One thing we struggle with at Sand Creek on our 3 nines is keeping all 29 greens consistent with firmness and speed. Out ultimate goal is to have every greens playing the exact same throughout the day.
It has been a process but we are making strides and I feel better about it now than in my first season here.
We do most of our greens maintenance and Monday thru Wednesday and then push for better ball roll and consistency on Thursday they Sunday. It will be this way until we get a few things under control.
The main factors that contribute to smooth ball roll are: mowing height, grass blade texture, upright growth habits, sand Topdressing for smoothness and moisture amounts.
We have been specifically been working on the creek greens to promote upright growth and remove the amount of grass "laying over". This can impact ball roll especially in the afternoon when the grass blades stand up and "grab" the ball. We have been aggressively Verticutting when weather is right, blooming to stand blades up, and Topdressing weekly to smooth the surface.
We have seen much improvement from last year and will continue to be vigilant in these practices until we are in more of a maintain mode rather than a reactive which is what it takes currently.
Last year we were not able to walk mow greens to due the puffiness which led to scapling on every green. I felt we have made enough improvement to firm up the greens and we brought the walk mowers back out yesterday. After 2 days of walk mowing I am pleased with the results. We saw minimal scalping mainly on creek 5,6,7 and 8. The walk mowing will continue which always leaves a cleaner cut.
