2017 Member/Guest preperations

It has been a great week thus far, not to mention a fun week in getting the course in top shape for this event.  The best part of the week has been the lack of rain.  It's not often we have the opportunity to control water like we have this week.  Drying out the greens is one of the best agronomic tools available to get the course playing firm and fast.  You can see by the photo below, we use hand held moisture meters to determine what areas of the greens need supplemental water.  The last thing we would want to do, is irrigate the entire putting surface in the evenings using the sprinkler system.  There is a time and place for that, but now, firm and fast is desired and our goal in regards to water management, is giving the turf just enough to make it through the day. 

The greens are currently in the 13% moisture range which is about perfect for us.  This means the greens are firm but receptive to golf shots.



The challenge in maintaining the golf course to this level is that it would be impossible to not have a few brown spots here and there on fairways or in roughs.  With all the varying microclimates and soil types around the property, something is bound to get a little dry.  This is ok because if everything were a deep green color, it would be too wet and we would be erring on the side of caution rather than producing the best playable conditions.  Our goal is to balance the playability and the aesthetics but playability, as most would agree, should always be priority.

It's looking like a 50% chance or rain each day for the next week.  I hoping we get fortunate and stay on the dry side, keeping the course in best condition. 

Another beneficial tool we use throughout the season is a prism gauge.  This is what Paul is reading below.  When asked what height of cut we mow greens at, there are actually two answers; the bench set height and the effective height.  It's critical that the mechanic and the super know the effective height of cut.  The bench set is what we physically set the mowers to in the shop.  This is 1/8" or .125". The effective height of cut is what they mowers actually cut the grass at on the course.  Most of the time, it's lower than the bench set.  Again, at HCC, we bench set mowers at .125" but our effective cut is .110".  This can be impacted by a lot of things including the brand of the mower, the weight of the mower as well as the conditions of the turf and firmness of putting greens.  Every mower behaves slightly differently. 

 

 

The prism gauge lets us see a cross section view of the turf at extremely low mowing heights.  Compare this to rough or a home lawn where one can simply use a tape measure or ruler to determine the length of the grass. 

 

There are some in the golf industry who take great pride in super low mowing heights (some feel it defines manhood).  However, we know the lower we mow grass, the more potential it has to present challenges.  A superintendent might claim they "mow greens at .09 inches" (this is very very low for bentgrass) but depending on how their mechanic maintains reels and sets mowers, a .09" bench set may equate to an effective height of .130".  In short, it's what is actually happening on the course that counts, not necessarily what you're told.