Superintendents Guide to Controlling Putting Green Speed

 

In Volume 11.3 (May-June 2009), Australian Turfgrass Management quizzed superintendents whether they lost any sleep over the speed of their greens. The sheer volume of respondents proved that green speed has and always will remain one of the most contentious topics in golf course management. 
It is therefore somewhat fortuitous that at the upcoming 26th Australian Turfgrass Conference on the Gold Coast, delegates will get the chance to hear from one of the industry’s principal authorities on this most polarising of topics.

For much of his academic career, Michigan State University turfgrass academic specialist Dr Thomas Nikolai has spent his time amassing a huge bank of knowledge on green speed and in 2005 this culminated in the publishing of ‘The Superintendents Guide to Putting Green Speed’, a book which he has dedicated “to all golf course superintendents who have heard that their greens were too fast or too slow – on the same day”.

Right from the get go, Nikolai’s take on the whole green speed argument is quite clear – speed does not kill. As he goes on to say… “Articles in trade magazines about green speed seem to suggest that a superintendent can either manage his or her greens for speed or manage them for healthy turf. The premise seems to be that both aims cannot be accomplished. I strongly disagree. It is my belief that if a superintendent is not managing for an ‘ideal green speed’, then he or she may be missing out on the best way to manage the greens.

“It has been more than 25 years since the release of the Stimpmeter and it is time that this equipment is used for its intended purpose. It is time to recognize that managing for green speed is an obtainable goal and that staying within an ideal green speed is a reasonable objective.”

Nikolai embarks by looking at problems associated with green speed before delving into the history of measuring green speed and the development of the Stimpmeter. After chapters on climate, putting green rootzones and turfgrass species and the various impacts they can have on green speed, Nikolai then spends a substantial chunk of book looking at three of the most influential cultural practices affecting green speed – mowing height, fertilisation and lightweight rolling.

The penultimate chapter examines an integrated approach to green speed management and tournament preparation, while the final chapter offers some sagely advice to superintendents and greens committees and owners. There is also a substantial bibliography just in case you need any further reading material before heading into that greens committee meeting.

Overall, Nikolai’s book presents an authoritative compilation of applied research to identify how factors such as turf varieties, rootzone characteristics, environmental conditions and cultural practices all conspire to impact on green speed. The overall aim of the book is to make the golf course superintendent ‘the’ foremost expert when it comes to green speed at his or her club, as well as stimulate further debate between superintendents, golfers and researchers to further understand the many and varied factors influencing green speed.