Moisture Meter

Last fall we purchased a Field Scout 300 TDR Soil Moisture probe from 

Spectrum Technologies.  This article below shares exactly why we bought and use this piece of equipment.  

USGA Moisture Meter Article

Winter Turf Trials

Here are two article about our current winter conditions and how the abnormal weather is affecting the turfgrass.  

Marcus Jones
Assistant Scientist
Iowa State University

Iowa State Trial

Jim Kerns 

Turfdiseases

Course Conditons

What a difference a year makes!  Last year this time we had nearly 17 inches of snow and normal winter temperatures.  This last fall was the driest on record and we haven't seen much snow this winter so far. I walked the the golf course this morning and was surprised how little snow we had on the ground. It would be ideal if we had a some snow cover on the grass, but as of now these conditions are not hurting the turf.  What we don't  want is real sunny days and high winds which would most likely result in winter desiccation.Winter desiccation is the death of leaves or plants by drying during winter when the plant is dormant. Desiccation injury is usually greatest on exposed or elevated sites. This fall we applied a heavy topdressing on all 19 greens to minimize any injury to the putting surface.  We also covered some exposed tee boxes that have had injury in the past.  

The forecast for today thru Wednesday is unseasonably warm, so myself and the crew will be out on the course removing any water that is puddling on the turf because Thursday and Friday the temps will be in the single digits and this is when freeze thaw cycles can injure the turf.