Ask the Superintendent – Surviving the August Heat
Welcome to August and all it entails. This has been a year marked by weather extremes, and while we have run several versions of this article over the years, the question of how to thrive in the heat has been by far the most frequently asked question I have received over the last month or […]
Ask the Superintendent – ABCs of Aeration
Welcome back, avid golfers, and I hope that you all made it through the cold weather in good shape. While March can still experience cold weather, we start to see the days getting longer and there are some pretty good golf days during the month. It is also the time of year when we start […]
Ask the Superintendent – Spring Weed Control
With the new year well underway and yet another arctic winter blast in the books for 2025 (yes, this was also true in 2024), we have plenty of distractions in our day-to-day lives, so it can be easy to forget that it is spring//summer pre-emergent weed control season. If you are a loyal AVIDGOLFER reader […]
Ask the Superintendent – Winter Watering Guidelines
As golfers, we know that December 21st marks the shortest daylight day of the year and, after that, we start gaining a bit of extra daylight every day. That means more golf. This time of year, I usually am inundated with questions around the clubs, dealing with live (plant) Christmas decorations and how to choose […]
Ask the Superintendent – Fall and Winter Tips for Gardening
Welcome to November, avid golfers! Last year’s November article was so popular that, as I wandered the first tees and clubhouses of both big and small clubs, the very same questions or group of questions came up. As I try to keep things relevant and useful, I will be adding a few new insights over […]
Ask the Superintendent – Winter Weed Control
Congratulations, avid golfers! We have officially made it to September and the worst of the summer heat is behind us. This year has certainly provided us with some unpredictable weather extremes. Now I know we are all looking forward to some amazing golf course conditions this fall. I also know the last thing you want […]
Ask the Superintendent – Golf Course Maintenance
Welcome, avid golfers, to the August edition of Ask the Superintendent. It is customary this time of the year that I share tips and facts about working and playing in the heat, and I certainly want everyone to play lots of golf and work safely when you are outside. So please check the AVIDGOLFER archives […]
Ask the Superintendent – The Longest Day
Welcome, avid golfers, to some of the longest daylight days of the year! June is a great month for getting in at least 36 holes per day. Thus, the question that I get most often this time of year is when is the longest daylight day of the year? Most golfers are aware that this […]
Ask the Superintendent – Golfer Responsibilities 102
Since the earliest days of golf, this question has recurred, “What are my responsibilities as a golfer to maintain the golf experience?” This question is so big and so misunderstood that I reached out to my good friend at TPC Craig Ranch, Mike Kiesling, Director of Golf, to help us answer the question. It seems […]
Ask the Superintendent – GREEN Goals
Happy New Year, avid golfers! January is often a cold and transition month for all of us who maintain golf courses and green spaces. However, one thing that jumps out this time of year (did you set any personal goals or resolutions?) is that we are setting goals, planning the work and aligning the budgets […]
Ask the Superintendent – Winter Watering Tips
Happy Holidays, avid golfers! We have made it to the last month of the year and, as golfers, we know that on December the 21st we mark the shortest daylight day of the year. After that, we start gaining a bit of extra daylight every day, and that means more golf. This time of year, […]
Ask the Superintendent – Tips for the Avid Gardener
Welcome to November, avid golfers, and be sure to get in as much golf as you can before we have the dreaded first frost of the season which usually lands in mid- to late-November in DFW. That said, here is a reminder that if you walk on frosted greens, it will damage the greens. So […]
Ask the Superintendent – Maximizing Water Usage
We have arrived at the toughest, hottest part of the golf season and no matter what plantings and turf you have, you know that water management in July is critical for success, August is just around the corner, but smart watering now is paramount to protecting your green assets. This year has been quite a […]
Ask the Superintendent – How to Prepare Your Lawn for New Sod
Greetings avid golfers, and welcome to the 100+ days of fun that we call summer. For the detailed conscious among us, summer 2023 officially starts on June 21, on the longest daylight day of the year – or the summer solstice. You should most certainly plan on getting in 36 holes on that day, as […]
Ask the Superintendent – Summertime Success
Welcome back avid golfers. Can we all agree that it’s nice to see the month of May! We posted another Jeckell and Hyde winter with a Polar Vortex followed by dry 80-degree highs, followed by snow/sleet, followed by tornados. In summary, it was yet another tough winter on plants and green assets of both clubs […]
Ask the Superintendent – Taking Care of Your Club
Welcome back avid golfers and please note the arrival of the most anticipated month in golf, April 2023 is finally here. Yes, the Masters will officially start on April 6th, the DFW frost date passes on April 20th and we will celebrate Earth Day on Aprill 22. Golf season is here and now is the […]
Ask the Superintendent – Golf Course Living
Welcome back avid golfers, and I hope that you took advantage of the bits of good golfing weather between the deep freezes. We have arrived at that awkward part of the season when the warm season grasses are still mostly dormant and the weather is just starting to shift. But we are all ready for […]
Ask the Superintendent – The War on Weeds
Greetings avid golfers, and welcome to February! The North Texas weather has lived up to its reputation for unpredictability so far this winter. We held great color on the warm-season grasses late into the year; that is, until the polar vortex rolled through and gave us three days of below-freezing weather and a solid 11-degree […]
Ask the Superintendent – Tips to Get Ready for Spring
Happy New Year Avid Golfers, and welcome back to the monthly behind-the-scenes question and answer session that is “Ask the Superintendent.” January is often a time that we, as superintendents, look to evaluate the previous season, organize things (personally and professionally) and set a few new goals for the upcoming golf season. Last January, we […]
Ask the Superintendent – ‘Tis the Season!
It is finally December in DFW, and that means it’s time to decorate for the holidays. Some people and clubs go small … and some go BIG! No matter the extent of your decorating, there are life-long memories to be made this time of year, and the holiday decorations – whether at the club or […]
Agronomy – The Financial Landscape
Happy Thanksgiving Avid Golfers, and welcome to another fact-filled edition of “Ask the Superintendent.” It has been quite a year for the golf industry in North Texas, and we all have much for which to be thankful. This month’s question has bounced around the club for quite a while, and it has a lot to […]
Agronomy – Winter Landscape and Garden Basics
Welcome Avid Golfers to the post-summer celebration that has some of the best golfing conditions of the year, namely the month of October. Around the club these days, there is a lot of talk about how hot the summer was … this naturally leads to the obvious speculation of how cold the winter will be. […]
Agronomy – Growing Turf from Seed
Congratulations avid golfers for making it through another Texas summer! I know we still have to endure some hot weather in September. But the days are getting shorter and the nights are getting cooler, so soon we will arrive at some of the best playing conditions of the year. I received some pretty good questions […]
Agronomy – Surviving the Summer Heat
August is famous for being hot, Texas hot, and this year has given us many 100-plus degree days already. Even the Old Farmer’s Almanac recognizes the legendary dog days of summer to be deep in the heart of August. So it’s no surprise that the question I hear a lot around the club these days […]
Agronomy – Fertilizer
There is perhaps no more asked question and misunderstood answer in the history of the green industry than, what do those numbers on the fertilizer bag mean? It can certainly be daunting standing in your local garden center in a sea of 50-pound bags and staring at all those numbers in bold print such as […]
Agronomy – Tools of the Trade
What Tools Do I Need to Maintain My Lawn and Landscape? Welcome to the official start of summer (June 21 is actually the first day of the season). With the longest hours of daylight of the year, there is so much more time to golf. However, with the temperatures up and an occasional thunder shower […]
Ask the Superintendent – Summer Landscaping
Welcome avid golfers/gardeners to May 2022. It has been a tough couple of years for plants and gardens in North Texas. We are still feeling the impacts of a record winter storm in 2021 and January and February 2022 gave us several rounds of snow/ice and low temperatures in the teens. This has caused some […]
Agronomy – Can a Great Golf Course also be a Great Green Space?
Welcome avid golfers to the April installment of Ask the Superintendent. If you have followed our column for any length of time, you are aware of the many environmental strengths that golf courses have, especially in urban settings. April has always been a special month for golfers, but since 1970 it’s even more special as […]
Ask the Superintendent – The State of the Game
The month of March is often hit or miss when it comes to good golf weather. It is often a month of transition. We start to see the warm season grasses such as Bermuda and Zoysia begin to green up so as the grasses transition with rounds of golf played still on the rise many […]
Ask the Superintendent – Weed Control
Greetings avid golfers and turf fanatics! With the New Year well underway and plenty of distractions in our day to day lives it’s easy to forget that it’s Spring Pre-emergent weed control season. So as we enter the second year of writing the “Ask the Superintendent” column and after nearly 40 years of watching people […]
Agronomy – GREEN Goals for 2022
Happy New Year, avid golfers and I hope that 2022 exceeds your expectations in every area of your life. January is often a cold and transition month for all of us who maintain golf courses and green spaces. However, one thing that jumps out this time of year (did you set any personal goals or […]
Ask the Superintendent – What Exactly is a Frost Delay?
Happy Holiday’s avid golfers! I hope that you are finding time for some great golf as you enjoy the holidays but as for those of us who maintain golf courses especially in the transition zone (Climate Zones 7, 8) we are very concerned about frost damage this time of year. While any turf can be […]
Agronomy – What Does it Take to be a Superintendent?
Avid golfers are very aware of the importance that the role the Golf Course Superintendent and their team plays in creating excellent playing conditions. I have worked for some amazing memberships at clubs across the country and they often express how thankful they are for our team’s effort to keep the courses/facilities in top condition. […]
Agronomy – Winter Landscaping
The Fall brings us a lot of wonderful things. Things like amazing golf course conditions, cooler weather, colorful leaves and foliage, college and high school football and of course beautiful winter landscape plantings. Now is the time to make those winter annual and perennial decisions and not surprisingly the question that I answer most this […]
Agronomy – Controlling Winter Weeds
Congratulations! We have officially made it to September and the worst of the Summer heat is behind us and we are all looking forward to some amazing golf course conditions this Fall. The last thing you want to think about is turf/lawn weeds but if you don’t want to stand in a sea of Chickweed, […]
Ask the Superintendent – Summer Watering Made Easy
We have arrived at the toughest, hottest part of the golf season and no matter what plantings and turf you have you know that water management in August is critical for success. That leads to the most asked question to superintendents across the country this time of year, how can I make the most out […]
Ask the Superintendent – Heat Related Illness
There are a few things that are certain, and one of them is when it’s summertime in Texas, it will be HOT! July historically has brought us days with record heat and humidity, but when you are an avid golfer, professional greenkeeper or DIY landscaper, you still get out and enjoy the day. However, you […]
Agronomy – Weather Extremes and Your Landscaping
Every golfer knows that weather is a factor in all aspects of golf, especially golf course maintenance. North Texas golfers also know that the local weather is famous for its unpredictability and, so far, 2021 has set a few records for weather extremes. Which brings us to this month’s Ask the Superintendent question: how do […]
Agronomy – Summer Color
There is an old saying that April showers bring May flowers. But when it comes to flowers and especially summer flowers, which flowers are the best? We will cover a few basic tips, terms and horticultural facts that can help you make the most out of your ornamental efforts this summer. Then, as promised, we […]
Agronomy – Golf and Mother Earth
Since 1970, we have celebrated Earth Day on April 22 each year. That makes April the perfect month to talk about the connections between golf and the environment. Many golf courses, including my home course TPC Four Seasons Golf and Sports Club Dallas at Las Colinas, conduct Earth Day activities that show their deep commitment […]
Ask the Superintendent – Keeping Up Your Club
Since the earliest days of golf, this question has recurred, “What are my responsibilities as a golfer to maintain the golf experience?” This question is so big and so misunderstood that I reached out to my good friend and teammate at TPC Four Seasons Golf and Sports Club Dallas at Las Colinas, Mike Kiesling, our […]
Agronomy – No Need for Weeds
It’s still winter, but spring is right around the corner and spring is when we get the most questions and comments about turf. Usually, the first and most passionate questions evolve around turf and weed control, especially home lawns. Every turf-focused member and homeowner wants to know, “How do I control the weeds in my […]
Agronomy – Tree Pruning for the Amateur
Trees are an integral part of any golf course or residential landscape. Trees provide many benefits such as oxygen, erosion control, shade and habitat for a variety of wildlife just to name a few. Trees also come in a variety of shapes, sizes and characteristics. In fact, there are 319 species of trees listed in […]