Golf Rough Fallen Leaves 
Autumn can see an abundance of fallen leaves, especially where there are considerable numbers of mature deciduous trees present on a course.
A tractor operated leaf sweeper or vacuum would typically be in use on a regular basis to continually remove the fallen leaves.
October and November would be key months, as well as some weeks in December, plus also in September if leave fall was early, which can happen when a particularly dry summer has occurred.
Golf Rough Mowing
There will typically be a transition of sward heights from the fairway to the deep rough. These areas will be maintained to keep the grass under control and to act as a punishment for a wayward golf shot.
The height of cut will vary quite significantly, with semi-rough areas typically being cut at heights from 25mm to 75mm, whilst golf course rough areas might be cut at heights from 75mm to 175mm, but there can be quite a variance in practice. The actual heights of cut used will often be stated in a golf course policy document.
If scrub, such as gorse, starts to encroach or become estab
Continue reading about this
Golf Rough Other Maintenance Practices
The use of fertilisers or irrigation on the semi-rough would not usually be carried out, except maybe in the most highly manicured and rare situations, however, there should be little need to carry out these activities on any areas of rough.
Drag brushing might be considered in helping to stripe a semi-rough, especially when mowing is not required or suitable, although for some greenkeepers and golfers, but not others, this might be taking manicuring of a course too far.
Golf Rough Scarification
To help reduce the development of a soft thatch layer, scarification should be carried out to keep the base of the sward open, although this will primarily be in the semi-rough rather than rough.
The use a chain harrow with tines pointing downwards will also tear out loose and decaying vegetation helping to maintain the desired more open sward.
Where excess vegetative arisings are produced then these will need to be raked or vacuumed up and removed to a compost heap or disposed of in some other suitable way.
The use of a verticutter might also be considered on a semi-rough, especial
Continue reading about this
Golf Rough Weed, Pests and Disease
Weeds, or more likely the flowers of weeds, especially those with predominantly white flowers such as daisy and yarrow, can be a problem in semi-rough areas at flowering time as their presence can make it much harder to find a ball mishit into the semi-rough. Keeping play moving, without unnecessary delays may require the use of a selective herbicide in certain areas of the semi-rough.
The use of herbicides in the standard or deep rough is more questionable as there can be significant environmental and wildlife benefits, especially by reducing the harm done to insect food sources, in not
Continue reading about this
Golf Tees Aeration
Aeration will be carried out on a regular basis, using a variety of methods and changing the depth of aeration where possible.
Maintaining a well rooted, stable, and resilient sward is essential if divot recovery is to be optimised and good sward coverage is to be maintained.
A range of practices might be employed, and a ‘typical’ programme might be along the following lines, although this will be influenced by soil conditions as aeration will want to be carried out in dry to moist soil conditions, not when the soil is moist to wet:
• Slit tine: fortnightly to monthly during Se
Continue reading about this
Golf Tees Divoting
Regular divoting whilst tees are in use is essential, and often grass seed is mixed in with a divot mix to aid recovery, especially during the growing season and when seed can germinate in a reasonable time period.
Tees for par 3 holes might be divoted on a daily basis, whilst those for par 4 and 5 holes might typically be divoted from twice a week to fortnightly, depending on the size of the tees, the amount and type of usage and the available resources.
A divot mixture will typically be consistent with the type of soil in the existing tee but would typically be a minimum of a sandy lo
Continue reading about this
Golf Tees Fertiliser Applications
Fertiliser requirements will relate to species composition, usage, soil type, and if clippings are regularly removed, or let fly.
Tees dominated with perennial ryegrass will typically need higher nutrient inputs than those dominated by fescue and bents.
Soil based tees will require less inputs than specially constructed high sand specification tees.
As a general guide soil-based tees might require 80 – 160 kg/N/ha per year, whilst for mainly sand based rootzones this might be 200-240 kg/N/ha per year, (Lawson, D.M (1996) ‘Fertilisers for Turf’, STRI, p.35). The quantity of N applie
Continue reading about this
Golf Tees Grass Species
Grass species composition can be quite varied. The traditional species of red fescues and common browntop bents are often seen as the ideal species mixture for golf tees in many situations, especially for links type courses and from a ‘purist’ greenkeeper perspective.
The inclusion of dwarf perennial ryegrass, as well as smooth stalked meadow grass, has often been resisted by many greenkeepers and agronomists for use in tees, with the argument that the more traditional species, where managed correctly, produce a superior surface. (Arthur, J. (2003) 2nd Edn, ‘Practical Greenkeeping’, pp153-
Continue reading about this
Golf Tees Irrigation
A drier leaf is more resilient to wear, so avoid overwatering a tee because a leaf well supplied with water will be more easily worn away by golfers. Trying to produce a well-developed, deep, root system will require relatively low irrigation inputs, as this will also encourage grass roots to explore into the rootzone in search of available moisture to extract.
A higher height of cut, when compared with a green, will produce less stress on the sward and this in turn will enable it to better resist drier conditions. The actual amount and frequency of irrigation will depend on the sward compo
Continue reading about this