Increasing Greenspeed on Pencross Greens Cancel The title field is required!

1. Jeffrey Scott

   

   8 posts
   
   1/25/2019 12:01 PM

   Matt, your double-edged reply depends on whose "research" you believe in. I haven't been a supt for 15 years now and have found my opinion to not matter to the majority.
   
   My personal research into producing fast, smooth putting greens began over 45 years ago when I was a student at Penn State. My roommate was employed at Westmoreland CC in Export, PA. He invited a group of us to play the course and it was my first experience putting on pure Penncross greens that were mowed at an astounding 1/8th of an inch! If we had a stimpmeter in those days, I'll bet anything they would have rolled 12 feet plus. A couple of my other classmates were employed at Oakmont at the time and those greens had that same putting speed reputation - you sure didn't want to be putting from above the hole!! Over a period of years as those blends of varieties segregate, the grain becomes a big management challenge as we all know.
   Another course that I was very familiar with in the mid 70's hosted the Quad Cities Open PGA Tour event. Those greens were a pure stand of Cohansey bentgrass, rather unique with it's upright growth habit and minimal grain. Those putting surfaces were among the favorites of the Tour players every year because they were so quick and smooth.
   Years later, another classmate of mine that was a spectator at Augusta National during the Masters tournament, met up with our PSU professor, Dr. Joe Duich, and asked him for an update on the newly released A series of bentgrasses that were being released at the time. Dr. Duich's comment was "Tommy, we're going to have to teach superintendents the art of brushing greens going forward. These are very dense stands of turf and as they segregate, the grain is going to get out of control if not properly maintained".
   The man who did the research certainly knew what the future held, and a former PGA tour player kept superintendents well aware of the problem during Sunday afternoon golf tournament telecasts. Can a little thing like grain in a putting green really have such an effect on a person that he carries a vendetta for the rest of his life??
   
   So the "science" part of your reply comes back to my question - if you're rolling a putt across the cut end of the grass blade and not the prostrate grass leaf, the putting surface is already smooth, so what are you accomplishing with a roller? My research doesn't agree with those that find rolling to be beneficial. I would bet that they haven't compared rolling of greens to managing the grain by brushing and mowing. I have come to believe that a lot of research is aimed at producing a desired result, so I tend to dig a little deeper before I get on board.
   
   Just this 'ol geezer's opinion...
   Jeff

   
   
   
   
2. Matt Plosila

   

   0 posts
   
   1/26/2019 8:01 AM

   Jeff,
   
   Nice reply to my comment, wasn't really trying to be a ****. More than one way to skin a cat.
   
   In your research, does frequent brushing reduce earthworm activity, mainly on .4-.5" turf?

   
   
   
   
3. Jeffrey Scott

   

   8 posts
   
   1/27/2019 4:01 PM

   Matt,
   
   I didn't take your reply to be offensive at all - and yes, there are countless ways to skin a cat!
   
   When I left my last supt position in '04, I joined up with my Brookside consultant and began traveling parts of 5 states doing consulting work. Now THAT is the best way I have discovered to get a quick education into diverse turf management techniques from top to bottom!!
   
   About the only clients of mine that frequently use the brush on longer cut turf are ones that have purchased two or more of the TB brushes and used them in a sand topdressing program on bentgrass fairways. As they build up that sand cap and tighten up the turf canopy, their worm casting problems are minimized to a great extent, probably due to the abrasive sand particles more than the brushing being the deterrent. A full scale program like I have seen at these courses is very costly as you can imagine. On the other hand, they really get what they pay for - I have commented to these supts that there isn't a bad lie on their fairways and they seem to be in tournament condition every day of the week!!
   For the courses that cannot afford a full scale program - the other 97 percent - set up your own research plots and pound some of the heaviest earthworm activity areas with multiple apps of topdressing sand during times of the year when they are a problem. To avoid layering of the sand, I would recommend quadtining or spiking at frequent intervals!!
   
   If you wanted to use the brush to inflict physical damage on the worm, you're going to have to go after them in the middle of the night when they're laying on top of the ground and if you've never been night crawler pickin', those buggers are slippery and lightning quick!! Another method of eradication might be the use of a slicing aerator like a Bannerman or AerWay. They'll cover a lot of ground in a short time and stir things up nicely to a depth of 6 or 7 inches. You may encounter a mole or two along the way. The drawback on a slicer is that you're giving the worm an easier route to the surface.
   Like you said Matt, lot's of ways to skin a cat!!
   
   Jeff

   
   
   
   
4. Adam Boston

   

   0 posts
   
   3/3/2019 6:03 PM

   Thanks everyone for the feedback and ideas. When I originally posted, I was looking for outside the box ideas to combat lateral growth and increase trueness/speed because power mats and verticutters were out of the question financially. Well I'm happy to say that we are purchasing a new top dresser and a TB 220 power brush this spring to start a grooming and top dressing regimen. As a department, we've started focusing on the future with our equipment purchase plan and these two items were at the top of the list. I may update this thread in a month or so to report back our improvements in this area of our greens maintenance program.

   
   
   
   
5. Clay Putnam

   

   33 posts
   
   3/4/2019 3:03 PM

   Jeffrey Scott said: I'm surprised that I read this many posts about green speed with no mention of the TB 200 or 220 grooming brush as a multi use tool for managing grain; placing topdressing apps below the canopy; opening up the canopy for better penetration of spray applications including colorants; opening the canopy for MUCH improved verticutting results; and finally, being a time and labor saving tool for removing aerifier cores and backfilling the holes.
   
   Earlier this year I was shocked to discover that the supt at one of the premier courses in West Bend, WI had never seen the brush on his course prior to last April - he's been there for 20 years. The brush has been built in West Bend since 2009!
   In 2012, the 200 was upgraded with more features that allow the operator to use either the front or rear brush for brushing instead of both brushes to eliminate the potential for stress by 50% and allows the use of a lighter weight actuator that reduces the lower/lift cycle to half the time. A wireless remote control option was introduced in 2016. Once you have that option, you wouldn't want to be without it.
   The TB 220 will do more in one pass than static drag brushes will do in 3 or more passes. I don't believe a coco mat could ever accomplish what a 220 will do no matter how many times you pull it across the turf.
   
   Time is money, guys! Do yourself a favor and get a demo of this tool. It's not a budget breaker and as many users of the brush will tell you, it could be one of the best equipment investments you ever made.
   
   Jeff Scott, CGCS (retired)
   Midwest Turf Specialties,LLC
   SGM Industries,LLC
   WILSCOT, LLC

   
   
   
   Sales pitch? Decide for yourselves - http://www.sgmindustries.com/about-our-company

   
   
   
   
6. Jeffrey Scott

   

   8 posts
   
   3/12/2019 10:03 AM

   I'm shocked that it took you two months to get into this discussion, Clay! My original post that you pasted here was entered on Jan 8 and has been viewed by several hundred views. Adam took the conversation to heart and we had a great, general discussion going until you put the SGM website out there...
   
   As far as "Sales Pitch" goes, I view my past near 30 year superintendent career as being in a perpetual Sales Pitch mode. If you knew me at all, you would say that I'm not very outspoken; inclined to listen rather than speak; not an "engineer" by training, but I do have a wealth of innovation and hands-on experience that bears paying attention to what I contribute to a conversation. There is evidence of that - you and I signed on to the FORUM in the same year, 2011. I have made 36 posts. You have outdone my posts by 1,450 - I cannot fathom spending that amount of time in a chat room. Have you ever promoted a new product or idea in the FORUM?
   It's ironic that you have entered those quotes in the signature area of your post - something about "with confidence you have already won" and about "trying..." Well, I have always had confidence and have been willing to try, so while you criticize for my "sales pitch", we obviously have some similar philosophies.
   
   The TB brush came into being 10 years ago and I have been "sales pitching" that single product every day of every year. We have easily spent in excess of $200,000 over the years in development, patenting, advertising, attending the GIS, Silent Auction, mailing lists, etc without taking an hourly wage for our time spent on it. We have a worldwide network of distributors and yet at the GIS last month I still come in contact with dozens of attendees who have never seen or heard of it. I came away from the busy day and a half trade show with 4 new dealers so it's still worth the investment to us.
   I continue to be amazed at the number of million dollar + equipment packages that are signed up without including one or two TB brushes that are such a great investment for what they contribute to the maintenance program. Not to mention how many $100,000 turf sprayers that are sold without the Capstan SharpShooter tip management system that we have been installing since 2010 - can we talk about Return On Investment?? And now we have introduced the Featherweight sprayer boom and the SprayRedi recirculation system to the industry that's generating a lot of interest..
   Ooops, there I go sales pitching again. We old geezers have a hard time changing our ways...
   Jeff
   
   PS Another benefit of using the TB brush in the heat of the summer is brushing up and removing the "sileage" off the top of the turf canopy to allow better air circulation. Based on my research, it's going to lower the canopy temps by up to 15 degrees on a hot afternoon.

   
   
   
   
7. Clay Putnam

   

   33 posts
   
   3/12/2019 1:03 PM

   Congratulations on your brush and the investment made to R&D, implementation and improvements. I, as a business owner, understand the need and desire to drive business. However, the forum is not the place for commercial sales. From the Forum Policies - "Members must not post any excessively commercial information or materials". Obviously the GCSAA staff cannot monitor every post. As such it is up to us, GCSAA members, to self police and "honor the code". I have never actively pushed for sales of a product or service on this forum. I believe any marketing of a service or product should be purchased on GCSAA ad space beit digital or within the print publications. Freeloading on the forum is not fair to those who purchase ad space and is bad form, IMO.
   
   You are not the first to be called out for being less than honorable as it relates to peddling one's wares on the forum. However, you are the first, to my knowledge, to shamelessly double down on your sales pitch.