Common Winter Golf Course Pests and Disease Control Strategies

Your turf’s biggest enemies aren’t always visible and they certainly don’t take the winter off. While golfers stay home, pests and diseases are quietly working and undoing the hard earned care you’ve invested all year.

Quietly without your knowledge, they are continuously setting the stage for costly damage. Here, your turf could be in serious trouble by the time the season starts and if you’re not prepared. But fret not! DTE Golf® brings you today some of our essential winter golf course maintenance strategies that will keep your turf build resilience to all of it.

Understanding Winter Threats in Golf Course Maintenance

Golf Course

The winter months bring a unique set of challenges to golf course management professionals, demanding heightened attention and specialized care. During these challenging months, understanding the seasonal threats is crucial for developing effective control strategies that protect your investment and maintain course quality. 

To avoid the harm, Golf course superintendents must stay ahead of potential problems by implementing proactive maintenance programs that consider both immediate threats and long-term turf health implications.

Winter Pests to Watch Out For

1. White Grubs

White grubs can cause destruction of the turf where they feed on grassroots, causing thinning and weakened grass. These pests are very common in Florida golf course maintenance and can cause a great deal of damage, especially in warmer climates where their activity continues right through winter.

Control Strategy:

Use preventive insecticides, such as imidacloprid, in late fall to reduce grub populations. A regular soil aerating routine can also make these pests less likely to infest the area, promoting solid root growth.

2. Armyworms

Although armyworms are normally a summer pest, they can survive in milder winters and are seen most commonly in the Southern states, like Florida. This insect chews enormously on the blades of turfgrass, causing brown spots to occur.

Control Strategy:

Biological Controls: Use Bacillus thuringiensis or introduce natural predators, such as birds, to hold down an armyworm population.

3. Mole Crickets

These mole crickets tunnel into the soil, creating unsightly ridges in turfgrass roots and becoming a common headache in golf course management, particularly in sandy soils.

Control Strategy:

Apply insecticides specifically formulated for mole crickets in late fall when nymphs are most susceptible. Cultural practices such as deep irrigation can also deter their activity.

Common Winter Diseases to Watch Out For

1. Snow Mold

Fungi cause snow mold, which occurs under snow cover or in damp cool conditions. Snow mold produces circular patches of discolored turf that can mar greens and fairways.

Control Strategy:

Fungicides should be applied before the first snowfall. Proper mowing to reduce grass length by winter will prevent snow mold as it will improve air circulation.

2. Brown Patch Disease

This mycotic disease favors cool, moist conditions and can be highly damaging to overseeded turf. It produces brownish rings or irregular blotches on the turf.

Control Strategy:

Irrigation management: Avoid waterlogged conditions. Preventive fungicides that include azoxystrobin or chlorothalonil can be applied.

3. Pythium Blight

It’s a fast-spreading disease that produces greasy water-soaked patches. In golf course maintenance in Florida, it is a difficult challenge due to the fluctuating temperatures.

Control Strategy:

Improve drainage in affected areas and avoid over-fertilizing during late fall. Curative fungicides like mefenoxam can halt the spread if applied immediately after detection. It is crucial to learn about the various prevention strategies to avoid major expansion of the winter diseases and the damage they bring along.

General Winter-specific Management Protocols

Winter calls for specific strategies for effective results, the two most crucial factors are temperature and moisture. Additional culture control strategies can also be very helpful to deal with these issues.  Let us learn how to manage them to deal with diseases and pests.

1. Temperature Management

Golf course maintenance in winter requires careful attention to surface temperatures. Installing covers on greens can help:

  • Regulate soil temperature: Protective covers maintain more consistent soil temperatures, reducing stress on turfgrass roots. This temperature stability helps prevent winter kill and promotes healthier spring recovery.
  • Prevent freezing damage: Physical barriers protect crown tissue from deadly ice crystal formation during freeze events. These covers are particularly crucial during sudden temperature drops.
  • Reduce disease pressure: Maintaining more stable temperatures helps prevent conditions that favor snow mold and other winter diseases. Proper coverage also reduces moisture fluctuations that can lead to disease development.

2. Moisture Control

Proper moisture management is crucial for golf course superintendents battling winter diseases. Strategies include:

  • Strategic drainage improvements: Install and maintain adequate drainage systems to prevent water pooling and ice formation. This includes both surface drainage and subsurface systems to manage water movement.
  • Careful irrigation scheduling: Time watering to avoid creating conditions that favor disease development overnight. Morning irrigation allows adequate time for surfaces to dry before evening temperature drops.
  • Regular monitoring of soil moisture levels: Use moisture meters and visual inspection to maintain optimal moisture content. This helps prevent both drought stress and oversaturation issues.

3. Cultural Control Methods

Effective Florida golf course maintenance starts with proper cultural practices. This includes:

  • Proper selection of turfgrass: Select grass species adapted to local climate conditions and intended use. Consider factors like cold hardiness, disease resistance, and recovery potential in your selection of turfgrass species. Choose Bentgrass, Kentucky Bluegrass, or TifEagle Bermudagrass based on your climate zone and maintenance capabilities.
  • Maintaining appropriate mowing heights: Change cutting heights seasonally to encourage a robust root system and not cause undue stress on the turf. Taller mowing heights in the winter provide greater protection of the crown tissue and thus better insulation against cold damage.
  • Improving surface drainage: Set up and maintain adequate drainage systems so that water does not sit for too long, thereby causing disease development. Proper grading and regular aeration allow water to move through the soil profile with ease.
  • Increasing air circulation: Clear or prune plants that shade turf from the sun and impair air flow across turf surfaces. Good air flow reduces the retention of moisture on leaf surfaces, and disease pressure is lowered.
  • Managing thatch accumulation: Regular use of verticutting and aeration can control thatch buildup, which serves as a host for pathogens. A healthy thatch layer should be maintained to less than 1/2 inch to assure proper water and nutrient flow.

Cold Yet Calculated & Under Control

Winter does not indicate hibernation in the context of golf course maintenance. Vigilance against pests and diseases ensures the golf course owners or superintendents that come spring, the turf will be lush and ready for play.  If budget and time constraints permit, one can go further and implement advanced strategies like IPM (Integrated Pest Management)  for better results than general efforts.

Employing effective strategies tailored to Florida’s unique climate challenges, is key to staying ahead of these issues for golf course owners. A much more convenient way is to let professionals deal with the brain freeze that these winter issues bring upon you. 

Consider DTE

The clock is ticking on winter turf threats so don’t let winter pests sneak in and mess up your swing. DTE Golf® knows how to put hazards where they belong i.e. off the course!  Trust us to protect and perfect your fairways.Let’s get started by Contacting us right here !