Zoysia Grass and Aerification

Another true sign of Spring is the “green-up” or “transition” of the Zoysia grass fairways from a golden brown to green.  Some of the biggest factors impacting just how fast the transition of this warm season grass are; the duration of sunlight, soil temperatures rising above 70 and warmer air temperatures. Unfortunately, this year the Zoysia has been slow to transition, therefore we need to be mindful of golf cart traffic until the Zoysia grass is actively growing, which generally means after one or two mowings. You may have noticed this week the team has been rolling the fairways to firm, for both playability and to reduce the imprints from cart and walking traffic.

Recently, we were able to apply a selective herbicide to the fairways. The target weed; Annual Bluegrass (Poa) has been impacted by exhibiting a yellow color and will slowly die as the temperatures warm as noted in the photo below.

The putting greens were aerified last week and we have been fertilizing and rolling to help with smoothness and recovery. With a smaller team, we utilized larger and heavier equipment to complete the processes.  Unfortunately, this created some subtle and unwanted undulations. We were able to smooth the greens with a 2,500 lb asphalt roller. Hopefully, Mother Nature will cooperate and give us some much needed sun and warmth for both the putting greens and Zoysia grass to create consistent growth! 

Please pass along any feedback or questions to grounds@hydeparkcc.com

Thank-you,

Pat O’Brien
Grounds Superintendent