Golf Course News
Rough Mowers Beginning to Win Battle with Grass
By Todd Mathews
Golf course superintendentThe staff at Lake Tansi golf course is finally starting to get caught up on mowing after an extremely wet April and first half of May. The course received 5 inches of rain in April and 8 inches during the first 10 days of May. The wet conditions kept the mowers from cutting anything for about 12 days. The roughs grew out of control. When the course began to dry out the maintenance staff made the decision to raise the cutting height on the rough mowers from 2 inches to 3 inches. This measure was taken to ensure the health of the turf. Raising the height prevented scalping and also ensured that they did not remove too much of the plants growth. After a week of cutting at 3 inches, the staff then lowered the height to 2.5 inches and cut for another week. As of May 20th, the maintenance staff is happy to report the cutting height on the roughs has returned to 2 inches.
Mowing and maintaining a golf course through extremely wet conditions is not good for the health of the turf. Soil compaction, scalping, tire ruts, and out of control turf are all problems that arise during these wet conditions. Hopefully the weather pattern will become more “normal” throughout the rest of the season.
