Turf Management - Golf Courses

Golf Courses

The growth in the popularity of golf, combined with the large sums of money invested in a golf course has led to the development of turf management which is a term used to refer to the skills of maintaining a golf course.

The green, as opposed to the rough, is the principal area of concern. Many golf courses are now built in environments which would be hostile to natural grass cover and essentially the grass grows in a hydroponic or sterile environment with very fast drainage. This means that it has to be fed and watered regularly.

The key characteristics of a good green are speed and consistency. Faster greens are preferred and for tournament play the greens should be as fast as possible. To measure speed a Stimpmeter is used. The main factors influencing green speed are:

• Mowing height. Today 3 to 6 mm height. Due to the demand for faster greens, top courses are striving for even lower cutting heights. In the 1960s green mowers were not capable of cutting below 6 mm, today they can cut below 3 mm.

• Rolling. But excessive rolling will compact the grass.

• Topdressing. Helps with consistency and reduces thatch buildup.

• Frequency of mowing. During the growing season daily mowing is required, for faster speeds and professional tournaments greens may be cut twice a day or even double cut (two cuts in two directions one immediately following the other).

• Verticutting to remove excessive thatch, force the grass blades to stand upright, thin out excessive growth and speed up greens.

• Scarification to remove moss and stop the collection of moisture on the green.

• Grooming to reduce the thickness of clumps.

• Aerating to remove excessive organic matter, modify the rootzone composition, improve rooting and drainage.