Rolling

Here at Hawks we incorporate the use of a lightweight  Salso roller in maintaining our putting greens.  Rolling greens has been around for a long time.  Before the introduction of the these lightweight rollers Superintendents used large drum farm type rollers.  In the mid 80's while at Inverness Club we would roll the green using this method but we pulled the roller.  not a very easy task, it worked and we were paving the way for future technology at the time.  Now, there are many different types of these lightweight rollers available.  We have two sidewinder rollers which means they travel across the greens sideways. Operating the roller is not  easy, it takes quite a bit of training and practice before you become efficient.  on the floor broad you can see the two pedals that operate the roller.  the roller is hydraulically driven and by pressing the pedal down you will travel one direction and then simply depress the other to go the opposite direction. 

There have been many studies conducted on the benefits of rolling over the years.  The research is very clear that rollers increase the speed of the green. This is the main and reason must superintendents roll greens.  What is interesting is through this research there is a noticeable decrease in Dollar Spot on rolled greens.  One reason this may be true is that rolling will remove the dew from the surface.  Dew is high in sugars and this can be a catalyst for the development of the Dollar Spot fungus. 

Most of the research show that rolling does not adversely compact the green but will greatly smooth the surface.  I make use of this after spiking the greens.  We roll each green right after spiking and there is very little surface disruption after the green has been rolled.  Rolling greens will increase the speed approximately 8 to 12 inches after the green has been rolled.  The effects of the increase in speed will last about one day after the second day there will be an increase of approximately 6 inches compared to a check plot.  The research shows that rolling every other day in conjunction with mowing will maintain faster green speeds, more consistent green speeds, and smoother greens.  There is a fine line, rolling more then 4-5 days per week will decrease turf quality over time.

Putting this all together. I will make use of our rollers as another tool to achieve smooth , consistent green speeds thorough out the year.  I  roll the greens approximately 3-4 days per week depending on the time of the year and condition of the turf. 

Thanks, next up will be the top dresser

Neil