Golf Green Smoothness 
A measure of the bumpiness of a green, especially of how well a golf ball travels over the sward without bobbling.
This can be a performance standard and is a measure, usually in millimetres, of the vertical movement of a golf ball when travelling across the green.
Golf Green Speed
There are many factors which can influence the speed of a golf green, each having a varying degree of influence.
• Canaway, P.M. & Baker, S.W. (1992) ‘Ball roll characteristics of five turfgrasses used for golf and bowling greens’ The Journal of the Sports Turf Research Institute, Vol. 68, pp88-94,
• Nikolai, T.A. (2005) ‘The superintendent’s guide to controlling putting green speed’, John Wiley & Sons,
• Rixon, S. (2018) ‘The Need for Green Speed’
• Waters, G. (2020),
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Golf Green Trueness
A measure of the sideways deviation of a ball from a line of putt.
This can be a performance standard and is a measure, usually in millimetres, of the horizontal (lateral) movement of a golf ball from a defined line of putt.
Golf Greens Aeration
Aeration needs to be carried out throughout the year, with adapting the equipment and tines used to suit the ground conditions, time of year and other maintenance work being carried out.
The summer period is when greens and other areas of the course will look their best. This is also the time when golfers will expect minimal, if any, disturbance on the greens from maintenance activities. Grass is in a state of constant change as it progresses through its lifecycle. Leaves and basal sheaths die on a frequent and consistent basis and constant foot traffic and mechanical work compact the unde
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Golf Greens Biostimulants
Biostimulant use can help to address some of the imbalance which might occur due to the intensity of maintenance activities as well as over reliance and use of pesticides. Soil microbiology can be severely inhibited due to modern construction, very high sand percentages, and maintenance techniques. The application of organic supplements, as biostimulants, can help redress any imbalance and improve the health of the turfgrass plant.
Biostimulants are products which might be applied to a sward for many reasons, including encouraging the increase in soil micro-organisms, increase organic decom
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Golf Greens Brushing and Switching
Brushing and switching are important regular, but simple, tasks which are used to keep the surface free of dew and also for knocking over any worm casts which might be present.
A drag brush is also helpful in keeping the grass blades upright and to help maintain suitable air flow around the blades during the time of year when mowing is reduced to a minimum. A drag brush will often be mounted onto a utility vehicle, via a three-point link with the top link hydraulically operated to enable rapid lowering and raising on a green.
All 18-greens on a standard golf course would then be able t
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Golf Greens Decompaction
Whilst aeration can help break through compacted layers and into compacted profiles, a more ‘disruptive’ action may be needed to improve the situation and decompact the profile, especially where deep seated compaction is a problem.
Action will be needed to reduce the density of the soil profile and increase pore spaces as a percentage of a soil volume. This will typically be achieved by hollow-tining to remove cores, deep spiking (e.g. verti-draining) to shatter a soil profile to create fissures within the soils and to produce a defined degree of surface lift, linear aeration to produce sha
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Golf Greens Diseases
The commonest diseases for the majority of greens will typically be Fusarium (Microdochium) patch, Red thread and Anthracnose.
Watch out for Fusarium patch in particular as this can be the most serious and destructive disease of golf greens, which can attack and then spread over a short period of time. Surface moisture control, lower levels of nitrogen and certainly no applied nitrogen when natural growth is slow, reducing plant stress by easing heights of cut, routine aeration and scarification to manage thatch and soil air exchange, and combined with verticutting to redu
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Golf Greens Fertiliser Application
Fertiliser application will be minimal for most golf greens if a firm surface is to be produced with the desirable grasses of red fescue and browntop bents. Do not worry about creating a lush green coloured sward as this will result in a slow game, an increase in undesirable annual meadow which will further increase thatch depth and reduce the quality of the playing surface. A fertiliser based on a traditional 8:0:0, or similar, is an ideal starting point.
The quantity of nutrient inputs to different green constructions can vary significantly. The highest quantities of Nitrogen are required
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Golf Greens Grass Species
For a fine surface, with lower fertiliser and irrigation inputs then a traditional red fescue (Chewings Fescue and Slender Creeping Red Fescue) and browntop bentgrass surface is desirable. In practice, a gradual increase in annual meadow grass is routinely seen. This is the result of a range of interactions, especially:
• incorrect irrigation practices.
• over application of fertilisers.
• incorrect nutrient inputs from fertilisers, especially over application of phosphate.
• fertiliser applications being undertaken at times of the year which encourage exces
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