Supers and Turf Specialists to Study "Winterkill"

Steve Thys, superintendent of Worcester Country Club in Massachusetts offloads turf temperature data from a data logger.

A group of golf course superintendents in the Northeast and turf specialists from the University of Massachusetts have begun a multi-year research effort to identify specific factors leading to winter-related creeping bentgrass and annual bluegrass injury. The group seeks to determine the best fall management practices to prevent winterkill.

"Traditionally, winterkill is something we'd experience to some degree every few years," says Tedesco Country Club superintendent Peter Hasak, who is spearheading the project. However, over the last three years he says many courses "got hammered."

Winterkill can be caused by turfgrass fungi, ice damage and desiccation.

"Our protocol will require that each superintendent monitor turf canopy temperatures and air temperatures using data loggers and send us turf samples on an ongoing basis," explains Mary Owen, one of the participating UMass turf specialists.