Putting Green Reclamation Part II

   

 

    I need to back track a little on an earlier discussion of expanding our greens.  It just didn't make sense to me how the greens could have shrunk as much as we originally thought.  I went on a recon mission and discovered there use to be another height of cut between the greens and where the collars are now.  As a way to save on labor, this second cut was eliminated, leading to perceived shrunken greens.  The consensus is still that some greens would be better suited if they were expanded, but others like #16 are plenty large enough.  We will continue working on #9 throughout this season and reevaluate this fall where we may want to expand elsewhere.  Sorry for the confusion. 



Divots 101

I have discovered there is some confusion about what to do with divots.  Although we have green divot sand on the carts, it is always best, when possible, to replace a divot with the actual piece of turf.  If there is not enough turf to replace the entire divot, then the remaining void may be filled with the green divot sand.  If the divot explodes into a million pieces, then green sand is the best option. 

            I always view replacing a divot as the world’s smallest sod job. There are definitely benefits to divot replacing.  First, replacing a divot is filling a void with the desired turf species for that particular area.  It also keeps the playing surface level and free of voids for trailing golfers.  An open void in the turf is a prime spot for weeds and Poa to fill.  Although sand is better than nothing, too much can be bad.  When sand is piled higher than the grass, it goes through the reels on our mowers and instantly dulls our cutting edges.

Just some food for thought.  Happy hacking!

Putting Surface Reclamation

 

            Simply stated, our greens have shrunk.  Over the last year and a half there has been a lot of questioning on the various sizes of our collars around the greens.  Resent discussions have determined that the greens have actually decreased in size since the fairway re-grassing.  At that time, the collars were established at approximately 60 inches wide, which is the width of the mower designated to cut these areas.  16 of our 19 collars have expanded from inches up to 4 plus feet.  This means the putting surfaces have decreased by the same size. 

            In order to reclaim the intended putting surface, we will need to measure and mark the collars at the original 60 inches.  Then, we will have to mow the areas that are supposed to be part of the greens.  The height of cut will need to be lowered slowly over the ensuing weeks until it reaches the same height as the greens.  The weather is always one of the largest variables when putting a plan like this into action.  The time frame on achieving an end result of smooth, expanded putting surfaces depends on the health of the grass as it is placed under continued stress. 

            There is a wide range of things that could happen.  Worst case scenario is death in the areas we are trying to train down to greens height.  Best case scenario is expanded greens and uniform collars by June.  Since there always seems to be a little bad with all good things, my recommendation is to fall somewhere in the middle.  We have already started the process on #5 and #9 so we have examples to show what the previous brain clutter is talking about.  I would encourage doing 2 more this spring to get a good idea on the timing of the process and work out any unforeseen issues.  Then, in the fall we can start working the rest down to greens height with a finish date approximately a year from now. 

             

#9 Green before expansion

#9 Green after expansion (first lowering of height of cut)

The yellowish, narrower strip around the edge of the green is the area we have mowed.  

 

 

This picture shows how much #9 green has shrunk in a little over five years.