Greens

Q. How often are the greens cut and at what height and why do we cut the greens by hand sometimes and not others?

A. In the main growing season from mid May until the end of September they are cut every day unless weather conditions dictate otherwise. For the rest of the year, as necessary. In summertime the height of cut will go down to 4 millimetres rising to 5 millimetres during the winter.

During the winter period and early spring the greens are cut by hand to save the big machines driving around the green surrounds and to keep the weight off of the surfaces. Aesthetically they may look better but the quality of cut is identical. The hand machines have the same cutters as the large machines.

It takes four members of staff with hand mowers two and a half hours to cut just the Old Course. With the ride on mowers it takes three members of staff just over an hour to cut all greens, both courses, and move all tee markers. The ride on machines work faster than golfers can play so can easily stay ahead of early morning play as well as with multi start points.

Q. Why is it that the greens are not watered after August?

A. The reason is that as Autumn draws in there is less demand by the grass for water and growth is slowing down. If we water, the ground will become softer and when the rains arrive the ground will get boggy very quickly. The dryer we can go into winter the longer we can have a firm playable golf course. Autumn aeration work is far more effective with a firm soil as opposed to a soft plastic one. If firm the soil is shattered rather than just displaced. (14/09/2009)

Q: Why is it that when the greens start to grow, for a time, they become very uneven and bumpy?

A: This is because there are more than one species of grass within them, different species grow at different rates. Some start growing at slightly lower temperatures than others. Some species have deeper roots than others, so they are in soil that has not warmed yet and therefore do not start to grow until warmth gets down to that depth.

The greens are predominately a mixture of agrostis, fescue and poa. Poa being the weed species that no one wants but a lot of courses end up with! This is the species that produces all the little seed heads in the spring which also causes unevenness. (08/03/07)

Q: Why is it that after the winter the course takes so long for the greens to fill and the grass to grow whereas other courses seem to come on much quicker?

A: For grass to actively grow there are a number of requirements. Moisture, daylight, nutrients and temperature. Without all four, grass will not respond. Adding more of any one of the elements without all four being present will make no difference. By mid March there is enough daylight. Nutrient and moisture could be applied but for one factor, the soil temperature is too low. It does not matter how warm the air is during the day. What counts is the temperature of the medium in which the roots of the plant sit.

A warm afternoon is easily outweighed by an overnight frost. Ten degrees Celsius is normally seen as the minimum for a few days, to start growth. But we now have a further problem in the fact that the wetter the soil, the slower it is to warm up. This is one of the reasons that irrigation is never used until the soil warms up as it would work against us. All courses are on differing types of soil. A sandy soil warms up much faster than a clay soil, because it contains less moisture, which is the reason that early season potatoes and strawberries are grown on the sandy soils of Norfolk and Lincolnshire. Conversely when the greens on other courses are past their best our greens can still be putting beautifully late into the autumn. (06/03/07)

Q: Why is it not possible to lower the height of cut on the greens to increase the speed?

A: It is, but it does not last very long. Too much leaf is removed and the plant can no longer produce enough food to live. Mowing at a height of 3 mm for any length of time measured in days rather than weeks creates excessive stress and the grass dies. Thus the age old term the quick and the dead. The recognised way to increase green speed is to increase the height of cut to encourage the finer species of grasses and to regularly roll the greens.This comes at a cost in terms of equipment and particularly labour.

The excellent R&A website outlines the sustainable route and we have been actively working at achieving this by signing up to the scheme. Poa dominated greens can be made very fast but unfortunately require massive inputs of water, fertiliser and chemicals. Encouraging the finer grasses does not happen overnight but as has been proven in Denmark, since all chemicals were banned there a number of years ago, it certainly works.

Q: Why is it some greens are wetter than others?

A: As with most things there are a number of reasons for this, soil type, topography, shade and foot traffic. The greens on both courses are what is known as push up greens. This means they were made by pushing up together whatever soil was on the site of the green. Thus the soil type will vary from green to green with a differing infiltration rate. There is no topsoil as such just a very silty subsoil with about 25mm of accumulated top dressing on top. In fact when I have shown people what lies beneath the turf they are quite amazed that the grass grows at all. Any drainage is only as fast as the water can penetrate the underlying soil.

You could put as many pipes as you like underneath but it would still drain at the same rate. A modern green would be constructed using a purpose made rootzone designed to drain easily. Where there is heavy cover from trees this stops sunlight getting to the green surface and also impedes air movement. Where a green has bumps and hollows this again allows a build up of standing water. Foot traffic in the walk off areas causes compaction when wet which leads to surface puddling.

Q. At certain times of the year, particularly in the spring, the holes become crowned. What causes this?

A. Frankly, it is your feet! When the ground is soft which it is in the spring with virtually no growth and having had the winter rain and frost to contend with. The most used area of the green is obviously the hole with all feet headed in that direction. The bit that makes it worse is the leading foot 6 inches from the hole with all your body weight resting on it, pushing the surface down, as you retrieve your ball, causing the last 6 inches to be higher than the piece your foot is on.