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blogs.oregonstate.edu-Fast and Healthy Putting Greens
1. blogs.oregonstate.edu http://blogs.oregonstate.edu/yourosu/2011/02/21/fast-and-healthy-putting-greens/
Fast and Healthy Putting Greens
CORVALLIS, Ore. – Researchers at Oregon State University
believe they’ve come up with a winning formula for making
putting greens fast and healthy – and they have the numbers to
prove it.
They examined different rolling and mowing techniques on
annual bluegrass putting greens and found that golf balls rolled
the farthest when the greens were mowed daily and rolled
immediately afterward. The balls traveled an average of 11 feet
when rolled at a controlled speed, which was 15 inches farther
than on grass that was only mowed daily, not rolled.
The next greatest distance, an average of 10 feet, was on plots
that were rolled daily but mowed only four days a week.
The study is important because the grass was mowed at a
higher-than-normal height, which kept the grass healthy and
vibrant and proves that putting speed can still be fast on taller grass.
According to the United States Golf Association, the putting greens at most American golf courses have ball-roll
distances of seven to 12 feet. The organization considers a ball roll distance of 8.5 feet “fast” for regular course play
and 10.5 feet fast for championship events.
A 2010 online survey by the organization found that of 227 golfers who expressed a preference on green speeds, 218
preferred to play on greens where the ball rolled between 9 and 11 feet. Also in the survey, 451 course maintenance
workers out of 476 who expressed a preference said that that same distance provided the best compromise between
healthy turfgrass and golfer satisfaction.
The OSU study tested a variety of treatments on 60 turfgrass plots at OSU’s Lewis-Brown Horticulture Research
Farm near Corvallis. Other treatments in the study included mowing daily and rolling Mondays, Wednesdays and
Fridays; rolling daily and mowing Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays; and alternating mowing and
rolling.
Rolling greens smoothes the putting surface. Researchers in OSU’s study rolled plots with a 1,140-pound electric
roller and an 845-pound gas roller. While both provided about a 1-foot increase in ball roll distance compared to non-
rolled plots, there was no difference in ball roll distance between the two rollers.
Researchers mowed all 60 grass plots at a height of 0.15 inches, well over typical golf course mowing heights of 0.10
to 0.125 inches, said OSU turf grass specialist Rob Golembiewski, the study’s author. The turf was cut at 8 a.m. with
a walk-behind greens mower. Green speed was measured at 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. each day. Distance measurements
were taken using a Stimpmeter, an aluminum bar that applies a known velocity to a golf ball.
Mowing turf very short to increase ball roll distance has become standard practice, Golembiewski said, but that can
potentially damage the grass. The study shows greens can be fast without being cut so short that the health of the
grass is compromised, providing a happy medium between golfers’ expectations and the interests of course
supervisors, he said.
2. “Now we’re showing you can receive ample ball roll distance at a higher height of cut, which means less stress on the
turf,” said Golembiewski, who holds the N.B. and Jacqueline Giustina Professorship in Turf Management at OSU. “In
the long run, that translates into a much healthier turfgrass stand.”
The findings mirror results from similar studies on creeping bentgrass, which is the most popular turfgrass used for
U.S. putting greens. Annual bluegrass, the focus of OSU’s research trial, is more common in the Pacific Northwest
and has been relatively unstudied, Golembiewski said.
By: Rachel Beck, 541-737-0806, rachel.beck@oregonstate.edu
Source: Rob Golembiewski, 541-737-5449, golembir@hort.oregonstate.edu
This press release is also available at: http://bit.ly/h7GwHw
About Oregon State University: OSU is one of only two U.S. universities designated a land-, sea-, space- and sun-
grant institution. OSU is also Oregon’s only university designated in the Carnegie Foundation’s top tier for research
institutions, garnering more than 60 percent of the total federal and private research funding in the Oregon University
System. Its nearly 22,000 students come from all 50 states and more than 90 nations. OSU programs touch every
county within Oregon, and its faculty teach and conduct research on issues of national and global importance.