USGA article

Below is an article written by Charles "Bud" White, the Mid-Continent Director for the USGA. In this article, it explains all of the negatives associated with the decrease in putting surface heights during the summer stress time periods. It also promotes increasing the putting surface height just slightly going into these time periods,as it can prove to be beneficial as it relates to managing bentgrass in the southern transition zones of the United States.

 

THE  CUTTING HEIGHT  DILEMMA           
       Finding the right balance.

BY CHARLES “BUD” WHITE

In the last few years, there has been an ever-increasing demand for faster putting green speeds on golf courses throughout the United States. Brought on in large part by “TV golf” or tournament golf, the general public now wants to play under the same conditions as the professionals.

During my USGA Turf Advisory Service visits, I am often informed of how golfers played on 12' or 13' Stimpmeter® speeds during an event and loved it. The fact is, these golfers were probably playing on greens that may have been about 11' on the Stimpmeter,® but they thought or were told that greens were at speeds of 13'.

Bottom line, the average golfer would three-putt or four-putt with those speeds. This need for speed has brought on a new set of problems because superintendents are reducing cutting heights to achieve these increased speeds.

In the last 10 to 12 years, we have seen  a shift in putting green maintenance, where the average cutting height at many courses has gone from 5/32" (0.155) to less than 1/8" (0.125). Some courses are even at the 0.085" to 0.090" range. At these extreme heights, there is virtually no leaf area left, and the turf is in significant physiological stress all the time.

Root development and turf health are directly related to cutting height — the lower the cutting height, the less root development. The shift in putting green management causes undue and often unbearable stress and strain on the turf.

Literally, it is management on a razor’s edge, and it is a major reason why we have a large increase in disease and fan use on bentgrass greens in the South over the last several years. Golfers often tell me that 15 years ago the greens were just fine. Now these greens can’t survive without fans, and golfers want to know why. Quite simply, the decrease in cutting height has caused increased stress on the grass.

I refer you to a Green Section Record article authored by Dr. Bingru Huang, Burning the Candle at Both Ends, which clearly points out the dramatic difference in turf health by simply raising the cutting height 1/32" during the summer stress periods. This basic, grass-roots research summarizes most of the turf health problems we are experiencing and where this lowered cutting height on greens has led us as an industry. In addition to increased use of fans, we have also seen a greater negative impact from tree shade and root com- petition.

Shade imposes stress on turf at lower cutting heights because of less turf leaf area and a reduced ability to photosynthesize in reduced-light environments. Even concentrated foot traffic, such as the ingress and egress points on greens, has a much greater impact due to this reduction in leaf area and turf health. A slight raise in cutting heights to moderate levels would still maintain greens at a very acceptable level of speed and quality during the times of summer stress yet would minimize most problems and eliminate many.

Superintendents are using alternative measures, such as alternating mowing and rolling during the summer to reduce stress. In my experience, there is no reason that a golfer at any level cannot enjoy an average daily speed of 9' to 10' during the summer stress and still have a challenging game. If a golfer insists he must have 11' or more on an average day to have a quality putting green, then he or she has missed the whole purpose of the game and is not concerned about course health whatsoever.

The cutting height dilemma on U.S. golf courses has gone way past the reality mark and is creating impossible growing conditions for many courses. Golf courses cutting below 1/10" have found that raising the cutting heights above this level can actually produce greater putting quality and speed by utilizing other grooming techniques, because there is more leaf tissue to work with during the grooming process. There is definitely a point of diminishing returns once the cutting height drops below 1/8". With luck, golfers can be educated to understand what these excessively low cutting heights do to the turfgrass, and then they may be more realistic in their demands. The summer of 2010 taught many a lesson the hard way. Reasonable cutting heights, when balanced with other grooming techniques, will not reduce the quality of greens, can actually enhance the golfing experience, and can do so without putting speed reductions.

BUD WHITE is the director of the Green

Section’s Mid-Continent Region.

#8 Bunker Renovation

Earlier this week the maintenance staff finished the bunker renovation on #8.  The new drainage was installed as well as the new bunker sand.  This area will remain ground under repair for a week, or so, until the sod is fully established.  Once the sod is established, it will be mowed and the bunker complex can be opened.

Greens aeration

The turf team has been hard at work since Monday aerating the greens.  We completed the front nine greens Monday and the back nine greens Tuesday.  The last two days have been spent cleaning off excess sand and  rolling greens to make sure the the putting surface is smooth and consistent.
Although golfers seem to understand that greens aeration is necessary, we still want to get the greens back to their original condition as soon as possible.  For those that aren't sure exactly what aeration is or what the process looks like, I've included some pictures to help explain the process.
To start the process we double verticut (de-thatch) the greens and blow off the debris.  Then we mow them to clean them up further.  Once this is done, we begin pulling cores with the aerifier.

The aerifier pulls cores at a specific width and spacing to remove as much organic matter as possible.

Once the cores are pulled, the harvester comes through and picks them up.  Any remaining material is then blown off to get the green ready for topdressing.

The topdressing sand is broadcast onto the green at a specific thickness to be sure that enough sand is there to fill all the holes.

After the topdresser is finished, and the sand is dry, a mower fitted with brooms brushes the sand into the holes and removes any excess off the green.

Here are a few pictures of the finished product.  Our goal is to make it so that only when you walk onto the green can you tell that they've been core aerated.

If you have any further questions or would like to learn more about the process please feel free to contact me.

 

#8 Bunker Renovation

On Monday, the maintenance staff started the last bunker renovation of the off-season on #8.  The bunkers on #8 were very old and in sad shape.  The little amount of sand we had in them was contaminated with rocks and soil.  The new design will minimize labor while enhancing the links aspect of the hole.  The new bunkers will be deep, pot bunkers with fairway height turf surrounding them on all sides.  This should increase the possibility of rolling your ball into the hazard thus maintaining integrity of this short par 3.  I've been looking forward to starting this project for a few weeks and am please with the progress so far.
The first step in the process was to get the rough shaping done with the skid loader.  This equipment made short work of this part of the project and was well worth the expense.

Then we installed the drainage coming from the bunkers to the basin.

Once the drainage was installed, the trenches were back filled and graded again

The next step was to create the new bunker edge and compact the soil inside the bunker to create a strong smooth bunker floor.

If the rain doesn't hold us off today, we should get the sod installed and get our drainage dug in today.  I hope to be ready for sand by tomorrow afternoon.
  

#7 Bunker Renovation

The bunker on #7 officially open for play starting this morning.  Our staff worked very hard yesterday shoveling and raking all 80 tons of bunker sand into place.  Once we got all our sand depths correct, we hand watered the sand to help pack it down, then smoothed it out with a landscape rake.  The guys went through this morning and hand raked it to get it ready for the day.
Please remember that this bunker will be soft for a few weeks while it continues to settle in and firm up.

#7 Bunker Renovation

Despite multiple delays from weather and other projects the maintenance staff is beginning to pick up momentum on the bunker renovation on #7.  The additional trenches were cut in to increase the drainage capacity and flush outs were installed.  Over the last few days all the new pipe and gravel have been installed.

This renovation is a little different than the others we've completed this winter, in that it will be ready for play as soon as we are finished installing the new sand.  Since no grading or sod was needed, the new sand will be packed down and then it can be opened for play.  New bunker sand will be delivered in the morning and the crew should be able to wrap up this project by tomorrow afternoon.

#16 Bridge project

JonesPlan came in last Thursday and finished all grading and prep work so we could begin laying sod on Friday.
Before we started the sod project, we installed some stone steps to encourage the golfers to stop their carts in the widened section of cart path.  Hopefully this will keep people from parking too close to the bridge and blocking the path.  Once we finished installing the steps, we laid the remaining sod and seeded the native areas along the pond bank.  The straw should help stabilize the soil along the bank and help retain moisture until the seed germinates.
Since all the sod has been laid, the project is officially finished, we just need to keep the sod and seed moist for a few weeks until they green up.  This area will remain ground under repair during this time.

#16 Bridge Project

Over the last few days the crew has been constructing forms and pouring curbs.  The crew worked overtime yesterday to ensure that the curbs were finished properly.  Now that the curbs are done, we will spend the next couple of days removing the forms and grading for sod.

#16 Bridge Project

Since the bridge was lifted into position last week, the turf maintenance team has been working very hard pouring concrete for the paths leading up to, and away from, the bridge on #16 green.  Wooden forms were installed and steel was used to reinforce the cart path.
Now that all the concrete has been poured, the next step in the process is the installation of the curbing. We will begin drilling rods into the edge of the path and installing our forms tomorrow. The plan is to pour the concrete tomorrow afternoon. Once everything is dry we will begin grading the soil. alongside the path and install sod.

Weed Control

Mother Nature has finally given us an opportunity to spray for weeds so we went out yesterday en masse to get as much spraying done as possible.  We began our spring pre-emergent applications with our spray rig and finished all tees and fairways.  We also went out with our tank sprayer and hand sprayed all clubhouse lawns and bunker noses.  The pre-emergent herbicide we are applying will keep all weeds from emerging for about 6 months.  We are starting to see a lot of patches of grass emerging.  This grass is a weed and is called annual bluegrass, or Poa.  It is common and the herbicide we are applying will kill this plant even after it has already germinated.  

Today we are beginning to spray the rough with pre-emergent and continuing to spot-treat broadleaf weeds.  We plan on completing our pre-emergent application by March 1st so we can begin our greens maintenance programs.     

#7 Bunker Renovation

After a three week delay from a record-breaking snowstorm, the maintenance team is back to work on #7 green side bunker.  Today we worked on removing all of the old drainage pipe and gravel.  Once this was complete, we found that additional trenching would need to be done to increase the effectiveness of the drainage.  The crew will spend the next few days digging the new drainage trenches and adding new pipe and gravel.  Weather permitting, we should be adding new bunker sand by the end of the week.

#7 Bunker Renovation

Having just finished #14 bunker on Friday, we moved right onto the next bunker on our list, #7.  The bunker on #7 won't need as much work as previous bunkers.  We plan on removing all of the old sand and drainage; digging additional drainage lines and installing new drain pipe, and adding new bunker sand.  We had a good day today, removing approximately 50 tons of old sand.  Now that this step is complete, the old drain pipe and gravel will be removed next.
The 10+ inches of snow that is expected tonight will most likely keep us from continuing until next week or later.

#14 Bunker Renovation

On Friday, the maintenance staff finished the bunker renovation on #14.  The new bunker complex has been marked ground under repair and will remain closed until spring.

#14 Bunker Renovation

The maintenance team has worked very hard over the last few days shaping and compacting the new bunker slopes in preparation for sod.  The "flush out drains" were installed and sod was laid around the entire bunker.  The flush outs are installed to allow us to manually flush irrigation water into the drainage system to keep it clean and functioning properly.
Now that sod has been laid, the new bunker is starting to become more apparent.  New drainage pipe and gravel will go in today and all the new bunker sand will be installed by tomorrow afternoon.
Please remember that although the bunker may appear to be open and ready for play, dormant sod cannot root in and this bunker must remain closed until it can root into the soil this spring.  We will be installing rope and ground under repair markings to assist with any ruling issues.  Thanks for your cooperation during this time.

#16 retaining wall project

It seems that it's been awhile since the last update on the project on #16.  The project is basically done, except for the area where the bridge will be located.  The Public Works department was planning on beginning construction of the bridge abutments, but a significant winter storm moved in and forced them to prepare for that event.  Now that we have several inches of snow on the ground, the bridge project will have to be on hold until the snow melts and the ground dries out.  Once the bridge piers are built, the concrete must cure for a few weeks and then the bridge can be lifted into it's final position.  After the bridge is in place, the finish grading, cart paths and sod can all be installed.

#16 Bridge project

Over the last few days, golf maintenance staff has been coordinating with the Public Works department in constructing the abutments for the bridge behind #16 green.  First the holes for the piers were dug using an auger.  Second, the wood forms were built with steel anchors and crossbars for added strength.  Yesterday the concrete was poured and covered.  The concrete will need to cure for approximately 28 days.  Once the concrete has cured, the bridge can be installed and cart paths can be poured.

#14 Bunker renovation

It is now day three of the bunker renovation on #14 and the maintenance team has wrapped up the most physically demanding aspect of the project: digging the drainage trenches by hand.  Now they are moving on to backfilling the slopes with soil to re-establish the original bunker edges.  The crew will work on this over the next day or so to ensure that the slopes are smooth and compacted.  Once this is complete, the sod, drainage materials, and sand can be installed.

#14 Bunker renovation

The maintenance crew began work on the bunker on #14 today.  All of the old sand has been removed as well as the old drain pipe.  The original bunker edge was uncovered during the excavation process so we decided to use this edge to "reset" the bunker to it's original proportions.  The maintenance staff has also begun installing the forms used to create the new sod edge.  Soil will be back filled behind the forms and graded to the grass all the way around the bunker.  This effectively reduces the slope and decreases the likelihood of sand erosion in the future.

Snow

We officially had our first snow accumulation of the season Monday.  Although it isn't all that impressive, once it melts, the snow will help provide some much needed soil moisture.  The snow will also act like a blanket, insulating the turf from the extreme temperatures we are going to have over the next few days.

Poa control

Our staff is taking advantage of the calm winds, and warm weather, over the last few days by treating the collars with herbicide.  This herbicide will not harm the dormant Bermuda but will kill any weeds that are present.  The blue color around the green is dye that is used to mark where we have applied.  This dye will fade over the next few days.
The weed we are after is annual bluegrass, or Poa, as it is commonly referred.  Poa is a common weed in this area and thrives during the fall and spring.  We need to control it around the greens because the seeds can easily be transported onto the green by equipment and foot traffic.  Once Poa establishes in the greens it spreads easily and is extremely difficult to remove without injury to the Bentgrass.  Poa is inherently susceptible to disease, heat/drought stress and grows at different rates than Bentgrass.  This can cause infested greens to become bumpy, decreasing putting quality.