Master Greenkeeper John Quinn is the author of Performance Bowling Greens, and several other titles on Greenkeeping, Club and Business Management.
The great debate about green speed has raged on since the beginning of the game. But what are the factors known to affect green speed?
In order of their impact on green speed these are the top 7 factors that you should bear in mind. Obviously there are others such as weather patterns, level of play etc, but these are largely out of the greenkeepers control and in any case do not figure highly in green speed management.
Sand Top Dressing - that ubiquitous and apparently simple greenkeeping operation indulged in by most clubs annually is actually a much more complex operation than most give it credit for. In this article John Quinn explains the mechanics of top-dressing. He explains what it can and can't do and why you must understand some soil science before top-dressing is considered.
In the rush to get the green ready for the new season, its sometimes easy to overlook the small and seemingly less significant jobs around the green.
However, these can be very important and can save you a lot of problems later and they help make the place look, play and feel better for opening day.
Nitrogen is essential to turfgrass performance—it drives growth, colour, and density. But too much or too little, applied at the wrong time or in the wrong form, can do more harm than good. Spikes of growth followed by periods of stress are all too common with traditional nitrogen sources, especially on fine turf where consistency is king.
"Mair sand" was the call from Tom Morris the most famous and respected greenkeeper of them all, but have we misunderstood him? In reply to an article about fine, firm golf greens John Quinn highlights the similarities between the plight of golf and bowls greens and clears up the apparent contradiction between modern day problems with inert greens and the Tom Morris philosophy.
