Mowing contours on putting greens and fairways often change unintentionally over time. As a result, strategic features such as bunkers and steep slopes can end up farther away from fairways or greens than the original design intended. In many cases, redefining your mowing contours can be a simple process that has many benefits, and there is no better time to start than right now.
Putting Greens
There are various methods for expanding putting greens, but if your greens have shrunk over time and the desired turf species – i.e., bentgrass or Poa annua – are still present in the lost area, expanding can be as easy as making two gradual reductions in mowing height – one now and a significant reduction in the spring. Making a slight reduction in the fall helps to define the final mowing contours, but turf typically responds best to making the major reduction in height of cut (HOC) the following spring, before turf breaks dormancy.
Expanding greens into areas that were not previously part of the putting green can be a longer process because the soils need to be modified with sand, or replaced, before the turf will be able to tolerate putting green HOC. The USGA article “Low-Hanging Fruit” explains the putting green expansion process in greater detail.
Fairways
Mowing contours on fairways can change significantly over time, often because the larger equipment that is used to mow them makes it difficult to mow a precise cleanup pass. In some cases, bunkers can become separated from the fairway by several yards over time. In less-severe cases, edges of fairways lose their straight edge and end up with a series of curves.
Whether you are expanding fairways back to their original width or straightening the edges, fall is a great time to start the process. Ideally, areas to be expanded can be mowed to intermediate height this fall and then down to fairway height in the spring. If expansion areas are severely unlevel, it may be worth mowing at intermediate height for a year or two so the new area can be aerated several times to help smooth the surface.
For some courses, changing mowing contours can be a large project because they haven’t been managed or adjusted for several years. For others, the changes might be small, but making the small adjustments every year will prevent the need for major expansion work. For help deciding what process is right for your situation, contact your regional USGA agronomist.
Northeast Region Agronomists:
Adam Moeller, director, Green Section Education – amoeller@usga.org
Elliott Dowling, agronomist – edowling@usga.org
Paul Jacobs, agronomist – pjacobs@usga.org