10.5 was the norm. Is that all! I can hear Course Managers saying, and those that have are part of the ‘need for speed’ syndrome. Unfortunately, fast stimpmeter readings have gained bragging rights within the profession, badges of honour, marks of skill, however, they reflect neither.
The difference between tournament
preparation for green speed and what Greg Evans is carrying out is vast. His club does have other options. Ealing Golf Club can try to improve species composition for a more stable and, more importantly, predictable future. I knew that I was going to pay for it with diseased and dead Poa and poor grass cover all winter. Not something I would have recommended to my club if I had a choice. With a pure Poa annua sward and a televised tournament at both ends of the season there is little hope of establishing anything other than the old enemy! Greg Evans and, more importantly, any other Course Managers who consistently cut their greens below 3mm, have other options than the one that will, undoubtedly, lead to stress and disease in the plant and, heaven forbid, in them as well. After all, are they not digging the
greens up on the West at Wentworth this May due to poor surface consistency? A change to colonial bent is on the way I understand, must be something in it!
Value your liberty
As a brief aside while on the subject of Poa annua and its ability to adapt. Greg is taking advantage of Poa annua’s ability to adapt its growth habits to cope with close mowing. There is no other grass in the world that can do this so quickly, and no other grass that can do it below 2mm. Now a word of warning on this. Besides all the usual problems with cultural stress causing disease/anthracnose etc., I have seen a lot of sub perennial type Poa plants that are subject to consistent close mowing, adapt themselves into very short, very fine leaf forms that have an almost clump like appearance. These plant types also have next to no root and can be easily lifted out of the turf. All I say is that if you take liberties with Annual Meadow Grass it will take liberties with you.
Don’t measure speed, measure practices
As a ‘meter’ the stimpmeter just tells us what is fast, medium and slow. Not that
many greenkeepers relate a speed to the term when they say “my greens are like lighting”. So, what is fast and, more importantly, what is a sustainable height of cut that will please the majority of your membership throughout the playing season?
Again, these questions are not easily
answered, as a stimp reading of 9 may be great for most memberships, while others will want 11 all summer. The best use for the stimpmeter is as a management tool for recording green speeds using differing cultural practices. Monitor speed variations when using groomers, light sand dressings, turf iron operations, changing irrigation rates and lighter fertiliser applications, as these will all help to keep your height of cut up while maintaining pace. Also, use the environmental factors of wind and sun to gain pace while maintaining more leaf blade on the plant.
So, is 3mm, 3.5 or 4mm the right height
for regular summer mowing? Mowing height figures are always bandied about by greenkeepers, again, at times, with an element of ‘beat that’. In reality, when it comes to pace they mean nothing, as species composition is the main dictator of consistent pace.
In isolation your height of cut is a subjective measurement, as all the other maintenance practices that you undertake on your greens will also have a bearing on their pace. So, make them the starting point for consistent pace and not height of cut.
What is your job?
If it is the Keeper of the Green then you should be very aware of the next section of this article. Greens are a part of the course for two very important reasons; one, they are the ultimate target and two, they contain the ultimate target. As such, they are the only playing surfaces on the golf course that have to provide two separate playing qualities. Greens provide the only element of the game that requires the ball to stay in constant contact with the turf while in motion, while also having to ‘receive’ the final lofted club shot. This dual performance requirement contains the ‘rub’ when it comes to greenkeeping or keeping greens. Greens have to, and should, repel the poorly stuck approach shot and favour the shot struck with back spin, while also running true and fast
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when used for putting. So, I feel that, when deciding on a long-term management approach for greens that provides these two elements to the golfer, we should ask three questions:
1) What is the best grass sward composition that provides these two important elements?
2) What are the most favourable maintenance regimes that maintain these grasses?
3) What medium should these desired grasses be grown in?
Of course, it isn’t just that simple, but what grass or grasses were you thinking of when asked these three basic questions? I bet Poa annua grown in local soils didn’t jump right in there as your first thoughts. This is because they are not suitable, sustainable, easily managed, cost effective or fun to work with. Plus they do not provide naturally resilient targets or offer natural pace. So, surely, it is the Greenkeeper’s job to
provide the grass species and, where possible, the growing medium that will provide this natural pace and resilience. Cutting Poa annua at 2mm is not going to get you there, but then neither is implementing the Disturbance Theory if all you have is Poa and ‘push ups’, and that is still the majority in this country.
The management of Green speed is a balancing act, so act on balance
I believe that it is, of course, as ever, a balancing act between what is acceptable speed and consistent sustainable conditioning. So, whom do you believe? In my opinion the STRI’s pair have penned the most agronomically sound and responsible article. However, if you are not blessed with a fine stretch of sandy dune land or heather covered acres, do not expect their “Nice dream” to become a reality. As for the Greg Evans approach of mowing at 2mm for as long as
practically possible; brave and fast, but then so were the Light Brigade.
Kevin Munt can be contacted at
www.kmgcgolfconsultant/
typepad.co.uk Or on 07810 473623
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