Turf MD: Dr. D goes back to the basics of turf management

Danneberger takes us back to the beginnings of golf to learn how to adapt to future technology.

The post Turf MD: Dr. D goes back to the basics of turf management first appeared on Golfdom.

Visiting golf courses in Scotland, one can’t help but wonder what it was like to be a greenskeeper on those courses during golf’s early days when golf was centered on Links Land. This land — situated along the coastal areas or river estuaries — was characterized as not being suitable for agricultural use. The soil is predominantly sand, which is drought-prone and lacks nutrients.

Maybe this deep predominantly sand soil wasn’t good for agriculture, but it was suitable for “wispy” grasses to predominate. Golf balls of the day — the feathery for example — could be struck with a degree of consistency on the turf surface.

Golf courses designed and built inland from the links, even by just a few miles failed miserably. The opposite of links-type soils, these inland soils were high in clay, poorly drained and relatively rich in nutrients. During wet periods, the grass became thick and lush.

That, combined with poor soil drainage, made golf practically impossible to play with the equipment of the day. For hundreds of years, golf was restricted to links-type golf courses due to their unique conditions.

Golf was a passenger on the rapid expansion of the British Empire especially during the Victorian Era. The British — primarily soldiers — tended to lay out golf courses in these far-off parts of the world on land that had the characteristics of the links. As a result, the global perception was that golf should/could only be played on links land. That perception changed — albeit slowly — once golf arrived in the U.S.

Counting sheep

As part of my lectures on the management of golf course turf, I try to intertwine the history of golf with how we manage turf currently. I try to start rather basic looking for principles of how greenskeepers managed links turf in the 1700s and 1800s.

Initially, it’s a rather cursory look — you mow the turf and maybe throw down some sand from the dunes as topdressing. It seems pretty straightforward — and not very exciting.

Once the students stop laughing, I ask them to visualize and place themselves as members of a greens committee at that time. Seeing the world through another person’s eyes is a powerful teaching tool.

Mowing is a topic that I’d expect to come up for discussion at early greens committee meetings. The mowers of choice for a links golf course during these early times were sheep. Sitting in a room with the greenskeeper and golf professional what questions would you expect would be raised by the committee regarding their mowing units?

I would envision my greens committee asking questions like, “How many sheep do we need?”, “Do the sheep’s teeth get dull?” “Can we sharpen their teeth? And, if yes, how?” and “When do we need to replace the sheep?”

I’m not a veterinarian, nor a sheep expert, but I’ve found out that sheep from 1 to 4 years of age have a healthy mouth with permanent incisors with little wear or damage. After 4 years of wear, it’s not uncommon for the sheep to start breaking or losing teeth. In our hypothetical, grazing on sandy soils would result in a faster rate of wear.

Normally, sheep will graze a pasture to a height of 2 to 3 inches depending on the grass species before they are rotated off. Sheep can graze much shorter than this height if allowed to, but at low heights dig up or tug out the turf by its roots.

From the above, you might realize how similar the basic questions about sheep grazing on turf apply — to some degree — to current principles of mowing. Understanding principles behind the mowing basics like the height of cut, adaptability of turfgrass species, impact of topdressing on cutting units and mower maintenance gives you the ability to adapt to change.

Whether it’s mowing or a different golf course management practice, thoroughly knowing the principles behind them allows you to explain, adjust and adapt to future tech advancements.

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