I’ve taught a seminar that goes through 10 things I’ve learned about clipping volume. One of those things is this: keeping track of the total quantity of clippings year to date and as annual totals is useful. This video explains why this is useful. I also show how the year to date data can be displayed, with a simultaneous comparison to the property average and to the previous year’s data. See also this post on grass clippings year to date for more about this topic ..read more

Soil nutrient levels are dynamic. They change. In non-saline situations, the nutrient levels go down as the grass grows and uses some quantity of the soil nutrients.1 This is why the SLAN medium ranges seem so high, and why the MLSN method of soil test interpretation is so much more precise when making fertilizer recommendations for turfgrass. The SLAN ranges are so high because they need to account for a wide range of grass types and possible growth rates. Grass that grows rapidly will use a lot more nutrients than will grass that grows slowly. The football pitch at Santiago Bernabéu Stadium ..read more

I’ve not been an advocate for zoysiagrass (korai) greens when bermudagrass greens are a viable option. The reason for this is ball roll. With the same maintenance, bermudagrass greens have a noticeably smoother and faster ball roll. Zoysia greens have a different kind of roll because of the stiff leaves. I was playing golf at a country club in a small town in South Carolina in early April. The greens were bermudagrass with lots of Poa annua. That was the case on the first hole, on the second, and so on, until our group arrived at the seventh green, where I was surprised to see a patch of zoysi ..read more

Slides You can download the slides here: Systematic improvement of golf course conditions, PDF file Systematic improvement notes I started off with this as an introduction: For a system of putting surface management, we can start with measuring the playing conditions that are produced. That’s going to involve the stimpmeter measurement, possibly an assessment of how smooth the surface is, and perhaps a measurement of firmness as well. These playing conditions happen when the grass that comprises the surface is healthy and resilient enough to tolerate the work that needs to be done to produc ..read more

Figure 1. The snow-covered landscape of central Hokkaido in mid-March 2024 when the growth potential was 0 but the DLI was fine. In a recent ATC Doublecut discussing light and temperature, I mentioned that I’d calculate potential DLI for the recording location, check the actual DLI for the recording location, and share that information. Figure 2. The actual and potential DLI for each hour of March 16, 2024, at Asahikawa, Japan. I’ve looked that up, made a chart, and wanted to explain this again real quick with one more example. My assessment, after checking data for a lot of places, is that ..read more

Have you seen the remarkable USGA Green Section Record from last week? It’s got a podcast with Chris Tritabaugh ahead of this year’s U.S. Amateur Championship on the topic of playability. It’s one of the best podcasts I’ve listened to recently. That’s an impressive start to the issue. Then the very next article is a report on the ongoing frost research at Oregon State University. That cart traffic and roller traffic damage frosted turf—I don’t think that comes as any surprise. Why one would roll a frosted green, I don’t know. That seems unnecessary to me. And when there is frost, how about we ..read more

A question that comes up again and again is whether the PACE Turf growth potential (GP) would be improved by also accounting for light. Grass growth—plant growth of any type, actually—is influenced by more than temperature. The primary factors affecting plant productivity are temperature, light, leaf N content, and plant water status. In the case of turfgrass, two of these factors are somewhat controllable by turfgrass managers—leaf N and plant water status. Nitrogen and water can be linked to growth, or to potential growth, by using tools such as GP or evapotranspiration (ET). But what about ..read more

The Green Section Record (Volume 62, Issue 4) has an interesting article by Chris Neff making a case for year-round soil nutrient analysis. Specifically, he wrote that: To adequately make decisions regarding these crucial fertilizer applications, it is imperative to conduct soil sampling throughout the year to assess soil properties and current nutrient levels, which play a pivotal role in the overall health and performance of the course. To ensure optimal results, it is recommended that sampling be conducted at least three times annually. The article goes on to list reasons why he makes th ..read more

Slides You can download the slides here (coming soon): Strategies to minimize disease with reduced fungicide use High quality playing surfaces with minimal water use What every superintendent should know about tropical turfgrasses Notes You can get new information from ATC through our . Find turfgrass reference information, site-specific weather and climate appraisals, and weekly updates at the PACE Turf information center. For more about ATC’s soil testing services, and example reports, see our soil tests page. See more about OM246 testing, including sampling instructions and a sample ..read more

I listened to Joe Gulotti’s Talking Greenkeeper podcast with guest Daniel Palin about an MLSN trial on 9 holes, and a different method on the other 9 holes. You can listen to the show for the full story. In short, MLSN produced the same results as the other method, golfers have been effusive in their praise of course conditions, there’s now been a switch to the MLSN approach on all 18 holes, I understand, and there has been a substantial amount of money re-allocated from unnecessary fertilizer cost, now being spent on improving soil physical properties ..read more