Page 13 - Green Master summer 2022

Bunker raking.
recover from a very busy prior season (33,000 rounds) as well as gain strength for the season to come. May had temperatures warming up like we would have expected with even three days above 30°C. May turned out to be the driest month of the season, only totalling 28mm of rain and 23 days in a row without any rainfall. Little did we know, the rest of the months would more than make up for this drought. BGCC opened for golf on May 21st and the rounds did not stop all year. June, had a record-breaking number of rounds played at a whopping 6936 and the yearly total ended up being 32,381.
In order to grow healthy grass (greens) and provide the best playing conditions consistently throughout the season, we have to use many tools and rely on the weather. Consistency is the act of doing the same thing, the same way over time, to be fair or accurate (as Google defines). The challenge is dealing with a living plant which we cut down to 3mm in height, ask it to withstand the stomping feet of thousands of golfers in an environment that is ever changing and we have literally zero control of. However, we do have control over the tools we use
to help provide consistent greens: mowers, rollers, thermometers, moisture meters, grass clipping scales and the Stimpmeter to name a few.
Our green speed data charts (on page 12) shows recorded green speeds and the effects major rain events have on the consistency throughout the 2021 season (May – Oct). As depicted, following heavy rainstorms (10mm or greater) green speeds drop and take a number of days to climb back up. Traffic, humidity and time of day are also contributing factors to green speeds.
Rain, heavy rain and frequency of heavy rain events are the number one cause of putting green inconsistency. It takes time for the soil to drain and although there may not be any puddles evident, the subsoil rootzone is saturated and leads to soft, slow conditions. If we remove the rain events from the season, the daily green speed average tells a different story.
Sudden drops are much less severe and in many cases any drop in reading is around half a foot (excluding the large drop in August because of aerating). These smaller variations would be negligible to the average golfer. In May, being closed with no activity and only conducting essential services, the average was 8.5. June went up to 9.7 even though it was the busiest month and had 78mm of rain including a single 25mm storm. July through to October was one of the wettest summers in recent memory collecting 442mm of rain, having six storms over 20mm and two of which were over 40mm. However, there was not a reading under 10 and September’s average was 10.75 despite all the rain.
Daily green speed at BGCC is 9.5 – 11, depending on the time of year. This range, is decided upon many factors but most importantly is the health of the greens (2 Acres), followed by number of rounds, membership handicap/enjoyment and pace of play.
OUR FAVOURITE TOPIC... GREEN SPEED
Many articles on green speeds would conclude average golfers cannot tell the difference between quarter and half foot increments on a Stimpmeter
GreenMaster • CGSA • 13