Greenkeepers Q and A

[Neilds]

As it is a slow day at work I have been going through some (very) old posts on the forum. There was one started by a Green keeper who invited questions from the forum and it was a good read with some interesting views put forward. Are there any greens staff on the forum (real ones and not the clubhouse experts who think that just because their 2' x 2' lawn is kept pristine they are an authority) or could GM run something similar to the Ask the PGA Pro thread that is currently ongoing?

 

[nickjdavis]

I second this....what a great idea.

 

[Crazyface]

As it is a slow day at work I have been going through some (very) old posts on the forum. There was one started by a Green keeper who invited questions from the forum and it was a good read with some interesting views put forward. Are there any greens staff on the forum (real ones and not the clubhouse experts who think that just because their 2' x 2' lawn is kept pristine they are an authority) or could GM run something similar to the Ask the PGA Pro thread that is currently ongoing?

Great idea. Cor the questions that will pour in.

 

[clubchamp98]

I’m no expert but I worked for a sports turf maintenance company.
We dealt with anything grass related.

I was never involved with chemicals but know a lot of the old methods were banned under EU regs.

Each green keeper has their own methods depending on the type of soil.
So no answer fits all courses.

Great idea though.

 

[kp17]

This would be good

 

[D-S]

I would like to ask, if you wind the clock forward 10 or 15 years will most courses have the majority of their mowing work done by robot mowers?
Seems like a no brainer with some likely advances in technology.

 

[clubchamp98]

I would like to ask, if you wind the clock forward 10 or 15 years will most courses have the majority of their mowing work done by robot mowers?
Seems like a no brainer with some likely advances in technology.

We have some robots but the biggest problem with them is the battery life.
Ours only do the three holes surrounding the clubhouse.

They come in so often to recharge and use the same exact route that they are leaving big track marks around our 10th tee.
Might need to sort a variable route back to charge.

Imo there not big enough yet to cut a course when the grass is in full growing season.
But in the future who knows.

 

[Mel Smooth]

Can you level tee's in winter?

 

[clubchamp98]

Can you level tee's in winter?

Yes but there will be some subsidence this can be dealt with by top dressing and root zone before turfing.

 

[Viewer]

When is the best time for annual greens maintenance and what should (ideally) be carried out?

 

[clubchamp98]

When is the best time for annual greens maintenance and what should (ideally) be carried out?

If you mean hollow coring and top dressing it has to be done when the grass is growing.
So the grass covers the holes .

Lots of clubs did it in August years ago , but members didn’t like it.

So April and Sept/ Oct is the norm now
This depends on if they have their own machinery or use a contractor.

I have noticed some clubs just doing it once a year then just Fracking with an air2.

 

[Viewer]

I’ve seen a few do it already as digging up the greens seems a nonsense when the season has just got started or the greens finally good in September.

Isn’t it sand in the holes and not grass? Aren’t the holes to remove grass roots to replace with sand?

 

[clubchamp98]

I’ve seen a few do it already as digging up the greens seems a nonsense when the season has just got started or the greens finally good in September.

Isn’t it sand in the holes and not grass? Aren’t the holes to remove grass roots to replace with sand?

No the plugs are taken out to remove toxins that build up in a layer under the surface.
They also drain the top surface forcing the roots deeper looking for water so healthier grass.

It’s a bit early now but the holes won’t close until the grass grows.

The sand in the holes allow the grass roots to grow into the holes to cover the hole the root won’t grow into a void.

That’s the problem !
Some Golfers don’t understand why this needs doing and when it should be done.

 

[GreiginFife]

No the plugs are taken out to remove toxins that build up in a layer under the surface.
They also drain the top surface forcing the roots deeper looking for water so healthier grass.

It’s a bit early now but the holes won’t close until the grass grows.

The sand in the holes allow the grass roots to grow into the holes to cover the hole the root won’t grow into a void.

That’s the problem !
Some Golfers don’t understand why this needs doing and when it should be done.

Not to mention that it relieves compaction caused by the very heavy traffic greens take. If the soil gets to compacted the roots die as there’s no oxygenation and that creates the toxins.

 

[PaulMdj]

When is the best time for annual greens maintenance and what should (ideally) be carried out?

Re-read this when posting in another thread, doesn’t fully answer your question, but a bit of an insight to our Head Greenkeeper’s plan:

“In March we will again be looking at carrying out some deep scarification work on our greens using the "Graden". This machine continues to be the best deep scarifier on the market today, removing the build up of organic matter (thatch) down to depths of up to 40mm. This operation will be followed by using our sarel rollers to create a seedbed before overseeding with a bent and fescue mix of fine leaved grasses. Finally our greens will have a topdressing brushed into the surface to cover the seed and to restore surface levels. We've been using the Graden machine for the past few years now in the spring, as we've found recovery rates to be much faster compared to traditional vertical punch tining, especially going into the golf season when growth rates are usually slow. More details will follow in due course when a start date can be confirmed, as the work is dependent on suitable ground conditions in order to prove successful. If ground conditions nearer the time are still deemed too soft we will follow the same procedure using our own scarifying units instead of the Graden, which don't go as deep into the surface but also won't cause as much surface heave and disruption.”