This afternoon we started pulling soil cores to send off for testing. Greens samples are sent to Dr. York in Pittsburgh, PA and all others are sent to Harris Labs in Lincoln, Nebraska. I usually test greens 3 times per year to keep track of my calcium quantities. Tees, fairways and roughs are all tested annually. Native soils don't tend to change much throughout the year but it is always a good to keep track of the soil pH. Mountain soils tend to stay on the acidic side and lime applications (Calcitic or Dolomitic) help neutralize the pH. If a soil is too acidic or too basic, nutrient availability becomes an issue. Even with ample quantities of Potassium in the soil, if the pH isn't slightly acidic, it won't be available to the turf. Soil chemistry is a major component of turf science. Furthermore, if nutrient balances are out of whack, they affect each other. For example, if calcium and magnesium aren't available at adequate levels, Potassium won't either. Supers in Florida who deal with salt issues, constantly us gypsum. Why? Because it is a good source of calcium that binds the sodium particles in the soil and has no affect on the soil pH. There is a lot to it and good superintendents have a great understanding of soil chemistry and nutrient relationships that impact turf performance.
Above, is a picture of the roots on the 1st green. Even after all that rain and cloudy weather, we are seeing nice healthy white roots. Newer, healthier roots are always bright white in color. The older, rotting roots are brown and very skinny. This time of year, we typically have 3-4" roots on our Penn A4 bentgrass greens. The guys who say they have roots much longer than that are full of it. Unless the green is brand new, I have never seen roots longer than about 4-5" on the Penn varieties of bentgrasses mowed under 1/8". Tees, sure. Greens, no. If you were to show me a 16 year old green mowed at .115" (like ours) in a climate that averages 96" of rain with roots longer than 5" at the end of the summer, I am going to be pretty impressed!