Sunday, January 20, 2013

Winter Greens Rolling

One of the best tools superintendents have to maintain firm, smooth putting greens is a dedicated roller.  This unit can be used after, or instead of, mowing to keep greens speeds consistent throughout the year.  During the winter time, this roller is especially useful.  The greens typically do not grow that fast, so mowing is very infrequent.  Typical Oklahoma winters, frosty mornings followed by warm afternoons, tend to cause the greens to freeze and thaw each day.  This can leave them somewhat soft and prone to footprints.  The roller is used to iron out the footprints and imperfections.  I think that most people think that greens rollers compact the soil.  This machine is considered a lightweight roller that doesn't compact the soil, it merely smooths the surface.  The picture below shows the clear benefit of this process.  The left side has been rolled and the right side has not.  As you can see, the roller can have a huge impact on putting conditions.

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