“Have your lawn looking like a golf course”…
”get a golf course quality lawn”….
golf course this and golf course that. These are some phrases that are thrown around describing a successful lawn and something that can be provided based on products applied. Unfortunately, there are a few big pieces missing to having a “golf course quality lawn”.
It is incorrect to think that golf courses look they way they do based on just the product applications that are done. People often think about correct fertilizer, correct weed control, or correct disease control as the sole reason that a golf course looks so flawless. However, the main reason comes down to a few other very important and consistent practices. These are watering correctly and mowing correctly. Both of which are often overlooked.
Even though most people understand that watering is important to all plant growth, it is often not monitored enough and thus not done correctly. Golf Course Turfgrass Managers should really be renamed Golf Course Water Managers. Their main focus on a day-to-day basis is proper watering. These managers wake up thinking about water and go to bed thinking about water. I was that person for over 20 years. Water is highly monitored at a golf course. Too much and the conditions are not good for play. Too little and the grass will not function the way it is supposed to. There is rarely a time when water is put out just to put it out. The amount of time monitoring soil moisture, the amount of man hours applying water to the correct areas in the correct amount and the amount of money spent on proper equipment to get the water to the right place in the right amount is not understood by most people. Proper watering is very important to the success of your lawn and bioLawn understand this. Sign up for our watering newsletter to stay up to date on our recommendations for your area (click this link).
The second thing that is overlooked is the amount of mowing that happens in a golf course situation. I know that sounds strange because if you pay any attention to golf, you will often see some kind of mowing involved with the game. What people don’t understand is the frequency of mowing that happens. Proper mowing frequency is often overlooked. We tend to focus on mowing height and then not mowing off more than 1/3rd of the grass when mowing. Most people understand this. However, many go too long between mowings. There are areas of a golf course mowed as much as 7 days a week. The long “rough” areas of the course are often mowed two times per week as well which is certainly more than 99% of most home lawns. Frequency of mowing does a few things. First, it keeps the weeds at bay. Mowing is the best weed control measure that we can use. Mowing takes out a large amount of the initial weed pressures that a home lawn could deal with. After that, the only weeds that hang around are the ones that can tolerate mowing like dandelion and clover. Proper frequency on a consistent basis also improves the morphology of the turfgrass plant. The picture here show grass mowed 7 days per week (top), 3 days per week (middle) and every 2 weeks (bottom). You can see the dramatic differences in plant characteristics with the same grass species. Proper mowing frequency builds a denser lawn that is better resistant to weed encroachment and also improves color. The longer you wait between mowings the worse your lawn is going to look…no matter how good your fertilizer or water is. Mowing is that important.
If you have questions about water or mowing, please reach out to our team. We have educational videos on youtube and our agronomist is always happy to talk over your specific lawn.
Matt C.