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<\/a>The 13th green at the Inwood Country Club in New York. (Photo by Robert S. Fagan)<\/strong><\/em><\/p><\/div>\n None other than golfing great Byron Nelson attributed the better scores of the modern player to the maintenance and the mowers, than to the golf equipment, skill, or teachings.<\/p>\n Maintaining a putting surface is a far more complex and complicated process than simply mowing special grasses very short.\u00a0 In short, it is the green superintendent\u2019s greatest agronomic challenge.<\/p>\n Putting greens can vary from hole to hole, week to week, season to season, and location to location.\u00a0 First, we must recognize that a putting green is composed of thousands of individual plants and their health is influenced by a variety of physical and environmental factors.<\/p>\n Weather, temperature, moisture, foot traffic, and pests all affect plant health.\u00a0 When you add in the fact that we mow at such a low height \u2013 often less than 3\/16 of an inch, this limits the development of a root system.\u00a0 As a result, these plants are under considerable stress.\u00a0 This is where the skilled superintendent actively maintains this balance.<\/p>\n Beyond these factors, there are three other very significant influences.\u00a0 Drainage is the most important factor.\u00a0 Says Bob Costa, a long-time golf course maintenance expert in Northern California, \u201cWell-drained soils produce firmer, smoother putting surfaces that are less likely to compact, are easier to leach salts and tend to support less disease.\u00a0 In addition, roots growing in aerated soils tend to be healthier, thereby reducing plant stress.\u00a0 The common practice of constructing greens, using sand as the growing medium, is for these reason.\u201d\u00a0 These draining greens allow our superintendents to work their magic.<\/p>\n Green size is yet another factor.\u00a0 Modern greens are built larger (in excess of 6,000 square feet) which allows the superintendent more options in hole location, thus dramatically reducing the wear and compaction.\u00a0 When you add good drainage, you can appreciate why a larger, well-drained surface makes for better surface.<\/p>\n The third feature influencing the quality of putting surface is the variety of turfgrass employed.\u00a0 Bentgrass has long been the choice for the best putting surfaces.\u00a0 Unfortunately this strain of grass requires a dry, warm environment that does not exist in many areas.\u00a0 The differences for different grasses even can be as subtle as the microclimates that can affect an area as small as a city or county.\u00a0 What may be good in one area may prove problematic in another.<\/p>\n So next time you step on that finely maintained putting surface, remind yourself that make or miss that putt, there is a whole bunch more involved in getting the surface so nice than just cutting a special grass really short.\u00a0 And if you spot the maintenance workers, you might just thank them for their remarkable efforts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"