A punishing summer start threatens to compromise the health of putting greens on golf courses in the Sandhills as the season wears on.

Greens at a number of courses are already wheezing from June’s intense heat and high humidity. That fatigue is showing up as a range of diseases from summer spot to pythium root rot, which can weaken the turf cover and even kill it outright.

“Starting the summer like this could certainly shorten the period where greens are at their best,” said Morgan Stephenson, president of the Sandhills Golf Course Superintendents Association. “It’s going to be that much harder for that much longer to keep them hanging on until the heat breaks.”

Even in a normal summer, bentgrass, the fine-bladed cool season turf that many courses use to provide smooth surfaces on their greens, often struggles late July into August. By then, root systems often shrivel or die back in the baking soil. Afternoon thunderstorms that dump saturating rains add even further pressure. A compromised root system reduces the plant’s ability to process nutrients, leaving it all the more susceptible to disease and injury.

Several area superintendents have sent soil samples for testing by turf pathologists for diagnosis. Accurate diagnosis is critical in determining the right treatment, but little would help superintendents more now than some cooler days and nights.

July did arrive with temperatures somewhat lower than those June served up. Maybe that is a good sign for things to come, although the area and superintendents are currently enduring another heat wave.

The cooler first week of July was hardly a get-out-of-jail-free card, but it did give Stephenson and his colleagues across the Sandhills some small degree of reprieve.

“It’s concerning when we have to start babying greens this early in the summer,” he said. “So we’ll take any help Mother Nature can give.”

One method superintendents have to ease the stress on greens is known as syringing, a light hand-watering that cools the plant through evapotranspiration. Generally, Sandhills superintendents can hold off regular syringing until later in summer, but already this year many have had to send out squadrons of hose-wielding employees.

That can create hold-ups for golfers while staff members apply a turf-saving shower. But any delay should only be a matter of a few minutes, depending on the size of the green.

Stephenson said most golfers understand that syringing is actually in their best interests. But not always.

Recently, one Sandhills area golf course employee was almost hit by an approach shot from a golfer who refused to wait for the hand-watering to be completed.

“It wasn’t a bad situation, but there was a bit of a disagreement,” Stephenson said. “We never want to inconvenience a golfer, and most are very good about it. They realize we’re only doing it because it’s essential.

“But really, a golfer could kill somebody, and it’s certainly not worth that risk just to save a couple of minutes. Superintendents understand any delay is an inconvenience, but it really can come down to the grass needing that application right then or it will die.”

But syringing is only effective in certain conditions. It has limited impact on greens that may spend too much time in shade where trees or low elevation can also restrict air movement. Generally, they are the greens that show signs of weakness first.

Some courses use large fans to create air flow, but nothing beats natural air movement. On many courses, golfers can see proof of that by taking note of turf conditions on greens that are set in the open versus those tucked in hollows surrounded by trees.

Chances are, the healthiest turf will be found on the higher, more open ground.

By the same token, those greens tend to dry out quicker and, therefore, may need more hand-watering.

That’s when golfers can help golf course superintendents and their own game by understanding those three or four minutes are actually investments in the health of their course.