Turf Grass Roots Need Equal Amounts of Air and Water to Prosper

Too much water, from constant rains, saturates the soil and pushes the air right out of the ground which creates a very unhealthy situation for the turfgrass roots. Turf roots need an equal amount of air and water to grow properly, when saturated conditions persist, the roots die back and consequently the grass can no longer take routine foot or vehicle traffic without thinning out. The month of June, with its nearly 11" of rain, created this anaerobic (without oxygen) condition in the soil beneath our turf and has caused some thinning, particularly in some of our new fairway areas adjacent to fairway sand bunkers. We have flagged some of these areas off so golf car traffic and mowing vehicles stay off them until recovery is achieved. We will use special equipment that will relieve compaction in these areas and allow a pathway for air to reenter the soil. As the turf and soil in these areas mature the wear will be less of an issue.