I talk a lot about grooming turf and feel there may be some confusion as to what grooming really is. Check out this video that explains it better visually. I am not exactly sure where this is shot but they did a really nice job. Obviously, they are dealing with ultradwarf bermudagrass in this video and we have Penn A4 Bentgrass. The concept is identical.
We also run groomers on tees, approaches and fairways in addition to our greens at Highlands CC. In short, grooming turfgrass surfaces is a necessary and beneficial practice. There are many Supers who don't do it for various reasons. I personally feel that if you aren't using groomers, you are missing many turf quality benefits. Denser turf, smoother and faster greens and more upright growing turf are all good results from using groomers that are equipped on mowers. They will always be part of my agronomic plan at Highlands CC.
Again, a good Super knows the limits of their turf and grooming is something we back of off in heat or stressed turf. The groomer unit can be raised or lowered to achieve different results and depths of penetration into the turf canopy. Grooming too much will result in thinned turf that is much more pronounced on mounds and undulations on the green.