West Lafayette, Indiana
June 7, 2007
Golfers' frustrations with high
scores, long rounds and putting greens can be multiplied or
lessened depending on how the turf is managed.
 Turf
grass researchers and golf course management experts have ways
of influencing how difficult a green is to play, said Cale
Bigelow, a Purdue University
agronomist and turf expert. The type of grass and management
programs can determine whether the velvety looking greens are
fast or slow. On fast greens, a slight tap of the putter sends
the ball many feet, while a ball struck the same way on a slow
green will travel only inches.
To meet specific needs of both professional golfers and weekend
duffers on the United States' 16,000 courses, turf scientists
have developed and bred new species and varieties of grasses, he
said. The various grasses, such as Bermuda, fescue, bentgrass
and Kentucky, fill niches on golf courses since different
conditions are required depending on the level of play and
whether the turf is in the rough, on the fairway or on the
green. Climate and soil conditions also play a role in the type
of grass used.
Bigelow and groups of high school and college students evaluated
various turf management techniques and bentgrass varieties to
learn ways golf course managers achieve optimum results to
create the desired playing conditions. The Journal of Natural
Resources Life Science Education is publishing a paper by
Bigelow and turf grass graduate student Kristina Walker about
their research. The study explains important golf course
management considerations and is a template to teach an
important topic in turf management – putting green maintenance.
"I wanted to show that there are other ways besides lowering the
mower height to achieve some of the functional characteristics
course managers strive for," Bigelow said. "A lot of emphasis is
put on maintaining golf greens not only for aesthetic appearance
but also for functional quality, such as surface firmness and
smoothness. It's a lot more complex than just cutting and
watering the grass."
Bigelow and his students evaluated differences in grass types
and six management practices using one practice putting green
and a research area planted in three bentgrass varieties that
differed in leaf texture, color, shoot density and toleration of
close-crop, frequent mowing. The researchers subjected the
grasses to two mower types, two mowing frequencies, and to using
or not using a water-filled roller to firm the surface.
The paper has a summary of ball roll distances the students
measured on the three bentgrass varieties depending on a
combination of different management practices. For instance, a
bentgrass variety called Penncross that was double cut with a
walk mower resulted in a much faster green than the same grass
single cut with a riding triplex mower. The respective ball roll
distances were 10.1 feet and 8.7 feet.
On greens, whether they are fast or slow, players and golf
course managers want a hit ball to roll smoothly.
"When you're talking about putting greens and putting green
speeds, you want as little friction as possible," Bigelow said.
"The primary grass species we use on putting greens is creeping
bentgrass because it has a very fine leaf texture. Those
smaller, finer leaves offer less resistance to the golf ball as
it travels across the surface of the putting green."
In far southern states where climate necessitates the use of
hybrid Bermuda grasses, course managers try to keep the grass
leaves as upright as possible, Bigelow said. Since those grass
varieties are stiff, the ball travels over just the tips, which
lessens the friction between the ball and the plant.
Scientists are creating grasses that are more upright, have
deeper root systems and are more resistant to pests, diseases
and stressful environmental conditions, he said. This helps
sustain the turf, but grass still must be kept a certain height.
At most golf courses, greens are mowed almost daily throughout
the growing season, he said. On courses where professional
golfers play tournaments, however, greens often are mowed
several times a day, and watering and fertilizing are strictly
controlled. This makes the greens very firm so balls roll faster
and farther compared to the conditions encountered by golfers at
most golf courses.
"Depending on what you're trying to achieve - fast or slow ball
roll - there are ways to achieve that," he said. "Some of those
management practices are healthier for the turf than others."
One trend in putting green management is a dramatic decrease
over the past two decades in the cutting height on greens,
Bigelow said. Twenty years ago the mowing height was about five
thirty-seconds inch; five years ago it was about one-eighth
inch. Now the common mowing height has shrunk to almost
one-tenth inch.
"When you remove that amount of leaf surface area, you're
removing the food production part of the turf grass plant," he
said. "We're having more and more reports from golf course
managers of environmental stress problems on their putting
greens. Part of that is probably due to decreased mowing
heights.
"If you have less leaf surface area, then you have less
photosynthesis, less plant nourishment and sometimes much
shallower roots. If you have dry periods or excessive traffic,
the plant can't recover because it doesn't have enough
carbohydrates in it."
Photosynthesis is the process in which plants use sunlight,
carbon dioxide and hydrogen to produce simple carbohydrates,
which are compounds plants need to live, grow and reproduce.
The golfing industry wants people to be excited about the sport
and to participate, Bigelow said. But people should not expect
the courses they play on to be like Augusta National Golf Club,
home of the Masters Tournament.
"The condition of those putting greens prepared for golf
championships is not something that someone with a 20 handicap
should be playing regularly," he said. "If you have really fast
putting greens, an amateur will take multiple putts to reach the
hole, inevitably increasing frustration and lengthening the time
to play a round.
"Whereas, if more reasonable putting green speeds are
maintained, people tend to get the ball into the hole more
quickly, enjoy the game more and generally have an overall more
positive feeling about the sport."
In addition, courses that are consistently kept in championship
condition cost substantially more to maintain because of more
frequent mowing, reseeding, irrigation and other factors,
Bigelow said. This can dramatically increase the cost of playing
at those facilities and make them less accessible to the general
public.
"The important thing at most courses is to try to make it as
much fun as possible for more people to play golf," he said.
"Golf is a great opportunity to get some exercise if you don't
use the riding cart. This sport is a chance to get outside and
enjoy the environment with friends and family instead of sitting
in front of the computer or TV all the time."
Writer: Susan A. Steeves
Photo credit: Purdue Agricultural Communication photo/Tom
Campbell
ABSTRACT
Golf Ball Roll Distance:
A Field Exercise to Explore Management Factors Affecting
Putting Green Speed
Cale A. Bigelow* and Kristina S. Walker (*corresponding
author)
Putting greens are the most important golf course use area
and regularly draw comments regarding their appearance and
playing condition. This field laboratory exercise taught
students how to properly measure an important functional
characteristic, putting green speed, using a Stimpmeter
device that measures golf ball roll distance (BRD).
Additionally, students determined the effects of various
cultural practices affecting BRD such as creeping bentgrass
[Agrostis stolonifera L. var palustris (Huds.) Farw.]
cultivar differences and six management practices: mowing
equipment (a triplex mower versus a walk mower both set at
the same mowing height), mowing frequency (single versus
double cutting with a walk mower), mowing plus rolling
(using a water-filled roller) on a research putting green.
The effectiveness of this exercise was determined using pre-
and post-exercise surveys for two contrasting student
populations, high school-level students and
junior/senior-level undergraduates enrolled in turfgrass
science. As expected, the less experienced high school
students gained the most knowledge overall. Both
populations, however, greatly improved their understanding
regarding Stimpmeter operation with 100% of both populations
agreeing that they could properly operate the device.
Additionally, > 72% of both groups agreed that this exercise
was meaningful and bettered their understanding of putting
green maintenance. Therefore, this laboratory exercise
appears suitable for teaching students about general putting
green maintenance practices and measuring green speed,
regardless of whether they are interested in a career in
golf course management or not.
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