Greg Evans: 3 Beliefs in Producing a Successful Putting Surface

In this video from the 2012 GCSAI Conference this past week in Killenard Ireland, Greg Evans MG lays out his 3 beliefs of what is necessary to produce a successful putting surface:

1. Single Grass Species - Pick a parent monoculture and put a maintenance plan together to maximize its potential. Whether that's Fescue, Bent or perennial Poa, to get the best out of each species you must focus on each one individually.
2. Maintain a Balanced Program - Too little is as bad as too much in my view. Also, consistency of height of cut is crucial so that the grass plant grows in a happy environment. Chopping and changing building up to the big tournament is no good!
3. Sward Density - Without doubt the key to producing good surfaces. However you do it, you must maintain high sward density to get the best out of your surfaces.

Be sure to check out Greg's Blog and follow him on Twitter.

How Smooth Are You?

The first question I get as a turf manager from members and visitors is 'What speed are they today?' and it's very true, speed matters a great deal to golfers. Golfers generally love quick greens. When have you ever heard a golfer say, 'Wow those greens were amazing, they were so slow!'. Not often I bet. However, for us turf managers, while speed is important (especially for bragging rights), smoothness is undoubtedly the key ingredient for top quality greens.

Personally, I hate slow greens. As a former decent golfer (yes, I used to hit a fairway once), if I went to play a golf course where the greens were sluggish I would be counting down the holes waiting for the 18th to get off the course. But far worse than this were quick, bumpy greens that you used to get in the English springtime with those northerly winds. A round in March when the greens were lightning fast but bumpy, would produce putting strokes where, if you watched carefully, you could just about see a backswing! So for me, even though I still detest slow greens, if they are true they remain superior to quick bumpy ones.

So now that we have established that smoothness matters and rates above speed, how do we measure it?

Greg Evans discusses conditioning at Ealing Golf Club

In this video Greg describes the conditioning of the Ealing Golf Club, how he insists on "championship standard, 7 days a week" and the honor of being awarded a Master Greenskeeper Certificate.

Stimpmeter vs. Pelzmeter vs. iStimp

We've covered the iStimp App for iPhones a few times now, most recently with the help from a Pace Turf Video. Well the folks at PaceTurf put there doubts to the test and did a side by side comparison video and Printable Report using the Stimpmeter, Pelzmeter and iStimp App.

How accurate do you think the iStimp will be?

iStimp Review by PaceTurf

From PaceTurf:
Although not the goofiest iPhone application on the web, the new iPhone application known as the iStimp poses some interesting problems. In this video, PACE Turf's Dr. Larry Stowell discusses the issue of accuracy (can an iPhone really accurately measure greens speeds?) as well as the potential for slower play if golfers insist on taking the 6 to 8 minutes needed to get their own personal iStimp measurement.



For the results of a field test comparing the iStimp to the Pelz meter and the Bayco Speedmeter, follow the link below: http://www.paceturf.org/index.php/jou...

Learn more about PACE Turf at: http://www.paceturf.org/index.php/tour/
or sign up today at: http://www.paceturf.org/membership/si...

iPhone Apps For Golf Course Superintendents

While many criticize Apple’s products for their limited keyboard options, iJunkies reply “just turn it in to landscape mode”. Other points of criticism include lack of customizable themes, basic camera and Apps are only available through iTunes. Despite what hang-ups you have over Apples products, you can’t argue against their durability and lightweight making them not get in the way, and sometimes that’s the best feature of all. Apple has done a great job promoting its App’s as they do have the largest collection of all the smart-phones… for now.

Some of the “not yet Android” Apps for supers include:

Demands For Faster Greens Can Be Counter Productive

Remarkable advancement in turf-grass science and maintenance equipment technologies continue to magnify unrealistic demand for faster greens. Such demand places heavy burden upon many aspects of golf, including a course superintendent’s nerves and a golf architect’s ability to create bold green designs in this modern era; not to mention potential environmental impact.