W.D. (2006). Mowing and light-weight rolling of creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera L.) putting greens during summer heat stress periods in the transition zone [Master’s thesis, University of Tennessee]. Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange (TRACE). https://voljournals.utk.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3162&context=utk_gradthes
Northeast Region Agronomists:
Darin Bevard, senior director, Championship Agronomy – dbevard@usga.org
Elliott L. Dowling, regional director, East Region – edowling@usga.org
Brian Gietka, agronomist – bgietka@usga.org