GRASS RANGE TEES CLOSED UNTIL SPRING

The driving range tees are now closed for the remainder of the year and will reopen in the spring of 2016.  All driving range use is now limited to the mats only...this includes irons and drivers alike.

The desired turfgrass species on the range tees is Latitude 36 bermudagrass.  Bermudagrass is a warm season turf which means it grows very aggressively in the warmer months. The aggressive summer growth is the primary reason it was selected for your heavily used range tees, the divot recovery is very fast, much faster than any cool season turf like bentgrass or ryegrass. But bermudagrass is not perfect, during the cold months it goes dormant, growth completely stops, it loses it's green color turning a straw tan, and divot recovery is non-existent.

As a matter of fact, in our region, winter survival of bermudagrass is not a guarantee.  There are really two major concerns for your bermudagrass tee during the cold months, spring dead spot and winter kill.

Spring dead spot is disease that affects the plant's root and stolons but will appear in the spring in large, generally circular, dead patches of grass. (See image below) Fortunately, we have not seen spring dead spot at Chantilly National before but there are several management practices in place including raising the mowing height in the fall before dormancy, properly timed fertilizer inputs, and fungicides that are very effective, although not guaranteed, at preventing disease incidence.

Spring Dead Spot - a fungal pathogen that affects bermudagrass.  Generally appearing in circular patches.

The other winter challenge facing the bermudagrass is Winter Kill (below image). We have, unfortunately, experienced winter kill on your range tees the last 2 years. Winter kill is a tricky one as there are many factors that can lead to it's occurrence including too much shade, extremely cold temperature (specifically in the absence of snow cover which acts as a "blanket" slightly warming the plants), excessive moisture, and mechanical damage caused foot or machine traffic. In our case, the most likely cause is damage caused by use of the grass tee in the winter months.  The good news is that this sort of plant injury is completely preventable by closing the grass tees for the winter months and restricting all use, including drivers, to the mats.

Thanks for your help and understanding!

Winter Kill on bermudagrass - this tee suffered severe winter kill related to mechanical damage from foot traffic...the turfgrass was unable to recover from the damage and had to be re-sodded.