We’ve all seen various maintenance practices performed on putting surfaces and asked the question – why? Golfers often wonder why perfect putting greens are disrupted by maintenance practices.

Without going into excruciating detail regarding every practice superintendents use on a regular basis, what follows is a simple multiple-choice quiz to see if golfers can tell the difference between cultural practices utilized on courses today.

Match the proper cultural practice with the corresponding piece of equipment.

Aerification – removes small plugs from the greens. This removes organic matter and promotes root growth, improves water infiltration and helps alleviate compaction.

Verticutting – removes a small amount of material from the green, grooms the surface

Deep verticutting – removes a great deal of organic matter from the green

Topdressing – smoothes the surface, fills in damaged areas; sand is the material of choice

Planet Air – small slits on the surface, minimal surface disruption

The surface quality of putting greens is a delicate balance of providing satisfactory playing conditions (firm versus soft), plant nutrition, trueness (smooth versus bumpy), disease suppression, plant water requirements and root zone fitness. Factor in environmental considerations such as excessively high temperatures, strong winds, artic fronts and sheets of rain or blankets of snow and the surface quality dynamic is challenged even more.

Successfully juggling weather demands, an active tournament schedule and special events while to trying to hit the narrow agronomic window for a quick recovery is difficult. Because of specific time restraints and recovery needs, one can understand why the greens are subjected to cultural practices when they are already in pristine condition.

The above mentioned are just a few examples of cultural practices that are employed on golf courses to enhance or improve the surface quality of putting greens. In order to keep putting greens in top-notch condition now and into the future, golfers must endure some short-term pains.

1	A
2	| B
3	C
4	D
5	E

The answers to the quiz are: Picture 1 – D, Picture 2 – E, Picture 3 – B, Picture 4 – C, Picture 5 – A.
 

This article was filed under NCGA Golf Magazine, Talkin Turf.
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