Test Your Greenskeeping IQ

[JSPayne]

I know us supers on this site field alot of questions about sometimes pretty basic greenskeeping stuff. Not that we dislike flexing our massive brainiac turf muscles, but I thought it might be educational and fun to produce a few questions for everyone to try and answer and see just how "turf technical" you guys are. Might also provide a little insight into just how scientific, specific and technical our profession is. (Superintendents hold back on your answers, or help me grade the responses!)

Not to demoralize anyone that may not know alot of the answers to these, but I'm only going to stick to what I personally consider VERY basic turf knowledge. I'm also trying to stick to questions that I tend to get on a very regular basis concerning information that I think every devoted golfer should at least know and understand the basics of. If every golfer knew the answers to all of these, there'd be alot less dissatisfaction about maintenance practices!

1) Name 3 differences in the physiology/growth habits of cool-season vs. warm season turfgrasses. Give two examples of each type of grass.

2) What is another name for Poa annua?

3) What is syringing?

4) Name 5 classes of pesticides. (All commonly used on golf courses)

5) What do the 3 numbers (X-X-X) on a fertilizer bag stand for?

6) Give 3 possible reasons for sanding (aka topdressing) a green.

7) What exactly is a Stimpmeter? (Describe it.) And what does "The greens are rolling a 10" actually mean?

What do GCSAA and CGCS stand for?

9) What is the difference between a USGA, California, and push-up green?

10) How can frost damage/kill grass?

***Bonus (answer may be somewhat subjective, but I'm looking for a specific, BEST answer): Give the definition of a "weed."

Good luck!

[Scott Warren]

It looks pretty when you mow the fairways back and forth in stripes

[JSPayne]

Careful Scott.....I think the majority of the treehouse here prefers the classic "half and half" gang-mower style as opposed to striping overload. 

[Tom Huckaby]

Sounds like fun.
OK, here is a pure guess from an absolute layman... I only play the game... marvel at what you guys can do... so maybe this will serve as a "dumbshit golfer" baseline.  I am doing this purely from my own knowledge, no cheating and looking things up.

1) Name 3 differences in the physiology/growth habits of cool-season vs. warm season turfgrasses. Give two examples of each type of grass.
No clue re the differences.  Bluegrass, rye for cool season; bermuda, paspalum for warm season.


2) What is another name for Poa annua?
annual meadow grass

3) What is syringing?
Injecting water into the grass.

4) Name 5 classes of pesticides. (All commonly used on golf courses)
Are you freakin' kidding me?  No clue.

5) What do the 3 numbers (X-X-X) on a fertilizer bag stand for?
nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium

6) Give 3 possible reasons for sanding (aka topdressing) a green.
a) prevent thatching
b) makes it grow better
c) to piss off those who paid full greens fee

7) What exactly is a Stimpmeter? (Describe it.) And what does "The greens are rolling a 10" actually mean?
Aha!  One I know, from using it in course rating.  It's a bar with a goove in it, three feet long.  The groove has a cross-groove in which you put a ball, and then you raise it slowly until the ball slides down the bar and rolls along the green.  "rolling 10" means it went 10 feet on a flat area.

 What do GCSAA and CGCS stand for?
Golf Course Superintendents Association of America
Certified Golf Course Superintendent

9) What is the difference between a USGA, California, and push-up green?
No clue

10) How can frost damage/kill grass?
Only if tread on... it kills the roots if so.


***Bonus (answer may be somewhat subjective, but I'm looking for a specific, BEST answer): Give the definition of a "weed."
plant that grows wild and resists being killed no matter what you do?

[Brent Hutto]

I'm waiting for some curmudgeon to opine that the day when greenskeepers needed to know what a Stimpmeter was a black day indeed. Probably as good a marker as any for the beginning of the decline of our game into its sad, sad state of today.

Oops, guess I already said it.

[Michael Dugger]

Huck

In RE: the stimp.  I thought they roll tested both up and downhill and took the average?

9)

A USGA green is built to their exacting standards, which I believe is 4" of pea gravel and 12" of sand.

California greens forgo the 4" of pea gravel

Push ups are just the native material "pushed up"

[JSPayne]

Not bad Tom, not bad.....

1) You got part B correct
2) Not quite
3) Not exactly
4) -
5) Partial credit....a little more description is necessary and important
6) (a) Kinda.... (b) No credit, but glad you agree with the purpose! (c) Tsk tsk.....just had go jab the teacher didn't you?!  
7) Good description of the tool......a little more accurate description of a "10" would help
Perfect!
9) -
10) Sorry....wrong answer here.

Bonus - Not the "best" definition I was looking for.......

But for going off the top of your head and being a self-proclaimed "dumbshit golfer," I give you a C+!

[Michael Dugger]

***Bonus answer

A weed is a plant growing where it is not desired to be doing so.

[Tom Huckaby]

I will proudly take my C+.  But you are also a tough grader.  Remember I am a dumbshit golfer.. I thought my answers to #2 and #5 were specific and correct.  OK you guys want more... but damn, I gotta get a little more credit for getting the basics right. Or at least I think I got the basics right.

 

Re stimp, to be honest I do not know how one uses a tool to get a green spreed to tell the members or the press.  I just know that for course rating, we find a flat area to measure pure speed (need that to fit the greens into an overall category) and then do uphill and downhill only to ascertain if greens run 3:1 or 2:1 or whatever we need to ascertain, for contour purposes on specific greens.

[JSPayne]

Huck

In RE: the stimp.  I thought they roll tested both up and downhill and took the average?

9)

A USGA green is built to their exacting standards, which I believe is 4" of pea gravel and 12" of sand.

California greens forgo the 4" of pea gravel

Push ups are just the native material "pushed up"

Mike,

Pretty good......close enough on the differing greens. USGA gives ranges for depths of sand, but 12" suffices. California greens do forego the overall gravel layer but still use pea gravel to cover the drain lines.

Regarding the stimp, Huck's answer suffices because different supers will argue the "best" method of obtaining the "most accurate" stimp. For me, to find a stimp location, two balls have to be able to roll out, with little to no break, within 12" of each other in both directions (essentially utilizing the flattest part of the green). Then on my courses, I like to do an intial stimp, measuring all 18 greens, then take the course average, find the two greens that stimped closest to the course average, then use only those two greens on a regular basis to get a measurement for the entire property. My method is overly complex from most I've heard, but not the most complex.

And BINGO on the bonus!!! Some people just can't get over the fact that a beautiful landscape plant can also be a weed. Or that some people plant noxious (meaning incrediably invasive) weedy plants as landscape plants (i.e. Mexican poppy, English ivy, Pampas grass)!

[Adam Clayman]

1) Name 3 differences in the physiology/growth habits of cool-season vs. warm season turfgrasses. Give two examples of each type of grass.

Rhizomes V. Stolons. Zoisha, bermuda. Blue and Rye.

2) What is another name for Poa annua?
Bluegrass

3) What is syringing?
Cooling down grass with a lite dose form a hose

4) Name 5 classes of pesticides. (All commonly used on golf courses)
No clue

5) What do the 3 numbers (X-X-X) on a fertilizer bag stand for?
Iron, Nitrogen and Phos.

6) Give 3 possible reasons for sanding (aka topdressing) a green.
Hail Damage, Aeration, improve consistency re speed and roll

7) What exactly is a Stimpmeter? (Describe it.) And what does "The greens are rolling a 10" actually mean?

 What do GCSAA and CGCS stand for?

9) What is the difference between a USGA, California, and push-up green?

10) How can frost damage/kill grass?
By breaking off the food supply for the plant.

***Bonus (answer may be somewhat subjective, but I'm looking for a specific, BEST answer): Give the definition of a "weed."
Not planted volunteer.

[Kalen Braley]

Another laymen here...


1) Name 3 differences in the physiology/growth habits of cool-season vs. warm season turfgrasses. Give two examples of each type of grass.

Umm some grasses thrive in cooler weather, others in warmer weather.. examples....bentgrass vs bermuda

2) What is another name for Poa annua?

A stupid weed

3) What is syringing?

Sticking a large needle like device into the earth so it only waters the roots, not the surface.

4) Name 5 classes of pesticides. (All commonly used on golf courses)

Umm ones that either kill, maim, destroy, slightly hurt, and.....be-friend?

5) What do the 3 numbers (X-X-X) on a fertilizer bag stand for?

What Tom H said.

6) Give 3 possible reasons for sanding (aka topdressing) a green.

1)  Keep it playing firm
2)  Aerate?
3)  Love tom's answer but I'm guessing it helps the root stay healthier

7) What exactly is a Stimpmeter? (Describe it.) And what does "The greens are rolling a 10" actually mean?

Its a little triangle device to determine average speed of green.

What do GCSAA and CGCS stand for?

WHat Tom said

9) What is the difference between a USGA, California, and push-up green?

I know now!!

10) How can frost damage/kill grass?

Frost can kill it by severing the plant between the exposed part and the root. It can snap instead of bend when walked on.

***Bonus (answer may be somewhat subjective, but I'm looking for a specific, BEST answer): Give the definition of a "weed."

Weed is what kids smoke!! 

[Ben Sims]

Stupid newbie here....

1) Um, the difference?  Like warm grasses go dormant in winter.  Cool goes dormant in summer.  Cool: Fescue and Bent.  Warm: Zoysia and Bermuder.

2)  Bluegrass right?

3)  Light application of water--preferably in a mist--to coat the leaf lightly.  I learned this a few weeks ago from the sup here at Randolph AFB.

4) Wow, I worked for a pest control company in high school and have no clue. I though there were three types.  Kill, repel, friendly.

5) NPK.  Periodic chart says, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium.

6) No clue.  To help the blades stand up straighter?  To promote percolation?

7) What Huck said.  But he forgot average.  a 10 would be the average of an 8 and 12 foot roll for instance.  Or more specifically, three rolls in each direction and average. It is not used as a indicator of quality, rather, uniformity of the greens.

What Huck said.

9)  USGA has three sub-levels.  Cali has two.  Push-up has...oh screw it.  What Dugger said.

10)  Frost doesn't kill.  Pressure on the frozen plant does kill.  In other words. Frost delays aren't for the frost itself, it's to keep us from walking on the frosted plant.

Best I can muster on the bonus is a plant that grows in an unwanted and therefore, damaged environment  I've heard some say that weeds profligate in a way makes the environment undesirable for their own kind....

[Garland Bayley]

1) Name 3 differences in the physiology/growth habits of cool-season vs. warm season turfgrasses. Give two examples of each type of grass.
little or no grain vs grain, grow in winter vs grow in summer, ?, annual and bent vs bermuda & zosyia
2) What is another name for Poa annua?
annual grass
3) What is syringing?
misting a green to lower the surface temperature
4) Name 5 classes of pesticides. (All commonly used on golf courses)
? organic and non organic
5) What do the 3 numbers (X-X-X) on a fertilizer bag stand for?
first is nitrogen, others are phosphorus and potassium
6) Give 3 possible reasons for sanding (aka topdressing) a green.
improve drainage, reduce thatching, resistance to ball marks
7) What exactly is a Stimpmeter? (Describe it.) And what does "The greens are rolling a 10" actually mean?
10 means average of 10 ft between uphill and down hill trial. Device that releases a ball at a standard speed to roll across green
What do GCSAA and CGCS stand for?
Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, ?
9) What is the difference between a USGA, California, and push-up green?
USGA and California use sand mixture for drainage, push up uses height and slope for drainage, The soil mix standards for USGA and CA differ.
10) How can frost damage/kill grass?
? Burst the cells in the leaves?
***Bonus (answer may be somewhat subjective, but I'm looking for a specific, BEST answer): Give the definition of a "weed."
Any plant growing where it is not wanted. For example native annual grass growing into a fescue green/course
Good luck!
I'll need it

[JSPayne]

Nice.....the answers are getting increasingly better.....let's see if we can summarize what we've got so far:

1) For part A, I've heard two legit differences.....stolons vs. rhizomes, and dormant vs. non-dormant. Many of the answers for part B look good.

2) Piece together a couple answers and you've got it.....no one has got it EXACTLY right yet

3) Misting or lightly spraying a green with a hose is correct. Mainly to reduce canopy temperatures in extreme heat without soaking the soil profile, which promotes the growth of fungal disease

4) Looks like we need some help on this one: HINT - the 5 classes all end in "-ide" like pesticide, but focus on various "pests." Hence, saying you're spraying a "pesticide" is very vague.

5) Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium are correct, but I was hoping someone would know more than that. HINT - If you want to put 1# of nitrogen per 1000 sq. ft. on your lawn (which is a pretty normal application for most you homeowners), how do you know how much of a particular fertilizer to use? (Please don't say "read the bag")

6) Some have mentioned thatch, so I'll give that a yes....but specifically, to DILUTE thatch, which is dead or dying plant matter that can cause greens to be spongy and/or harbor harmful diseases & excess moisture. Somebody mentioned aeration......I'll say yes to that in that another use of sand can be to fill in the aeration holes. The third reason I'll conceed as well in regards to resistance to ball marks and smooth greens......especially frequent, light topdressings help to fill in inconsistancies in the green surface and build up a more rigid, firm surface

7) I've already given the answer to the Stimpmeter question above, mainly answered correctly by Huck

8. Answers given have all been correct

9) Correct answer already noted above

10) The answer is very close, "bursting cells in the plant" and "frost delays are more for preventing people walking on the plant than for the plant health itself" are on the right path.....but I'm hoping someone has found out EXACTLY why these frost delays are necessary other than just knowing it can do damage.

BONUS - Answer given above was perfect

Looks like you guys are only really struggling on #2, 4, 5, and 10. Sorry to be picky, but like I said to start....knowing the full basic rational behind these practices we follow will help immensely in being more understanding and aware of what is going on at your course. And turf knowledge is great to show off how much of a brainiac you are at parties! The women love it!! (At least, that's what I keep telling myself........... )

[Adam Clayman]

#2 is Annual Bluegrass?
#4 Herbi-,Fungi- and Insecti ?
#5 You want the percentages?  24-4-15?

[Bill Brightly]

OK, I'll play, without peeking at anyone else's answers.

1) poa likes the cooler season, seed heads develop in the spring. It is easily stressed in extreme heat, and subject to disease such as anthracnose athrachnososis. Bentgrass does better in the heat and remains dormant longer in the spring. Bent is prone to damage in the winter months and frost conditions from equipment and foot traffic.

2) Annual Bluegrass

3) Syringing is a quick watering to cool the grass in extreme heat conditions

4)chlorothalonil, iprodione,2, 4-d

5) no clue what XXX means

6) Sanding greens forces the roots to go deeper to reach water, allows for deeper roots and a healthier plant. Improves drainage. Prevent earthworms?

7) A stimpmeter measures how far a ball will roll on a flat section of a green after rolling down a short slide. The ball rolled 10 feet if the greens are a 10.

8)Golf Course Superintendents Association of America. Don't know CGCS

9) USGA are greens built to certain set of specifications including drainage and sand/dirt mixture. Don't know califorina. Push up green are simply dirt pushed up a sites natural soil pushed up to make the green, before the base material was installed and the grasses were planted,

10) I'm not sure that frost alone can damage grass. I think the damage comes from people or machinery

[Ben Sims]

4) Chlordane.  That's one right?   And legal too!!

[Adrian_Stiff]

Weed - an unwanted plant

[Kalen Braley]

Re #10.

I'm guessing its because the ice crystals are forced into the plant cells by the foot or wheel in question???  OK OK I looked it up!!   

[Garland Bayley]

nematodacide
miticide
algicide

[JSPayne]

Adam......nice job on #2.....I love to see people's amazement when they learn that Poa annua is just the scientific name for Annual Bluegrass. And when they find out that Poa annua is two words.....most people say poanna

Kalen.....cheater! But yes, that is the true source. Plants are mostly water, just like we are, and low temperatures cause the water in the plant to freeze and create ice crystals. Just like ice expanding in a cube tray in your fridge, the crystals take up more space than the water itself and have incrediably sharp edges. The grass is just fine, until something causes those crystals to rub and move around against cells, perferating cell walls and wrecking havoc inside the the plant. Thus, frost damage is usually just "damage" and hardly a full kill, but enough to create unsightly spots.

Bayley......not bad....you've got two extra than I was thinking actually. Nematicides and miticides definetely work, though are less common on the majority of golf courses. Adam's getting closer to my lines of thinking.......Herbicides, Fungicides, Insecticides (miticides could fall under this as well) and Algaecides........one more I was thinking of, if anyone wants to keep guessing!

The last one still missing a part is that fertilizer one......pretty important considering I get alot of family and friends asking me what to use and how much. Like I said earlier, applying 1# of nitrogen per 1000 sq. ft. per application is a pretty good rule of thumb for home lawns. So what if you go to the store and see a 22-5-10 summer fertilizer? How many 50# bags of fertilizer do you need for a 5500 sq. ft. lawn?

I'm just realizing this may be too much math work for a Friday afternoon........

[Phil_the_Author]

Even those who answered all the questions correctly still score quite low as no one has yet to point out that the "Keeper of the Green" is called a GREENKEEPER and NOT a greenSkeeper!

Shame, shame, shame... 

[Alan FitzGerald CGCS MG]

Adam......nice job on #2.....I love to see people's amazement when they learn that Poa annua is just the scientific name for Annual Bluegrass. And when they find out that Poa annua is two words.....most people say poanna

Kalen.....cheater! But yes, that is the true source. Plants are mostly water, just like we are, and low temperatures cause the water in the plant to freeze and create ice crystals. Just like ice expanding in a cube tray in your fridge, the crystals take up more space than the water itself and have incrediably sharp edges. The grass is just fine, until something causes those crystals to rub and move around against cells, perferating cell walls and wrecking havoc inside the the plant. Thus, frost damage is usually just "damage" and hardly a full kill, but enough to create unsightly spots.

Cool quiz  

but not to be a pain but:

In the UK poa annua is annual meadowgrass in the US it's annual bluegrass so Tom Huckaby should get an extra credit. (Oh and I hate when people call it po)

As for frost damage I'll admit that the main answer is the damage is caused when someone (or whatever) steps (drives) on frozen grass, the frozen cells burst through the cell walls causing damage, however during freeze/thaw cycles damage can also occur when the surface thaws and the rootzone stays frozen, traffic in this situation can sheer the roots and cause damage. (so Kalen should also at least get a half point)

I don't think I saw a proper answer for a California green, they have no gravel layers, just the gravel in the drains. The specs are for maximum drainage (so usually the mix does not include organics) however to get turf to grow once the mix is installed, the top few inches are modified with organics/nutrients to help get it established.

[Terry Thornton]

In Australia Poa is referred to as Winter Grass