Technical
All rollers use trailers for moving around the course, so a towing vehicle is essential. Some models have the trailer designed into the machine chassis, and the operator engages the trailer by pulling the mechanical linkage downwards. Others have a separate trailer, which the roller drives into for transport and storage.
Research
Professor Tom Nikolai from Michigan State University has studied the effects of greens rolling for many years and, in the December 2011 issue of the GCSAA’s Golf Course Management magazine, the results of research he undertook at golf courses in Michigan, Sweden and Florida were published.
Results
1. Rolling daily and mowing every other day (or less often) noticeably increased greens speed compared to daily mowing
trailers for moving around the course
at the bottom), while other models use double roller drive, allowing them to climb in either direction.
Transmission is either by petrol engine or electric motor. Both use bi-directional transmissions, allowing fast working speeds, and removing the need for turning at either end of the green. The operator simply changes direction and moves across to pick up the next pass.
All rollers use
2. In 2009, the courses in Michigan and Sweden found no detectable differences in greens speed between rolling daily and mowing less often, and daily rolling and mowing
3. The courses in Michigan and Florida found no noticeable change in greens speed between mowing daily and alternating daily mowing and rolling
In September 2011, Richard Windows and Henry Bechelet published a paper for BIGGA’s West Midlands section. The premise was that you can restore and maintain the dominance of finer grasses in greens without compromising playing quality. They suggested that less aggressive surface preparations would create a
more settled environment which, in turn, would encourage the finer grasses.
Rolling is a significant part of this process. They quoted research by the USGA that “rolling could be implemented as often as four times a week (on sand based greens) with no negative effects to the long-term health of the turf. In the UK, most greenkeepers who roll seem to do so 2-3 times a week at most. The American example might be for a different league of course in terms of its manning but, even with such a frequency, no compaction is evident, even after several years of use. This is because the ground pressure of the rollers is very small and the action is one of smoothing rather than compacting. Regular surface pricking and/or pencil tining should be undertaken as a matter of course and will prevent any perceived sealing of the surface.”
Conclusion
Our attitude to rolling has changed over the past twenty years; originally it was just to increase speed, but now it has become established as an essential fine turf management practice.
So, as stated earlier, it’s not a question of whether to roll or not, but more a question of how much rolling we should incorporate into the maintenance programme to get the best results for our course or rink.
PC JUNE/JULY 2015 I 135
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