Beware of the Dog!

Hello and welcome to "The Greenkeeper"!  Today is Tuesday, August 16th and I am happy to report the Dog Days of Summer are officially in the rear-view mirror! I don't know about you, but this year's version was one of the steamiest I can remember and the data backs it up. 

I know it's been a bit since my last post so let's take a look at a brief refresher then move forward from there. You may recall June was hot and dry. In my last post I mentioned June 2022 was the 16th warmest all-time, including our first official triple digit high temperature in seven years when the mercury reached 101 degrees on June 23rd. And I also referenced the 1.59 inches of rain the entire month made June 2022 the driest since 2012, an entire decade. 

That pattern changed right around Independence Day when the golf course received nearly 3 inches rainfall (2.98") over a period of seven consecutive days. As my late grandmother would have said, "Dog Days are setting in wet this year." And she would have been correct.

When the Dog Days arrived the pattern switched from a dry one to an extremely humid one which fuel thunderstorms. I do not believe the dew point ever dropped below 70 degrees, which is very humid, and by the time July ended we had received nearly 6 inches of rainfall (5.98").

There has only been a single day where the dew point has not reached 70° or higher since June 26th in #Charlotte. That is why the cold front tomorrow morning will feel so great, dewpoint in the 50s for the weekend. #cltwx #ncwx #scwx #wcnc pic.twitter.com/yMG7YufNkM

— Brad Panovich (@wxbrad) August 11, 2022

What does all this mean you ask? Basically we went from hot and dry which are good conditions for managing turf when adequate or abundant irrigation resources are on hand (we used 5.5 million gallons in June), to hot and wet which are difficult conditions for managing turf as we are no longer in control of the water (only 2 million gallons were needed in July) and keeping up with the growth rate of bermudagrass is a challenge. We have applied more plant growth regulator this season than any other I can remember. 

Now, for those of you unfamiliar with the Dog Days of Summer or the term's origin or meaning it comes from the Romans. They recognized the star Sirius, also known as the dog star because it is the brightest star in the constellation Canis Major (large dog) will rise and set in conjunction with the sun each year. The Romans named the period for 20 days before and 20 days after this conjunction "dog days" after the dog star. The Romans also thought Sirius gave off additional heat due to its brightness and the extremely hot weather associated with this period. 

Canis Major

In our latitude this period typically occurs beginning on or around July 3rd and wraps up around August 11th. Many years it is not uncommon for our weather pattern to extend well beyond the definition of dog days, but this year they started and stopped nearly on the button when the dew point finally dropped to comfortable levels throughout the day during our recent Guest Day on August 12th! And the relief lingers based on this recent 10-day forecast:

WCNC, Brad Panovich

So what does all this mean for the golf course going forward? Well, the lower temperatures and lower dew points should make for better putting surface quality as the bentgrass can recover with overnight lows finally reaching the 60s. In fact we started lowering the height of cut today as the extended outlook indicates the worst of summer is behind us. 

But, even if the heat and humidity should return, the days are getting noticeably shorter and we are now just three weeks away from putting green aerification. Time to enjoy the last few weeks of summer and set our sights on fall.

In other news, our friends with Arborguard Tree Specialists were on site yesterday to finish up a project we started back during fairway aerification week. During our course closure in July they were able to remove several overgrown understory trees on the right side of Hole Number 1, beyond the right fairway bunker leading down to the corner by the greenside bunker. Yesterday they returned to prune the encroaching growth from the large oaks flanking both sides of the fairway, and the result is a natural appearing removal of 17 years of growth and overhang.

Before (May 20th)

After (Aug 15th)

My apologies for not capturing a better view of the before and after on the righthand side, but trust me, the next time you play the first hole you will immediately notice the difference. This will vastly help your game and our ability to grow healthy turf on this section of the golf hole. 

Now, back to enjoying the rest of summer and setting our sights on fall.

See you on the course,

Matthew Wharton, CGCS, MG