How to Maintain Green Speeds

The same green can be perceived differently by two golfers, one who experienced a great day of golf and the other who had some frustrations. Yet, clearly the PGA maintains standards for golf greens. It is up to the golf course superintendent to build and maintain those greens for speed.

Weed Control

Typically weeds come in the form of crabgrass or goosegrass, but the population of weeds is easy to control with herbicides. Moss and algae can also become an issue when grass is cut too low. Turf machinery is used to raise the cutting heights of grass on greens, which can help safe guard against low-fertility rates.

Course Location

The location of a course geographically can have great effect on green speed. Locations that receive heavy rains can cause greens to soften. Cooler or hotter climates can produce turf that is unhealthy or struggles to stay alive.

Healthy Roots

Healthy grass roots have become increasingly important over the past few years as courses come to realize the value in preservation. In order to protect against stresses, like a Toro workman carrying equipment across the greens or a golfer who makes a divot and forgets to fix it, new techniques in root preservation are required. Breakthroughs in soil aeration, coupled with an increasing variety of fertilizers have helped increase tolerance to these stresses.

Final Thoughts

A green is only as good as the golfer perceives it to be, but there are definite steps a greenskeeper can take to maintain quality. If a course wishes to escape the bad reputation of slow greens, great care must be taken to preserve the grounds.

Author Bio: This blog post is sponsored by Global Turf Equipment, a worldwide vendor of golf maintenance equipment. Global Turf sells green mowers to groom golf courses, and equipment to assist in course maintenance.