Mole Cricket? What The Heck is a Mole Cricket?

My favorite time to be on the golf course is just before sunset. Things are quiet and peaceful. The low angle of the sun casts long shadows adding a unique perspective not experienced during the middle of the day. It's a great opportunity for reflection.

   #3 Green in the Evening

I spent Monday evening on the grounds at Isla treating for mole crickets. Not a lot of time for reflection on Monday but still enjoyable. What's a mole cricket you ask? The best answer I can give is it's a really nasty insect. My son describes it as the spawn of the devil. Either way, mole crickets are not welcome guests on the golf course. They damage turfgrass through tunneling as well as eating the grass itself. If left untreated, mole crickets will destroy a large area of grass in very little time. Fortunately, we preventatlvely treat for mole crickets each spring which minimizes the damage throughout the year. This time of year we get adult mole crickets that fly in from elsewhere as last year's preventative application wears off. As we scout mole cricket activity, we selectively treat those areas before problems arise. Since mole crickets are primarily active at night we apply our treatments late in the day to increase the effectiveness.

   This is a Mole Cricket

   Early Stages of Mole Cricket Activity

   Long Shadows on #8

Spring Has Sprung!

Turning the calendar to March brought with it a significant change in the weather. Temperatures have been in the high 70's and low 80's for most of the past 10 days, and we have seen a lot of sunshine. This weather is welcome following a cool, wet February. The grass certainly has noticed the change in weather as well. With the warmer temperatures the grass has started actively growing again. This is most noticeable in green speed and grass clippings. 

Healthy Growing Grass on 15

During the winter months a conservative maintenance program for the greens is implemented to ensure their health and ability to withstand traffic. Because the grass is not actively growing in the winter, it is easy to achieve faster green speeds at a higher height of cut simply by mowing and rolling without any additional cultural practices. As the temperatures and daylight increases, the grass growth also increases causing green speed to decrease. To maintain faster ball roll we adjust our maintenance program by lowering the height of cut, altering the chemical and fertilizer program and increasing mowing, brushing, grooming and verticutting practices. Yes, we do mow the greens everyday and have even started double-cutting on select days. We make small adjustments to the program every couple of days to ease the greens into the more aggressive warm-weather management program in order to protect the health of the grass. While slightly slower speeds may have been experienced, the ball continues to roll true and roll out.

14 Green

The wet winter weather experienced in January and February encouraged weed germination and growth. Fortunately, most of these weeds were located on the outskirts of the golf holes. The grounds maintenance department has been actively spraying weeds. Recently you may have noticed some of the them turning yellow. These weeds should wither and die quickly. The actively growing bermudagrass should quickly fill in where the weeds have died. 

Dollar Weed on the Right of #16

The front of #1 white tee and the back of #1 red and gold tees have fallen casualty to a lack of sunshine. The grass has thinned due to shaded conditions along with increased dampness and traffic during the winter season. Sod will be delivered on Thursday to repair these areas. We won't be able to play off the sod until established, but there is plenty of quality grass remaining on these tees and the sod should greatly enhance their appearance. Sod will also be laid on the newly extended slope on the lake on #15.

#1 Tee

#15 Lake Bank