Fall planning--failing to plan is planning to fail; there is still much golf to be played this year, but GCSAA Class A golf course superintendents are making plans to ensure that golf courses will be in top condition next year.

When one thinks of winter preparation, visions of irrigation systems, air compressors, leaf sweeping, and core aeration generally come to mind.

And while the type and scope of winter preparations differ for courses from Minneapolis to Memphis and Boston to Phoenix, there is a certain routine that accompanies the fall season and the march toward winter. It is important that clubs do not limit resources or put up a road block to what may be a minor inconvenience.

These omissions or delays may come back to haunt clubs because the results aren't evident until the following spring when the turf doesn't come out of dormancy like it should.

Turf on golf courses is injured or lost from any number of causes, including winter diseases (snow molds), desiccation, low-temperature injury, ice-sheet injury, and crown-hydration injury. Preventing these problems is sometimes impossible. But there are programs superintendents implement to reduce the potential for turf loss and to be better prepared to deal with it if it happens.

The following discussion outlines the various issues golf course superintendents face in preparing the golf course for the "off" season. Some apply generally to all courses in the country, while others might be considered only for more Northern golf courses. In all cases, the decision to implement a program is best left to the expertise of the superintendent.

Preventing Winter Desiccation

Desiccation, or drying, is among the most common causes of winter turfgrass injury on Northern and Southern turf. Winter desiccation is most common where soils are frozen, and on elevated sites, where relative humidity is low, where daytime air temperatures are above freezing, and when sunny, windy conditions prevail for long periods.

Traffic--especially golf car traffic--on dormant, drought-stressed turf causes further desiccation injury. Irrigation obviously prevents this problem, but it's not an option when the irrigation system can't be drained easily and quickly. Spot watering, using frost-free irrigation lines, or hauling water to crucial areas such as greens is necessary in many areas of the country.

If a course's turf areas are susceptible to winter desiccation, superintendents won't aerify late in the fall unless they fill holes with topdressing or unless the areas are able to heal before winter.

Some courses close sensitive greens and apply a 1/4-inch layer of topdressing to provide some insulation and to reduce evaporative water loss. Protective covers or blankets provide extremely effective insurance against winter desiccation, but they require close monitoring when disease conditions are optimal or when warm, sunny conditions create the potential for "baking" the covered turf.

Snow fences can be effective in areas where snow falls but is then quickly blown away. Some superintendents use pine boughs or needles as effective mulch coverings for exposed greens and tees. The best prevention for winter desiccation involves irrigation late into the fall (or into early winter), coupled with spot-watering of sensitive or crucial areas of the course throughout the winter and early spring.

Management of Winter Diseases

Among the most common--and damaging--of winter disease problems on cool-season turf are the snow molds. They occur under conditions of prolonged cold and snow cover and can be especially severe when snow falls on unfrozen ground.

Late-season fertilization doesn't induce or heighten the severity of the snow mold diseases. In fact, a good late-season fertilization program encourages spring recovery of turf injured by snow mold.

One option for superintendents is to remove early fall snow from greens if it's practical and if the ground hasn't frozen. This allows the ground to freeze and provides an opportunity to apply snow mold fungicides if it hasn't already been done. Another option is to remove slow-melting snow in the spring to enhance drainage and surface drying, thus reducing the potential for further snow mold disease.

While snow mold isn't a concern on Southern bermuda grass, spring dead spot is. Although the symptoms of this disease manifest themselves in the spring, infection of the plant probably occurs in the preceding fall. Superintendents can decrease the severity of this disease by reducing or eliminating late-season nitrogen applications. In addition, proper thatch management can reduce the severity of spring dead spot.

Turfgrass Mites

Mites often cause substantial loss of cool-season turf during late winter and early spring, which is often called winterkill. Superintendents can prevent or significantly reduce damage by clover mite, Banks grass mite, winter grain mite, and brown wheat mite with some simple management practices.

These mites cause little damage to cool-season turf in fall or early winter, but rapidly increase feeding and reproductive activity as weather becomes warmer in late winter and early spring. Because they're most active on drought-stressed turf, an aggressive fall/winter/early spring watering program largely reduces their populations and the degree of damage they cause. Once weather warms in the spring, most mite species become dormant (over summering as eggs) or less active and don't cause turf injury.

Winter Traffic Program

Traffic on golf courses during the winter is a necessary evil for many superintendents. Golf car traffic can increase the loss of turf from winter desiccation, snow mold diseases, ice-sheet injury, and crown-hydration injury.

Developing a comprehensive and strict golf car traffic policy can reduce the amount of winter injury while still allowing for player traffic. Superintendents should develop this plan--in cooperation with the golf pro, club or facility manager, and green committee--early enough in the year so that it's not a surprise to the golfing community.

Appropriate communication to golfers via the club newsletter, locker room bulletin board postings, and signage (for the course and cars) makes the transition from summer-traffic rules to winter-traffic rules occur more smoothly. The same type of decisions should be made with respect to other winter golf course traffic, including snowmobiles and cross-country skiing. The effectiveness of these programs--or their deficiencies--should be documented with photographs, allowing for sensible modification of traffic management programs in the next season.

Winter Spike Policy

Many Northern golf courses began instituting "no-spike" or "soft-spike" policies for winter play a number of years ago. This was necessary on courses that allowed winter play but didn't use temporary winter greens.

The value of "going spikeless" appeals more and more to golfers and clubs alike (superintendents need no convincing). The result has been a significant increase in the number of golf courses that are now spikeless year-round. If a course is not spikeless yet, instituting a winter spikeless policy might allow for a smooth transition to a total metal-spike ban. The golf pro and club manager should need little convincing, considering the amount of damage caused to golf cars, walks, floors, carpeting, and furniture. Of course, any policy of this sort requires the cooperative efforts of the superintendent and other appropriate course managers and officials.

Winter Tees & Greens

Developing a plan for winter play differs substantially for Southern and Northern courses. For Southern courses, this often involves the winter overseeding process. For most Northern courses, however, decisions must be made regarding the amount and type of winter play to be encouraged.

Depending upon the area of the country, courses cut in temporary tees and greens sometime in mid-to-late September or early October. The tee areas should be level and located in sunny areas where snow won't accumulate.

Similarly, greens should be in a relatively flat and sunny location. Superintendents are wise, whether using regular or temporary greens, to have two to three extra holes cut in the green for winter rotation of the flagstick, as it's often difficult or impossible to cut cups during the winter. They conceal the extra holes with round pieces of artificial turf until the flagstick is rotated to that position.

Winter Turf Health Monitoring

In late winter or early spring, some superintendents take cores of turf from areas of the course that appear to be suffering from winter-related injury. They place these cores in pots or trays in a sunny window (or a greenhouse, if available) to determine the extent of winter injury. Such simple testing allows superintendents to get a handle on how much of a problem to expect when things begin to green up in the spring. If turf is thought to be dead and in need of renovation, superintendents develop a plan of attack to remedy the problem in an orderly and timely fashion.

Further, the ability to detect a potential problem before it becomes obvious to the golfer (and to communicate this concern to the green committee or golf course owner) demonstrates the high level of expertise of the superintendent. He or she is often able to predict that turf will die, demonstrating an understanding of the potentially devastating effects of winter conditions.

Soil Testing & Fertilization

Annual soil testing is considered by most superintendents to be an important part of their overall turfgrass management program.

Having test results over the winter allows superintendents to analyze them more thoroughly and to consult with colleagues, consultants, and university turf specialists regarding changes or refinements that might be undertaken in next year's fertilization program.

Late-Season Fertilization

On Northern, cool-season golf courses, late-season fertilization encourages recovery of turf from the rigors of the golf season and from summer-related stresses. The use of quickly available nitrogen sources around the time of fall aerification enhances the effectiveness of the fertilizers and encourages rapid healing of aerification holes before winter. Superintendents are not looking to stimulate a lush turf, but rather a steady turf growth.

Superintendents make a late fall/early winter application of a more slowly available nitrogen source (natural organic or synthetic organic) that will provide nitrogen for the following spring. This type of fertilization program encourages healthy turfgrass rooting, reduces the need for spring nitrogen applications, and produces a stronger and more disease-resistant springtime turf plant. Late-season fertilization is not as easily recommended on Southern, warm-season grasses.

Drainage

Crown hydration injury and ice-sheet damage are important common causes of turf loss on the more Northern golf courses. While Poa annua is most susceptible to this type of damage, other turf species are not totally immune to injury.

When snow and ice accumulate in a thick layer over turf during the winter, the turf may suffocate as a result of poor oxygen exchange and a concentration of toxic gases under the ice layer. Melting and refreezing of water in late winter and spring can kill the crowns of turfgrass plants, which rapidly go from a green healthy appearance to brown in a matter of days. In both cases, the accumulation of water on fairways and greens is the cause of the problem.

Any efforts to enhance drainage--both surface and subsurface--helps prevent these types of winterkill. When significant thawing occurs, channeling of snow melt away from greens can prevent injury caused by subsequent freezing temperatures. The importance of adequate drainage in preventing winter injury cannot be overemphasized.

Pesticide, Fertilizer, & Seed Storage

Storage facilities for pesticides and fertilizers are constantly improving at golf courses throughout the country. However, many courses still lose valuable materials each year because of poor winter storage conditions. Materials that must be kept from freezing must be separated and stored away from those that can tolerate freezing. Turfgrass seed can tolerate freezing, but must be kept dry and in containers that keep out mice and other seed-damaging pests.

Conference Attendance

Fall is a great time to plan attendance at regional and national turfgrass conferences. Determine which conferences superintendents will go to, as well as those that assistants and other maintenance crew members should attend. Decide which optional/additional workshops should be attended--and by whom. Send in the registration forms and fees early to avoid late charges and to ensure enrollment in any special seminars or classes, then make any necessary travel arrangements, including hotel reservations.

Consider inviting the golf professional or club manager to attend all or part of a conference, giving them enough time to put it on their calendars. Schedule post-conference meetings with those who attended--and those who did not--as a means of sharing what was learned at the conference. Proper planning can make the winter a profitably educational experience for all.

Fall Planning Checklist

[check] Combat the effects of turfgrass mites through aggressive watering in fall, winter, and early spring.

[check] Reduce the amount of golf car traffic during the colder months.

[check] Create a "spikeless" policy during the winter to reduce course damage.

[check] If posssible, cut in temporary greens and tees sometime in mid-to-late September or early October.

RELATED ARTICLE: Standards are now part of the plan.

In 2001, GCSAA superintendents voted upon themselves a set of standards for achieving and maintaining Class A status. The association grandfathered all Class A members relative to entry requirements who were Class A members as of July 1st, 2003. Renewal cycles were then established for those same individuals. The first renewal cycle ended earlier this summer on June 30th. Those superintendents who have joined the association since July 1st, 2003 had to meet established entry level standards to achieve Class A status. These individuals will be required to meet ongoing standards to continue Class A.

Membership standards for Class A are based on a sliding scale of formal and continuing education, volunteer service, and demonstration of environmental stewardship (possession of a pesticide applicator license or successful completion of the GCSAA IPM exam). Renewal as a Class A member will be based on a point system featuring those same elements. Those who do not meet Class A entry level or renewal requirements are classified as GCSAA Superintendent Members (Class SM). Class SM members are not initially eligible for Class A until they have served three years as a golf course superintendent.

"What we have established is that to be a GCSAA Class A golf course superintendent, you must meet certain standards," GCSAA President Sean A. Hoolehan, CGCS said. "We have set Class A as the preferred membership class for GCSAA. It tells the employer and the golfer that GCSAA Class A members have made the commitment to engage in continuing education, volunteer service, and environmental stewardship to advance their careers, their profession, and their golf facilities."

This article was reprinted in part from Golf Course Management magazine.