As many of you are aware, the summer heat can be a bear here in the Inland Empire. We have been fortunate this year to have had a mild June, July, and early August with below average night time temperatures. (especially for this time of the season)
Our irrigation strategy is constantly being modified to provide the best possible playing surfaces and conditions. Many factors influence these modifications with some keys being ET (Evapotranspiration), wind, humidity, and temperature. Turfgrass varieties, soil conditions, sprinkler spacing, and trees also impact our watering procedures.
The Bentgrass greens and their deep, extensive rootzone allow us to stretch our irrigation cycles to greater lengths than say our Common Bermudagrass fairways and tees. We try to water the greens on a less frequent basis, but when the cycle is required, we water for long periods of time to drive the water deeper. The benefit to this deep irrigation cycle is two-fold. It flushes salts building up in the soil profile below the rootzone and out of reach of the plant. I hope this answers the question as to why on occasion the greens may be "wetter" and "better receptive" to low trajectory shots this time of the season.
On the opposite end, the cool season Ryegrass that resides in some shaded rough areas, requires more frequent irrigation. Soil composition and competition from tree roots factor into the irrigation philosophy in these areas. The difficulty with an older, non-single head controlled irrigation system like the one that resides at ACC is that providing enough water to certain areas means applying too much water to another. We try our best to compensate for these deficiencies. We appreciate your patience as we try to better perfect our water management.
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