The slides are part of a talk that I gave to a group of National Golf Academy students at University Utara Malaysia.
A motivated bunch of students. It's actually the first time I gave talk to professional golfers about golf course maintenance. Their questions and discussions are an eye-opener. Thoug I must say to keep their attention was quite a challenge.
I simplified the subject on purpose. Trying to compress so many things into one hour is quite a feat. So don't judge me.
2. Who am I
• Assistant Golf Course Supt 1993 – 1996
• Golf Course Superintendent 1996 – 2003
• Club Manager 2003 – 2009
• Consultant 2009 onwards.
• Part-time Lecturer KDU university-college
• Member of GCSAA since 2001
• Member of GCSAM since inception
3. Turf Maintenance –
Malaysian Golf Course Experience
Main points
• Myself
• Golf Course maintenance
• My experiences
Take away points
• As Pros/user of golf course
• As person; use of resources or pollutant.
• As part of management
4. Turf Maintenance works:
• Pest control
• Disease cure
• Drainage
• Irrigation
• Etc.
• Fertilising
• Mowing
• Vertical cutting
• Aeration
• Topdressing
• Etc.
5. 1. Fertilising
• How much?
• 1.75 kg/100 square meter
• 1 bag per green
• Spray and pray
• When?
• Once a week? Twice?
• What?
• Slow release? Quick Release
• Methylene Urea, PSCU, IBDU
6. Fertilising: in Malaysia
Three ways
1. Follow old/previous/neighbour
2. Follow supplier
3. Do soil test
Which one you think Malaysians use?
7. 2. Cultural Practices
Definition: all mechanical work
done to improve turfgrass or soil
without the use of fertiliser or any
other chemicals
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8. Cultural Practices: Types
i. Mowing
ii. Top dressing
iii. Vertical cutting
iv. Aeration
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9. i. Mowing
• Defined – Long
grass cut short
• Cutting height
• Which is how high
grass from ground
level
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10. How often?
• Health
• Growth of grass
• Do not cut more than
one third
• Photosynthesis
• Greens 1x a day
• Fairways 2 – 3x a week
• Rough 1 – 2x a week
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12. Striping a fairway
Malaysians love stripes
• Caused by grass
leaning in 1 direction
• Light reflected by leaf
surface
• It’s the roller behind
the knife; not the knife
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13. Who doesn’t like stripes?
• Me. Because of tyre
marks
• Esp. during wet
weather
• Pros.
• Because long grass
bending away can
prevent good shot.
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14. ii.Topdressing
• The act of
distributing a thin
layer of sand, soil
or amendments to
reduce surface
deformities or to
give a firmer
surface.
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17. Topdressing – Other reasons
• To reduce or control ‘Thatch’
• To change soil structure
• To help in root development
• To add other amendments that will assist
in:
1. Store water
2. Improve biological activity
3. Improve nutrient absorption
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18. IntroducingThatch
• Is an organic layer
• Consisting of stems,
leaves, roots whether
still living or dead.
• This layer is between
grass and soil.
• It may be already
decaying or in the
process.
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19. iii. Vertical cutting
• Normal cutting –
horizontal
• Vertical cutting –
vertical
•
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20. Vertical cutting - Why?
• Remove thatch
1. Thatch – fungi
2. Thatch – hydrophobic
• Other reasons
1. Add new grow points
2. Create new plants
3. For stolons
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21. Vertical cutting: Why?
1. Grooming
2. Dethatching
3. Scarifying
• Raise the grass
• Better cut
• Done often
• Slightly deep
• Remove thatch
• Cutting rhizomes and
stolons
• ‘initiate’ growth points
• Done irregularly
• Not so deep
• Remove mat
• Improve soil structure
• Space for new roots
• Quite deep and
aggressive
• Rarely done
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28. Cultural Practice iv. Aeration
• Daily use – soil particle
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crush together.
• Push air out
• Micro organisme need
oxygen
• Water needs pathway to
follow
• Divided into:
1. Coring
2. Slicing/spiking
30. 3. Pest Control; Insects
• English: Pest
• “Any creature that causes harm to humans or
human belongings”
31. How or why pest harm
• Some are good and beneficial
• Some harm because they suck the juice from
root or leaf.
• Some eat root or leaf
• Some live in the soil and destroy root.
• Some destroy quality of grass
• Some causes diseases.
36. Diseases
needs three conditions
1. Host: Grass that can be infected
(unhealthy, less fertiliser, not enough sun
etc.)
2. An active pathogen
3. A suitable environment e.g. Low
temperature or high moisture.
40. The problem in Malaysia
• Most have condition 1 and 3. (poor health &
condition)
• All it needs is a pathogen
• Cannot tell difference (insect, dry or disease)
• Don’t know what to do
• Worse; some continuously spray
41. 4. Drainage & Irrigation
“There are three important
things on a golf course;
Drainage, Drainage and Drainage”
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42. What happens poor drainage
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1. can’t play golf
2. Can’t play golf
3. Can’t play golf
4. Can’t mow
5. Can’t fertilize
6. Cannot spray
48. Problem in Malaysia
• Not enough drainage
• Whether subsoil or through soil
• Too much irrigation
• By schedule and not by needs
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49. Turf Maintenance; Recap
• Pest control
• Disease cure
• Drainage
• Irrigation
• Etc.
• Fertilising
• Mowing
• Vertical cutting
• Aeration
• Topdressing
• Etc.
50. Malaysian Golf Courses
• Some are very good
• Some should be closed
• And some are very average (being polite)
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51. Malaysian Golf Courses
• Some are professionally run
• Some are not run professionally
• Some … just run
• Don’t want advice even when free
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52. Being a consultant
• Is tough
• Talking to friends or about friends
• Don’t want to put people down
• Old habits are hard to break
• Some myths are too strong
• Some clubs prefer foreigner advice
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