All Episodes
Displaying episodes 31 - 60 of 147 in total
Maximum N rates that work when linked to growth potential (GP) with Dr. Michael Bekken
I spoke with Michael Bekken about normal nitrogen rates, why they vary so much, why that matters, what a normal N rate linked to growth potential (GP) might be, and gr...
Sand topdressing rates, soil organic matter/material, cultivation, and K with Chas Schmid
Dr. Chas Schmid has been involved with many of the same topics I often study and consider---sand topdressing, potassium fertilization, soil organic matter, putting gre...
Fertilizer by "program" vs. application by a flexible system
This considers fertilizer programs, whether research can be misleading when fertilizer is applied at fixed rates on calendar schedules, and why I'm excited about the u...
Documenting progress by comparing totals from one year to the next with Jon Wall
I was a co-author, in 2013, of an article with the title "Documenting your progress toward sustainability." Jon Wall joined me to discuss this topic, and to consider w...
How much soil organic matter is too much? Plus Zoysia, circle mows, botany, and ecology
I flipped through four recent blog posts, about zoysia seedheads on putting greens, the practical question of how much organic matter (or total organic material is too...
The bobble test scoring scale and what the test is used for with Chris Tritabaugh
Chris Tritabaugh joined me to discuss the #bobbletest scoring scale and the overall utility of this test. It is used for assessing the smoothness and trueness of ball ...
Total organic material testing and reacting to soil test results with John Rowland
Dr. John Rowland from the USGA Green Section Florida region joined me to discuss soil sampling, seasonal soil pH changes, plus sampling and testing methodology for tot...
Change in ball roll on putting greens from morning to afternoon
Everyone knows a golf green is smoothest right after the morning work, with some decrease in smoothness as the day goes on. How much does the smoothness and trueness o...
Using turf math, mg/kg, ppm, and fertilizer rates, with Bjarni Hannesson
Bjarni Hannesson joined me to discuss parts per million (ppm) and how that measure of nutrients in the soil can be expressed as a fertilizer rate, and vice versa. This...
Does a location exist with 365 days a year of high GP for cool-season grass?
The temperature-based growth potential, developed by PACE Turf, transforms the average air temperature to a growth potential (GP). The GP is conveniently scaled from 0...
"Blown away by the quality" of turfgrass by a simple method of adjusting N fertilizer
An anonymous golf course superintendent wrote that they were "blown away by the quality of these surfaces with an amount of nitrogen I would’ve thought was far too sma...
A daily tournament diary from the 2023 KBC Augusta golf tournament in Japan
I spent nine days at the KBC Augusta golf tournament in 2023. In this episode, I introduce the blog post with the daily diary of my observations and measurements durin...
Reflections on a July with record heat and drought
Andrew McDaniel and I worked together at Habu CC in July 2001. We also worked together at the 50th KBC Augusta tournament in August 2023. I reflect on, and discuss, bo...
Green firmness measurements after using a 4 ton roller (it actually didn't firm the surface much)
Andrew McDaniel joined me from the Keya GC maintenance office to discuss firmness measurements of putting greens, using a 4 ton roller on the greens, and why the green...
Tournament golf and zoysia greens are a fascinating combination
I recorded this from Keya Golf Club, which will host the 50th KBC Augusta golf tournament on korai (Zoysia matrella) putting greens this week. I explained why I find t...
The growth ratio for consistent growth and nitrogen fertilizer adjustment with Jason Haines
Jason Haines joined me for another #TurfMath episode to explain what the growth ratio is, how he uses it, and how he calibrates it. See this post for the equation and ...
Turf Math with Bjarni Hannesson and Jason Haines
We discussed the ease of metric units and the utility of knowing some key numbers in turfgrass maintenance.We discussed this post: https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/...
Using morning and afternoon VWC measurements to find the site specific crop coefficient #TurfHacks
One of the things you can do when you are able to express soil water content as a depth of water, and vice versa, is to express the water loss rate from the soil divid...
A soil water content turf hack
For as long as I can remember, I've used the easy 1 mm = 1 L = 1% soil volumetric water content (VWC) relationship when converting between water use by grass, ET, irri...
I prefer sand topdressing amounts expressed as a depth
I gave three reasons for my preference that sand topdressing amounts be expressed as a depth. One is consistency and standardization. Depth means the area to which the...
Golf in Japan: maintenance staff numbers, rounds played, number of holes, and annual N rates
Did you know Japan has as many golf holes as England, Scotland, and New Zealand combined? I visited 11 golf facilities in Japan and discuss some of the interesting equ...
Grass gets this much PAR light in full sun (no clouds)
For any date, time, and location, it's possible to calculate the amount of light grass would get in full sun. I describe how this is done, and show a calculator that w...
Coring three times a year with half-inch tines on bentgrass putting greens
A research article recommended two spring and one autumn hollow-tine aerification, supplemented by solid-tine aerification during summer, for creeping bentgrass puttin...
The shade effect of clouds, photosynthetically active radiation, and 2 PAR apps
Clouds reduce photosynthetically active radiation by about 25% when you can still see your shadow. When you can't see your shadow, that's about 50% of PAR blocked. And...
It's tough to manage cool-season putting greens when ΔGP is less than 0
This episode introduces ΔGP, which is cool-season grass growth potential minus warm-season growth potential. Too many days like that and you won't bother trying to gro...
Transition zone putting greens, light, speed, zoysia, bermuda, and bentgrass with Mike Richardson
Mike Richardson from the University of Arkansas joined me to discuss zoysia on putting greens, light requirements of different grass species, grass selection in the tr...
Reflections on growth rate, nitrogen, and disruption, with Chris Tritabaugh
I wrote a blog post that lists ten things I reflected on one day in relation to how I had changed my thinking about how much N, growth, and sand topdressing and core a...
A soil test extravaganza
This episode discusses three recent posts about soil testing (soil nutrient analyses), from what happens at the lab, to micronutrient test results.- Brookside Lab vide...
Blog post bombs of 2020 with The Talking Greenkeeper
Joe Gulotti joined me to go through the list of blog posts that got the fewest views on the ATC website in 2020. There was turf tourism, turf hacks, soil sampling, pho...
Terminology of turfgrass soils: total organic material (#OM246) and soil organic matter (SOM)
Brian Whitlark is the West region director of the USGA Green Section. We talked about total organic material testing of turfgrass soils. This is distinct from soil org...