At the risk of claiming the mantle of Captain Obvious ... it's hot out there. Wild, crazy, breathtakingly hot.
How hot? Well consider this map, posted this morning by NOAA and the National Weather Service that shows all of the active heat advisories and excessive heat warnings in effect in the United States. Combined, those advisories and warnings cover nearly 1 million square miles of the country and are impacting more than 141 million United States residents. So, yeah, it's hot out there.
And among those residents trying to find their way through this heat wave are, of course, golf course superintendents. With last year's rugged summer weather still fresh in their memories, superintendents in these affected areas are on full alert, keeping hoses handy and their eyes on their golf courses for the slightest signs of stress or disease pressure.
And, increasingly, they're turning to each other through social media tools like Twitter for advice and support as this long stretch of unbearably hot weather sets in. A trip over to Twitter and a search for the hashtag #whosgotmyhose (clever, fellas) turns up a whole host of updates on how golf courses are dealing with the heat. It is serving, in essence, as a virtual support group for superintendents who are all operating with just one thing in mind right now — keeping their golf courses alive. A few of the Tweets on the subject are posted here, but I really suggest following the link above to check out the conversations online — interesting stuff.
GCSAA also has tools that can help superintendents who find themselves under the gun during this heat wave. The association has created a heat stress resources page that includes articles, videos, links and webcasts that all touch on the topic of heat and its impact on turfgrass. It's valuable information that not only during the day-to-day battle to keep turf going through the heat, but also in conversations with golfers and club members about how this kind of weather impacts turfgrass and why superintendents do what they do at this time of year.
Let us hear some of your stories from this most recent blast of red-hot weather in the comments field below. We'll share some of the best in an upcoming issue of the magazine.
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