Magazine - On a Roll

By Press Release in Golf on 28th Jun 2010 16:00

This article has been republished from www.golfdom.com for Tru-Turf Australia

Fifteen years ago, golf course superintendents were much more apprehensive about rolling their course’s greens than they are now.

“They were saying, ‘No way those ma-chines would be on my course,’ because they were worried about compaction and bruising the turf,” says Thom Nikolai, Ph.D., a turfgrass academic specialist at Michigan State University who has been conducting rolling research since 1994.Research changed that apprehension. Now superinten-dents are rolling greens more than ever.“Most superintendents I know roll at least three days a week,” Nikolai says.

Fifteen years ago, Bob Bittner, certified superintendent at The Club at Pelican Bay in Naples, Fla., was rolling three times a week and was worried about compaction and wear and tear. Now, he’s rolling the TifEagle greens daily. “Everyone is rolling more than they used to,” Bittner says.The increase of rolling frequency is primarily for two rea-sons: green speed, driven by golfer expectations; and healthier turf, through higher heights of cut and moisture reduction.“Lowering the height of cut caused rolling to become more popular,” says Shawn Emerson, director of golf at the six-course Desert Mountain Club in Scottsdale, Ariz. “We were at such low heights. I didn’t like lowering mowing heights just to create speed.”

MSU research and turfgrass scientist James Beard, Ph.D., solidified Emerson’s views about rolling.“He’s the one that really OK’d rolling for me,” Emerson says about Beard. “I also talked to the PGA Tour and folks like reduce the amount of dollar spot on the greens at Desert Mountain, Emerson says. “It’s a moisture-management issue,” he adds. “Moisture is a big issue.”

Emerson watches the tire pressure on the triplexes carefully when rolling because he doesn’t want to leave marks on the greens. He also says a key point is not to roll if there’s frost because you don’t want to crush the plant’s crown. Years ago compaction was a big worry among superintendents who were apprehensive about rolling. Now, however, Santerre isn’t worried about that because he says rolling only affects the top inch or inch and a half of the profile.

Griffith says many superintendents aren’t concerned about compaction because they have USGA-spec greens, but those who have push-up greens might be more concerned. Santerre warns superintendents of damage that could be caused by rollers around greens because of turning a machine while it’s in motion. He suggests rolling right off the green to avoid any damage. Griffith says rolling puts less stress on greens than mowing.

Economic impact
Superintendents can save money by rolling more and mowing less. Less mowing means you don’t have to backlap or sharpen reels and change blades as often. The cost savings would pay for a roller in one year, Nikolai says. Griffith says the main reason he rolls is economic, saving on labor because he doesn’t mow as often. He also rolls after topdressing, so there’s less wear and tear on the mowers. By eliminating a mowing once a week, Bittner saves 24 hours of labor (eight mowers used for three hours). Rolling costs Santerre $5,000 a year, but he says it’s worth it.

What’s right for you?
When it comes to a particular rolling program, superintendents are figuring out what works best for them based on weather, type of turfgrass and green construction, golfer expectations and budgets. Nikolai says there’s no one right way to roll, noting that time of year and region of country affects rolling.

“We want to give superintendents options,” he says. “We don’t want to tell them, ‘Just do this.’ ” Le Diamant members are quite happy seeing Santerre’s
crew rolling greens. “It’s a good PR tool,” Santerre says. “They see us rolling and automatically think the greens are rolling faster. It’s golfer perception.

Golfers appreciate the game better when greens have been rolled. They like to see us rolling because neighboring courses also are rolling.” Bittner says rolling is going to change every golf course, but that superintendents need to roll to meet their desired speed range. He suggests they look at not mowing every day. “I never thought I’d be rolling as much as I do, and we’re not seeing a detrimental effect,” he says.

For Emerson, it’s all about managing risk. “Anytime I can take risk out of the equation, I will,” he says. “Rolling is a partnership with the greens program. How does it fit in for you?”

Programs
Rolling & Mowing.
The key to any rolling program is how often you roll and mow and how you alternate the two practices. Do you roll greens every day but mow every other? Do
you mow two days in a row and roll the third? Do you mow every day and roll every other? “When you alternate mowing and rolling for the entire season, you see healthier turf stands compared to mowing every day,” says Thom Nikolai,

Ph.D., a turfgrass academic specialist at Michigan State University who has been conducting rolling research since 1994. “Any program in which
you alternate can work well if you want to save money, too.” At The Club at Pelican Bay in Naples, Fla., certified superintendent Bob Bittner’s goal is to mow less often and keep the greens consistent by rolling daily. Normally, the crew mows every day and rolls five times a week. They mow every other day in the winter.

Mowing & Rolling
“Thom’s classes eased our worries, and we’ve experimented more,” he says. “We increased rolling from four to five times a week. And we haven’t been mowing as much. We skip a day or two during the winter, depending on the weather.” Bittner’s assistant, Dan Cruse, is conducting rolling research on the bermudagrass.

He has nine plots on the club’s nursery green. He’s performing tests that entail alternating different mowing and rolling frequencies. (For newly published
research about rolling on warmseason turf, e-mail Thom Nikolai at nikolait@msu.edu or visit www.michiganturfgrass.org.

“By rolling daily, you could easily skip one mowing a week,” Cruse says. “Rolling every day is advantageous, even if you skip a mowing. We’ve determined you can roll every day and mow every other day and keep green speed, but we haven’t implemented this on the course.”


This article has been republished from www.golfdom.com for Tru-Turf Australia.
By John Walsh, Contributing Editor

Tru-Turf Rollers www.truturf.com or email sales@truturf.com Ph: +61 7 5594 7199

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