Green speeds and grass conditions

[Jeff_Lewis]

I was remarking yesterday that a course had extraordinarily lush looking, grassy, healthy greens, but that the super was still strangely hesitant to cut them low. A friend who is in the business suggested that based on his observation, the greens had TOO MUCH grass. Too much density of grass, such that the competition for nutrients amongst all of those strands becomes too much when it is cut down low.

Has anybody ever heard of this notion. How would one combat it?

[Peter Galea]

Having too much grass is like having too much money!

Both are easy to get rid of. With grass use the verticutter.

[W.H. Cosgrove]

Too much grass is only a problem if the Super doesn't have enough money.  Keeping lush greens fast must be difficult if the budget restrains labor and the extra care to keep sppeds up.  

There are days when I think we might be better off with dirt greens.  They would always be fast(as long as it wasn't raining).  You would only have to roll them never mow them.  As in, "The browns should be great today, they double rolled them."  Each spring as greens are just getting perfect the darn Super punches those damned holes.  If they were just maintaining dirt out there and not attempting to grow grass, aerification would be unneccesary.  Dirt would save on water.  No spraying of chemicals.  No real environmental hazard.  

I really think I might be on to something.  But then if we golfers ask for highter and higher speeds, we just might get dirt more often than we'd like.

[Joel_Stewart]

I could be wrong but have to believe that the people that make fertilizer or additives are not going to make some super strength solution without telling the proper application.  I think this super is misguided.

In terms of cutting length, the greens become stressed when cut very short so its a very careful balancing act in which each course is different, and even individual greens can be different on a course.