Dollar Spot Fungal Disease Devastates Golf Course Turf

Playing golf has been a big part of several lives here at Ashridge, until things like hip replacements and families and enthusiasm for gambling forced us to move on with our lives.

It is a tribute to golf course greenkeepers that I had never heard of Dollar Spot Disease, being blissfully unaware of the battle going on right underneath my feet.

When I say I had never heard of it, it’s more accurate to say that I had never recognised it as such. I have seen Dollar Spot in garden lawns plenty of times, assuming it to be a small patch of grass that was dead for no special reason, warranting no investigation.
It was simply a sign that aeration and scarifying were probably overdue, and that is the case for golf courses more than anywhere else: the owners and players want to aerate and scarify as little as possible, all while mowing down around half a centimetre every day or two.

What is Dollar Spot?

Clarireedia jacksonii is a fungal turf disease that severely affects golf courses and other closely mown, intensely used lawns.

• Identification:
  • Look for small, round, straw-coloured patches with reddish-brown margins.
  • Patches may expand and show fungal growths resembling candy floss, covered in cobweb-like mycelium.
• When Does it Appear?
  • Common during warm, moist conditions, particularly in late spring through summer.
• Affected Areas:
  • Can occur on any lawn area, particularly in under-fertilized or stressed grass.
• Management Strategies:
  • Cultural Practices:
    • Regular mowing, aeration, and scarifying to improve grass health and reduce moisture on blades.
  • Nutritional Management:
    • Balanced fertilization to strengthen grass against diseases.
  • Fungicide Use:
    • Products like chlorothalonil can be effective but should be part of a broader strategy.
    • Rotate fungicides to prevent resistance.
  • Resistant Varieties:
    • Consider overseeding with less susceptible grass types like Turf Type Tall Fescue and Perennial Ryegrass.
• Goal:
  • Prevent the spread of the disease and maintain a healthy looking, resilient lawn suitable for its purpose.