What affects greens speed, a better question is what does not affect greens speed?

There are many factors that affect greens speed and what we need to figure out is what works at Oakdale. There is no one answer that fits all, every course is different, every green is different. The goal is to get things as consistent as possible. Some of the main things to think about for greens speed and ball roll are as follows;

·         Mowing quality, height and frequency

·       Rolling quality and frequency

·       Fertilization quantity

·       Moisture management

·       Turfgrass species, health and growth rate

·       Growing environment

·       Drainage – surface and subsurface

·       Cultural Program

·       Weather

Now we will take these factors, especially the ones that we can easily control and build a program and adjust as necessary to get the expected green speeds. Unfortunately, we can’t control the weather which can directly affect everything else.