With the break in the
weather, all over the region golf course superintendents are breathing a
collective sigh of relief.
"Absolutely," said Stanley Zontek, director of the Mid-Atlantic regional office of the U.S. Golf
Association’s Green Section. "This break is what we’ve all been hoping and
praying for."
Although there are still a
couple of 90-degree days in the forecast for next week, golf courses and the
superintendents who care for them have made it over the summer heat hump.
"The worst is over," said Zontek.
This was a particularly
rough year, said Zontek, who spends
most days out int he field, consulting with superintendents. Finally, cooler weather first arrived a
week ago, about Aug 20.
It’s precisely what the
courses need, as shorter and cooler days and cooler nights jump-start the
recovery process. Golfers should
begin seeing noticeable improvements in their courses by this weekend.
"The grass will be greener,"
said Zontek. "The heat comes out of the ground and
the roots begin to grow. The plant
is starting to grow more normally.
Instead of seeing grass that is yellow and under stress, you will see
grass that is healthier."
Superintendents in the Mid-Atlantic region have a particular
challenge, because they work in the middle of a "major climatic overlap zone,"
said Zontek.
We’re too far north for hot
weather grasses such as Bermuda to thrive year-round, and too far south for
year-round cool weather grasses.
Most courses in the region favor a blend of cooler weather grasses, such
as bent, poa annua, perennial rye
and tall fescue in the rough.
Unfortunately, none of those
grasses do well when it stays too hot for too long, as it has been for the past
couple of months. Same for
superintendents.
"They’ve been under as much
stress as the grass," said Zontek.
Now, we can all look forward
to the two peak months for golf in the region, September and October.