Greenkeeping Questions?

[greensman]

Hi
Having been a Head Greenkeeper for many years, as well as a keen golfer, I have passion for golf and golf courses.

Most golfers wont realise the complexity of greenkeeping and inevitably common misconceptions can arrive, usually in the Club House bar… assumption is a greenkeepers enemy. Lets face it, we greenkeepers do some unpopular operations at times, aeration, cutting down trees and the like!

So to help those misunderstandings and frustrations you can ask me any of those greenkeeping questions you may have. I will do my best to response with fact.

I wait in anticipation.

Thanks

 

[RichardSanderson]

Hi,

Our club has some serious drainage issues on a few of our greens. I have always wondered why they don't dig the offending greens up (say one per year) and build a new green to USGA spec for example, instead of adding more and more drainage to it which seems to do nothing..

What do you think the cost would be for re building a green and how long would it take for it to become playable.

 

[inthehole]

What speed is it reasnoble to keep greens running at throughout the summer as opposed to preparing quick ones for a particular event. I know that it is not sustainable to cut greens very tight repeatedly as I understand that this usually leads to a number of problems. What is the function of rolling greens with the compacting/vibrating roller and how much quicker does this make them. Can you overroll greens? Greens that we play on seem to have had quite a lot of treatment through the year tining/ dressing, have not been cut very tight and have played quite slow compared to other years. I cant tell you a reading on the meter but downhill puts (normally treacherous) have been stopping ( almost unheard of ) and on other puts we have had to make more of an effort to get the ball to the hole. This has been particularly the case in the latter summer. I think that the greens could perhaps have been rolled a bit more or with more vibration? I am loath to openly comment because I dont know enough about the different techniques.

 

[Billysboots]

Great idea Greensman!

Our greenkeeper argues that the cost of preparing/maintaining temporary greens outweighs the cost of repairing damage to regular greens if they are played on in winter. As such, we play on our greens all year round.

Just what damage is done to greens playing on them in winter, especially in frosty conditions, and is he right to say that the cost of preparing temps makes them non-viable?

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Here is a brave man!!!! I guess the main problems we are having (as I see it) is with a large number of molehills and rabbit scraping appearing all over the course and with a huge number of stones in our bunkers. I actually think our greens, in Summer, are pretty good. Definitely not the quickest around but very true for a well used private club I'm not sure you can ask for more. I do think our greenstaff do a pretty good job although I'm disappointed they hollow tined before Masters weekend and members/guest day (6th and 12th Sept respectively) and thought they could have waited a little longer to do the work. I understand why they did it but feel it was a timing issue.

 

[greensman]

Wow, brilliant questions.

Firstly Richard.

To build a USGA green to full spec cost around 25k, so it may be a matter of cost. I would only consider building a new green if the rootzone / soil was poor. If you can relieve the drainage problem by adding some additional drainage that this would be my first port of call, sometimes the drainage takes times to work properly so a bit more time may see better results. The biggest problem with a new build is the time it takes to become ‘fully’ playable. You can play on a new green in less than a year, however they never really settle and play well until a few years later.

Inthehole, good question. Greenspeed is an emotive subject and I know from experience the last few, wet, summers have resulted in slower greens. I aim to have my greens around 8 - 9 ½ ft for summer and around 7ft for winter. This is perfectly achievable without cutting very low. Scientific research has shown that cutting below 4mm will have detrimental effects on the grass and roots. This will cost your club both economically and with the extra chemical, water and fert it cost environmentally. But more importantly, this is greenkeeping on a knife-edge; it’s a gamble that I feel is not worth taking. I agree that rolling and brushing improves speed, do this will regular aeration and a light top-dressing and the speed should be acceptable, another point is to have very sharp cylinder blades.
More important than speed is smoothness, with slower greens we can hit a little harder but the ball should roll as smooth as possible and when stuck correctly it should not deviate, snake or bobble. So repaired those pitch marks!

Billyboots, temps, I agree with your greenkeeper as I have the same philosophy. However, every course is different, some greens suffer much more during frost and winter rain. Horses for courses I suppose, excuse the pun!

Simpson, maybe your club needs to improve its pest control contract. I doubt your greenkeeper will do this. Rabbits are a particular pain, research has shown that one breeding pair of rabbits and the offspring are capable of producing thousands of rabbits. They certainly need to be controlled.
As for timing, I also get frustrated with poor timing around fixtures. This is normally the mach and handicap’s committee fault as I have a maintenance week set before the fixtures come out and hey presto they put a major comp in the fixtures straight after. But we must also work with the weather and with the club. Difficult compromise as Mother Nature is very unpredictable.

I hope that all makes sense, if not I will be glad to go into more detail.

Keep the questions coming!

 

[Robobum]

Why do you have to have a pre booked maintenance period?? Is it not possible to do this progressivley over the whole year??

 

[haplesshacker]

Whilst not directly related to green-keeping per se.

I get the impression sometimes, from lisening to what other golfers say at the 19th and in the car park, that being a green-keeper is a thankless task. Nothing but golfers moaning about this, that and the other. Not all, but some.

How do you guys derive your job satisfaction? What makes it all worthwhile?

 

[EaseNgrace]

I'd like to know, how do you get a job as a greenkeeper? Is there any specific qualifications you need? Are there many jobs available ?

I'd love to be a greenkeeper, I love golf and I love gardening and the outdoors, early mornings etc.

 

[bunkered]

Do you switch the dew of the greens before you cut them in the morning.

 

[Screwback]

What in your opinion is a head greenkeepers biggest challenge in keeping the course tip top throughout the year??

 

[Imurg]

Can you give us the definitive answer to this question?

Does playing on frozen/frosty greens do lasting damage.
I've heard yes and no from various sources.

 

[drawboy]

This post is quite possibly the best one I have ever read on here, well done Greensman. I think it would be worthy of a whole section to itself. What does everyone think? it would be brill to have a willing greenkeeper on hand to advise and where needed to defend greenkeepers. We all know they do a fab job but as pointed out we don't really know what they get up to and why.
Well done for suggesting this post. I look forward to asking many questions.

 

[Spoff]

I agree drawboy, maybe worth an article in the mag sometime soon also?

 

[greensman]

Why do you have to have a pre booked maintenance period?? Is it not possible to do this progressivley over the whole year??

Most courses aerate regularly, we use non-disruptive slits and tines almost weekly. This is essential to keep the greens healthy, however sometimes its essential to de-compact or remove thatch by using a more disruptive measure. This is done bi-annually and as you all know, this can leave the putting surface rather poor for a few weeks.
This in mind we have a set week to do this operation and it is set in the fixture book, this way everyone is aware and major fixtures and comps can be avoided. I also feel that it can be embarrassing when a member invites friends or colleagues to play, to show of our great course and the greenkeeper has destroyed the greens.

What is important is that regular aeration is excepted by golfers, its probably the most important operation we do to keep your greens in good condition.

 

[greensman]

Whilst not directly related to green-keeping per se.

I get the impression sometimes, from lisening to what other golfers say at the 19th and in the car park, that being a green-keeper is a thankless task. Nothing but golfers moaning about this, that and the other. Not all, but some.

How do you guys derive your job satisfaction? What makes it all worthwhile?

Sadly this is very true, sometimes we need skin like a rhinoceros.

But like you say, its not all golfers, just those who shout the loudest, the 5% can make a lot of noise sometimes. This is why its important to have good communication at your club and gather a broad spectrum of opinions.

Job satisfaction comes from the other 95% and also greenkeeping is a close nit community. We do a lot of networking, we attend seminars together, golf days and have our own (very popular) forum sites. Its true that every greenkeeper receives the same criticism, no matter how good they are. Even the very best and the very best clubs, so if its good for the very best greenkeepers, its good enough for me … we just have to accept misapprehension is part of the job.

But lets face it, I have a brilliant job!

 

[greensman]

I'd like to know, how do you get a job as a greenkeeper? Is there any specific qualifications you need? Are there many jobs available ?

I'd love to be a greenkeeper, I love golf and I love gardening and the outdoors, early mornings etc.

Your best contacting your nearest Agriculture college, they are all over the UK and they will help.

It also depends on your age and willingness to start at the bottom. Although greenkeeping holds the same qualifications as most trades, NVQ, HND, etc experience is by far the most important. It takes many years to achieve the relevant skill level. You could contact David Golding from the GTC, greenkeeping training committee for further advise. http://www.the-gtc.co.uk/

Good Luck

 

[greensman]

Do you switch the dew of the greens before you cut them in the morning.

Ideally yes, but sometimes we don’t have the time.

We have just purchased a brush that fixes in front of our mower, this brush removes the dew before we cut, also lifts the grass up so we can achieve a cleaner cut. Cost around £1500 but well worth it.

 

[mancity101]

Thanks for the offer of questions and answers, great idea.
Last autumn our greenstaff hollow-tined the greens, but didnt, i suspect, back fill/feed enough to cover the holes, as a result we had "bobbly" greens through the summer which were slow, as he didnt cut them short, to prevent the holoow-tined holes being evident. This autumn he again has hollow-tined - 2 weeks ago approx, but as yet hasnt back filled or dressed them, just layers of what appears to be sand....is this sufficient or are the greens to use a golf term buggered?
We also have a disease on 2 or 3 greens I think it is called fuserian? is that terminal?

Many Thanks

 

[greensman]

What in your opinion is a head greenkeepers biggest challenge in keeping the course tip top throughout the year??

Great question, got my grey matter thinking on this one!

We have so many challenges, but if I was to pick one it would probably be Consistency, plus growing expectations.

We work with Nature, the weather, pest and disease all are very unpredictable. Just when you think the course is at its best… bam, we have another problem or the weather changes.

One mistake greenkeepers keep making, is trying to beat Nature, we will never win! Like all women Mother Nature is far superior than us meagre men.

We also have the growing problem of legislation change, once chemical, fertiliser and water was easily applied to fight our problems. Now we rely on other controlling / preventative measures