Magazine - Changing the Nature of Your Greens

31 Jan 2006 by Paul lowe

Hello henry

I have not had chance to read all your paper. I would like to say that we are currently changing the sward composition of our existing greens from Poa to brown top bent to bent / fescue. This is being acheived over many years, every year the greens are playing that little bit better, they are becoming cheaper to manage, and much much easier to manage. The main point is, my members have not seen a decline in quality - on the contrary, they see only improvements.

The sustainable golf seminar was truly inspiring. Not rocket science, just a lot of common sense. Basic practical greenkeeping is the way forward. We should listen to what the R&A have to say, not just for the future of British golf, but the moral obligation we have in our environment.
I have sad it before and I will say it again. The current drive for sustainable golf at the moment is very exciting, especially for the Jim Arthur fan club!!
well done to all involved!

1 Feb 2006 by Anthony Asquith

Paul

Get some bloody work done !

Don`t Start paul off on this subject....Lol

Hope you are well

Keep in touch !

thanks

4 Feb 2006 by leslie

great paper i have been doing what you say for the last five years in Luxembourg & we are now starting to see much better putting surfaces. In the begining we had lots of problems from the members, but now they understand and are very positive about the next five years. Keep on preching the traditional method of greenkeeping.

7 Feb 2006 by iantom

Hi Henry,

This is a great paper that explains in plain english how to go about encouraging the promotion of fine grasses over poa annua. I am really surprised that there has not been more reaction to it on this site. Does that mean that the silent majority are already doing what you write about?

I for one would like to see this same paper posted on the BIGGA website to see if will attract more reaction?

Keep up the good work Henry and it was great to finally put a face to the voice at Harrogate.

Regards
Ian

13 Feb 2006 by derekjsmith

I found the article very interesting, and I am very pleased to see the renewed interest in improving the quality of the grasses on golf courses. I have to admit to having a slightly biased view as product manager for DLF and Johnsons seeds.

As the producer of the highest quality seed range in the UK it is always distressing to see so many courses with huge poa content on the greens ,tees and fairways. Managing poa is a very difficult and expensive task. it is also a grass that tends to let the club down at the point of maximum demand, through the summer, when lucrative pay and play and corporate golfers are out in force.

One of the biggest factors affecting specie change on golf courses is the frequency and method of application of overseeding. I have seen many sites where greenkeepers have overseeded once in march or september into a poa ridden, thatchy surface and then told me that overseeding doesnt work! If overseeding is done regularly, with the correct mix, and combined with the management guidelines in Henys article then the results speak for themselves!