Do we just guess what work is required for Course Maintenance Week!!

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As the plant grows, in this case a golf greens grass,  it builds up levels of Organic Matter (OM)  in the soil predominantly near the surface.  Golf greens are intensively managed areas, which need  to cope with the large amounts of wear and are fertilised more intensively than most areas.

This high growth rate causes larger than normal  amounts organic matter to build up in the soil profile. 

If we have too little OM, surfaces would be very unstable, ball response would be poor and water use would be excessive. Greens would dry out very quickly. Conversely, if we have too much OM then

1.       Greens would be soft and bumpy, especially in the winter

2.       Greens speeds are slower

3.       Disease levels would be higher

If we strive to achieve to the perfect green, we can try to find an optimum amount of OM to ensure the greens are fast, hold good shots and drain well and have maximum disease resistance.

After much work by the STRI we can judge that for a USGA greens that we should try to aim for the following.

0-25mm depth – 4%, 25-50mm depth – 3%, 50-75mm – 3%, 75-100mm – 1%

We take core samples before each maintenance week to determine how much or how little work we need to do to ensure the greens get the right amount of treatment to ensure they stay in good condition and don’t get any worse and also to ensure we don’t do what we don’t need to.  

Below are the results for the last 3 years every 6 months. We have added a couple of extra greens recently.

As you can see we are generally doing very well, with most areas in or around the guideline figures. Greens like 12 which get very little sunlight tend to stay the same and not coring it this spring has got it up the right level.

However, every time we hope we don’t have to do too much to the greens,  it become apparent that we nearly always have to do the regular maintenance to get the greens in good shape. Greens such as 7 and 15 which get a lot of sun,  and also the most disease,  need to be kept under control with regular work. Otherwise they will get soft and become poorer playing surfaces. They will get high levels of disease in the winter, puddle up much quicker, suspend or cancel play much more often and also cost more in disease prevention spraying. 

The key way of maintaining the OM level, without having to do massive maintenance weeks is regular topdressing. Regular sanding, dilutes the organic matter, increases air flow and allows biological decomposition of the OM, keeping the levels low. Aeration also helps. Oxygen to the rootzone helps break down OM by microbial decomposition keeping thatch levels down. 

Unfortunately the amount of the play this summer has seriously reduced the amount of work we have been able to do on the golf course. Two tee starts and shotguns on Monday and Wednesdays have made it very difficult and we will have to make this up a bit in maintenance week. We have a great growing summer and OM is the highest in the top 25mm it has been since we started testing so we do need to keep an eye on it. 

I have inserted a trend line in the top 25mm data to show where the trend is going at the moment. Areas below the top 25mm seem to be in check. It does mean that the hollow cores will not have to be very deep. 

I know there is pressure not to do the work, but failure to do what is needed will create much longer term problems which will not be a quick fix. I hope this is a good insight and shows why we need to do the work on the golf course. Hopefully we can judge it so we can do the right work to keep the greens at the right level for the season and you can see that we only do what is needed and we have a very professional approach to all that we do. 

	putting green				7th green				13th green
date	0-25mm	25-50mm	50-75mm	75-100mm	0-25mm	25-50mm	50-75mm	75-100mm	0-25mm	25-50mm	50-75mm	75-100mm
03/08/2012					4.7	3	2.9	0.9
14/03/2013					5.2	3.1	2.6	1.2
25/07/2013					5.1	3	2.4	1
27/02/2014	3.5	2.5	2.4	1.3	4.5	3.2	3	1.4	4.5	3.3	3	1.5
18/07/2014	4.4	2.5	2.2	1	5.4	2.9	2.4	1.1	5.2	2.9	3.1	1.1
	5th green				12th green				15th green
date	0-25mm	25-50mm	50-75mm	75-100mm	0-25mm	25-50mm	50-75mm	75-100mm	0-25mm	25-50mm	50-75mm	75-100mm
03/08/2012	4.4	3.2	2.9	1	3.7	3.1	3.3	1.1	4.3	3.3	2.7	0.9
14/03/2013	4.4	3	3	1.1	3.5	2.6	2.7	1	4.7	3	3	1
25/07/2013	4.4	2.8	3.2	1.5	3.5	2.6	2.3	1.1	5.1	3.1	2.7	1.2
27/02/2014	4	3	3.1	1.8	3.5	2.6	2.3	1.3	4.8	3.1	2.6	2.2
18/07/2014	4.9	3.1	2.7	1.1	3.7	2.6	2.1	1	5.5	2.7	2.9	1.1