10 April 14  |  Golf   |  

Green Soil Inspection in Early Spring

Written by Jack Creveling, our Golf Course Superintendent.

Checking “Under the Hood” on Greens

When inspecting a car or vehicle, any sound mechanic will check under the hood to inspect the motor and all the moving parts that operate out of sight from the user. In a similar fashion, professional turf managers inspect what is going on in the ground around the root zone to get a feel for how the unseen part of the turf is operating. Last week, the team at Golf Course Maintenance did just that on the greens as we head into a warmer weather pattern of early spring.

14 Green last week

14 Green last week

To inspect the soil, our team uses a soil probe that has a removable plate. This allows us to pull a 5 inch sample out of the green and look closely at the soil structure.

Soil section after removal from green

Soil section after removal from green

Making Sure the Roots are Up for the Task

After inspecting the soil structure, we then wash away the soil and slide the sample down to inspect the root length of the turf during this critical growing season.

Inspection of the root zone showed that the Tif-eagle Bermuda grass greens we have at Golden Ocala have roots on average of 3 inches in length. The greens are mowed at .125 inches, which means the roots are 24 times longer into the soil than the plant extends up from the ground.

Roots extending 3 inches into soil for greens

Roots extending 3 inches into soil for greens

The warm weather that accompanies this time of year will allow the Golf Course Maintenance team to maximize the playability of the greens without concern of the root zone not being up for the task. Check back soon for more updates on how we are continuing to maintain our beautiful course!