NEWS FROM MY GOLF GREEN The World's Greatest Greenskeeper. 2000 News 1999 News 1998 News Check these links to great articles and news from previous seasons 2001 News PageOctober Update As you can see by the photos below .. my golf green expansion project came out awesome. Yes, it took one full season to grow the turf into a healthy stand of grass with dense shoots. There are still a few small spots that need to fill in but they will come in great next year. The most interesting thing that I learned during this green expansion project is that in a sand based green ... watering is essential .. and in some case ... you cannot water enough during the peak hot months of July and August. I simply could not keep those areas moist enough to germinate seed. Once I hit cooler September ... voila .. the seeds popped up like popcorn and filled in most of the bare spots. Notice the elevation slope in my green . It is almost too severe! I had a tournament on the green in October and placed several pins near the shelf (one one top and one down below). These were almost impossible to putt on ... but were very entertaining for our matchplay tournament. I wanted to have two tiers and some elevation change since my former green was 100% flat and uninteresting. Keep this in mind when you are planting and planning your green. Obviously there is a tradeoff .. small flat greens are dull ... but easy to care for. Larger greens with slopes are more difficult and time consuming to take care of ... but are much more fun when you actually get to play on them. My original green was built almost 5 years ago .. and I learned a few mistakes all over again. Even with experience and knowledge .. this is a tricky and challenging hobby .. but can be most rewarding with a beautiful piece of golf right in your very own backyard ... a magnificent showpiece to the game that you love.  
September Update Sorry for the lapse in new NEWS, but I've been really busy ... finally getting to play some golf. I just acquired a used Jacobsen 22" mower from a local golf course. With a little work it is working like new and my green has a fantastic cut. Read all about it on my Jacobsen Mower Page. For all of you crazies out there that want to do this project ... here are some photos of my manual labor during this year's expansion project (are you sure you want do this?)   UGH! August Update The green expansion project is still a work in progress. I forgot how long it takes to establish a green. My original green was around 1000 sf and I have added another 1000 sf with a slope. The new green planted with Penn G2 back in May/June has become fully established on about 85% of the surface. The rest is coming along slowly .. especially the sloped section. The rest of the green looks awesome ... but the roots are really shallow. If you are planting a green ... you must be patient, and expect for one full growing season before you can expect to be putting. I'll be posting some photos of my project on the Green addition page. I rcvd an excellent spreadsheet file from Dan Green in Illinois for planning materials for your green. Click here to download this Microsoft Excel File: Putting Green Worksheet.xls. This spreadsheet will help you calculate the materials needed for your project. It also has a timeline for the construction project. Nice work. I rcvd this note from Brian Smith: On another note, I bought a Jacobsen 22" greensmower a couple of months ago and the clutch has been kind of crappy from the time I got it, so I started looking around for a clutch... NOBODY has one. This mower is so old that they can't even reference the serial # to find any parts for it. I called Textron (Jacobsen) to see if they had one or knew where I might find one, no luck there either. Well, just as I'm getting ready to throw the towel in, I was talking with my dad, who cuts the greens at a local CC after retiring, if he could ask the Superintendent if he might have one. He told my dad no, he didn't but, what he would do is give me this older Jac with a frozen motor for free and take the clutch off that one. I went and picked it up yesterday and spent a little time looking at it. The reel and knife bed look as if they were just replaced and then sat for awhile (a little surface rust) and the same with the rest of the mower too. It's in good shape if you look past the surface rust. So just for kicks I thought I'll try to start it.... Ha Ha, no way the crank was gonna turn with the pull start. I know that being a 2 stroke once you get the piston freed the motor should turn. So I took a pipe wrench and turn the drive shaft manually and got the crank to turn. I tried the pull start a few times and gave it a shot of starting fluid, and VROOM!!!!After the first couple of minutes and it stopped blowing crap out of the muffler, she purred like a kitten!!!! I tried everything out last night the reel drive and clutch works fantastic, the throttle cable is stuck, but heck that's a $5 cable, big deal!!! I lowered the cutting height the other day from 1/2" to 3/8" and got a bad reaction from the turf... A lot of big brown spots... I am a bit concerned, but I am noticing improvements. Seems as if it is coming back. The grass is pretty thin, I should probably over seed huh. I don't know why it's so thin, any ideas??? Any how, thanks for all your help. I really am enjoying the growing of my green. A lot of people kind of look at me funny when I tell them I am growing a putting green in my backyard. I just tell them, "hay, you grow tomatoes and peppers in your yard... I grow bentgrass!!!!" After reading this note, I decided to search local golf courses for a used Jacobsen to see what I could find .. and guess what ... I went to see the head pro at my golf club ... and he gave me a 22" Jacobsen for FREE! He said that they no longer used push mowers (this one was about 10 years old) and that I could have it. The moral of this story is that it doesn't hurt to ask. Go and make friends with a few greenskeepers and see if you can get a used mower. With a little work, you can have a professional machine that will last forever. There are a few companies out there that sell used mowers to the greens industry. I have updated the GEAR page (under the Classified Section) with a few of these companies. A few of them have photos. The "Big Three" types of mowers that you should look for are: Jacobsens, Toros, and John Deeres. For $1K to $2K you should be able to buy one in excellent condition. Anyone with tips on how to maintain, sharpen or modify Jacs ... please drop me a line. Brian also sent me this great link to a super site for fungus identification: Ohio State. July Update Sorry for the delay in providing news updates. I've really been busy this summer with kids sports and a little golf of my own. That combined with a new (traveling job) and a few family functions and weddings ... I haven't had much time to add useful info here. I thank those of you who have taken the time to send me links, articles and pictures of greens,. Speaking of links ... try this one on for size ... an excellent article on greens construction ... Aggie Article I've also been feverishly working on my green addition and an article about the construction/reconstruction that I did. For a sneak peak at some photos go to Green addition page Great news from Hudson Star. They are now shipping two new models of greensmowers that are perfect for the backyard golfer. The Series II Mower, replaces the Series One with an improved clutch/bearing drive, better height adjustment (for collars as well as greens), an improved catch bin for clippings and a new handle redesigned for shipping purposes. The Series II can be ordered right from this website for $1480 which includes shipping and handling. This is an excellent quality mower that is easy to maintain and will last forever. Email me or call if you have questions or to order one ... just go to the hudson page. They are also now shipping the Powermate unit that is assisted by a 24 volt battery that you charge over night and will run for 90 minutes. This power is ideal for the larger green or for people that don't want to provide the "muscle" required of a push unit. The Powermate 250 is $2050 and can be ordered from putting-greens.com ... just go to the Hudson Star Page for more information. For those of you with Jacobsen mowers ... check out Neary Technologies on the web. They sell high level grinders and sharpeners, but also sell a small kit and grinding compound so that you can do it yourself. Speaking of Jacobsens .. anyone out there you uses the PGM or Greens King or older model mowers ... I'm interested in hearing from you ... how you like them ... how you service and maintain them. Drop me a line so that I can share an article on these industry standard units. I've rcvd a lot of requests for more links and advertisements about used gear, specifically used walk behind greensmowers such as John Deeres, Jacobsens, and Toros, so I've been working on finding more links and hopefully a few vendors who would like to advertise their products here on the website. If you are a dealer or know of one that buys, reconditions and resells used greensmowers .. please contact me .. I'd love to place a listing of your equipment here on this website .. as long as you ship across the country and stand behind your products. Hopefully I will have more on this later. For those of you who planted this spring .. you should be cutting your green now at 3/16". You will have some bare spots and some humps and bumps that get scalped .. so roll with a heavy water roller (ship at the amleonard company), top dress every other week with fine sand (this works like magic ... and I can't stress it enough), fertilize lightly every two weeks with a good starter fertilizer (lots of N P and K), and above all BE PATIENT. It takes one full growing season for the green to fill in with grass and get dense enough for reasonable putting,. This takes time ... so don't try and rush it. You will be sorry. June Update First off .. a note of thanks to everyone for supporting this website. With out all the helpful, knowledgale people on the Discussion Board and the generous orders or supplies and putting green manuals .. I couldn't keep this website going. Thanks again for supporting Putting-Greens.com. I hope that the site is useful, helpful and above all ... inpsirational to backyard greenskeepers. KEep up the good work! Anyone catch the awesome greens at Southern Hills at the US OPEN this June? They used a combination of Penn A-1 and Penn A-4 for the greens which rcvd rave reviews from the players up util they all 3 putted on the the 72nd hole! The greens at the US Open were cut at a height of .110" whereas normal cutting is at .135". You can get A1 and A4 from www.tee-2-green.com. If you want to really burn the golfers get yourself some SR119 from Seed Research in Oregon sroseed.com). They claim that their variety has the fastest stimpmeter rating of any bentgrass variety. Things are starting to get a little hot and sticky here ... so now is the time to be vigilant for hot season fungi such as pythium blight. If you encounter large patches of fungus .. get thee to a local Lesco dealer and explain the problem and ask for a suggested type of fungicide. They have great products that you can spray or put down as granular (Bayleton) that will work on many types of fungus. Speaking of fungus .. my favorite subject ... I've been treating my green on a regular basis for fungus, so I thought I  Another very important aspect of greenskeeping is equipment maintenance. Dull blades on your mower will injure your grass. For the best results, golf courses keep their greensmower reels and bedknifes sharp. If you do not have the ability to sharpen your own unit, take it to a local golf course and offer them a few bucks to bench grind your reel and bedknife sharp. This is especially necessary when establishing a new green and after you have top dressed with sand which will tend to dull the blades. Then when you have the mower ready to cut, try to adjust it to get the best reel/bedknife contact that you can across the entire length of the mower. Take a look at your bentgrass. If you see the brown or redish tips on all of the grass stemps, then you might have a dull reel. The brown/red indicates that the stem was pinched off rather than sheared cleanly. Heard from a company that sells golf course quality Peat. It seems that golf courses buy only very fine screened peat for construction of their greens and tees and fairways that have bentgrass. The organic peat that you and I purchase at the Home Center has lots of bark, twigs and rough material in it. I forgot the name of the company ... but heres a link to a similar company where you can learn more about everything peat Aitkinagripeat.com Been playing some night golf since I installed some bright halogen lamps on the back of my house. If you want to extend your practice time into the evening than lighting is the way to go.  May Update I have some exciting news ... I have started an expansion project. I'm expanding my green from a flat 1000 sf green to a 2 tiered 2000 sf green. I'm excited about this because I don't have any good photos from my orginal construction in 1997/98 and during this process, I will be able to photo document the construction process. Look for news about this in the next few weeks. I've already begun the shaping with delivered materials. I can barely type .. my hands and back are so tired from shoveling. I was a younger man when I built the green the first time. Stay tuned for more. Here is a photo of the existing green and the expansion area, which I have poisoned and covered with plastic and rock for a few weeks to kill off any weeds:  Green Expansion Project ! I found a cool tool at the local rental center that I think can be used to verticut your green. It is a thatcher/lawn puncher that looks pretty old in design. It is black and has lots of sharp tines on a cylinder. Then there is a flat black tray upon which I assume you will place a cinder bloack. This looks like it could do a great job of verticutting .. for anyone who needs to dice up compaction in an existing green. Anyone have luck with this? Hudson Star has announced their new product line .. which includes the new second generation: Powermate 250 mower. This electric powered 100 lb. mower is designed with improved height adjustment, handle design, rollers, catch bin and an innovative battery power unit which was the talk of the last GCSAA show. This is truely a unique product and is perfect for the backyard greenskeeper with a larger size geren requiring power. These units are expected to be available around the end of May and will retail for $2050. You can call us or email for more information or to be the first on your block to own one of these beauties. The former Series One mower will be replaced with an improved version ... the Series II, also a push unit, this will retail for around $1500. More horror stories are being heard up here in the northeast ... as a result of the severe snow and ice we experienced late into March (it is still in the 30s/40s at night at the end of April). Many courses have experienced severe damage from ice and snow, many greens have been destroyed and will have to be replanted, resodded. The local supplier of bentgrass is sold out of the stuff, and many private courses are staying closed ... some until June/July ... ouch! Again ... this is a tough profession ... so don'g get down if you encounter some difficulty. If youre green looks good and putts good ... then be very happy. This should be your mantra ... "Look good .. Putt good." Penn G2 I have acquired a 25 pound tub of Penn G2 for the expansion project that I will be working on. I will probably only need a few pounds of the seed, so let me know if anyone would like to purchase some. I will sell it for $30 /lb shipped. This is great premium seed ... Lesco's best and was used at the US OPEN held at Pinehurst No. 2 .. the one that Payne Stewart won. If you remember ... the players were raving and cursing the greens that year. Penn G2 is a newer hybrid bentgrass that was engineered to be more tolerant of heat and humidity, making it an ideal choice for the hot and humid southern states. I haven't added it to the order form .. but I will if there is demand, so just drop me a check and a note if you want some. I have been back-ordered slightly on some cup-cutters and flag sets. Par Aide can't make em fast enough this spring .. so please be patient and add an extra week to your delivery time. I'll ship em as fast as I can. Drop me a line if you want a status update on your supplies ... and thanks for shopping with us ... the revenue keeps this website going for all those putting green fanatics.    April Update At last ... springtime here in New England and throughout the US. Just watched Tiger win the Masters and I have the golf fever going. What a beautiful course. Anyone know what type of bentgrass they use at Augusta? To get you started golfing, check out this link to Geoff Mangum's PuttingZone, a nice site for putting tips. Here are some pics of my putting green emerging from the harshest winter we have had in years. Note the fungus spots. Other than that, things look pretty good, and I am planning on an expansion of the green to a two-tiered green this spring. I'll be posting construction pictures of my project in the future. Right now, I am trying to draw a plan that will incorporate two tiers, a nice slope in between and at least one properly leveled bunker. This project has been enabled by some house construction we did. We just recently screened in a deck and built a larger deck out in front of that screenroom. This edges right up to the existing green causing an awkward area that will need to be filled in. When I fill it, I will expand the green.  --- 
Speaking of Augusta ... I learned one little tidbit during the Masters. They use crushed white marble for their bunkers making them whiter and purer in consistency than most any golf course. If you have some extra $$$ to burn ... go get some crushed marble or get some pure white sand for your bunkers. They look great in contrast to the dark green. The folks at Augusta, water them and roll them to produce a firm bunker. I've been shipping lots of Penncross bentgrass seed to all the springtime planters. Please drop me a line if you are interested in Penn G2, or Pennway Seed. I can get these types from my distributor and will gladly start shipping if there is demand. Penn G-2 is the new hybrid (more expensive) of penncross that is said to be more suitable to hot humid climates, whereas Pennway is commonly used for surrounds, fairways and tee boxes. Contact me for pricing and quantities. LeoMelanson@Mediaone.net Here are some new green photos:  Photo of the 275 sq. ft. putting green I seeded with Penncross in Sept. 2000. I still haven't cut the cups or finished the landscaping, but it's doing quite well. Thanks. -Mike Showalter, Seattle, WA 
 Brian also sent me this cool information from the Penn State Turfgrass site. Great information for planning yuor bentgrass green. Now you can use the same kind used by these great courses. Choose your favorite course or one closest to your area and use that kind of bentgrass.
For those of you into organics, check out USA Amerigro Inc (888) 540-8774. They sell organic fertilizers and custom blends. Amerigro.com. I believe that they deliver. Finally, this website was featured in the "Hot Links" section of Maximum Golf Magazine, a very cool golf magazine. We rcvd 5 stars!!!!! March Update Just rcvd some exciting news from Hudson Sales and Engineering. They introduced a new product at the GCSAA show in Dallas, the Powermate 250, a battery operated greensmower for heavy duty applications, that will be available along with their Series 1 mower which will have different (lower) pricing. These units are available thru putting-greens.com. Just send us an email for pricing information/availability. These environmentally friendly units will be available April 1st. I'll post more information when it becomes available. Just rcvd an order of Books from Ann Arbor Press including "Creeping Bentgrass Mgmt", "Turf Manager's Handbook", etc. and I am very impressed with these in-depth technical books. Any advanced backyard greenskeeper should consider these and other great titles from this publisher who specializes in golf course turf management. Check them out on their website: Sleepingbearpress.com. My backyard is under 3 feet of snow (see pic below), but the orders for my manual are starting to increase meaning that the rest of you are warming up in the South and West. Now is a great time to get started with a putting green plan. It is a great project, and really suited to people that like to take care of their yard, garden or have a green thumb. I really consider this a landscaping hobby more than a golf hobby. If you will enjoy taking care of and nuturing the green, then this is a good project for you. If you just want a practice facility, then maybe a synthetic green would be better for you.  "C'mon melt this stuff ... I want to play golf!" Some new good links: Texas turf Miltona Turf Products Tee to Green Corp. February Update Just returned from a trip to Texas where there was a lot of green grass around, even in February. Texas is one of the hardest places to grow turfgrass for putting greens. The extreme heat during the summer months is lethal to bentgrass. That is why many fine courses choose to use Bermuda. There are, however many courses that continue to grow bent. Obviously, this requires a regular irrigation program which is a major expense item in hot Texas. If you live there, or in a hot climate, this is something to consider, but also remember that your green is a small area compared to a golf course. You may choose to use bent and keep it well irrigated with an in-ground timing system. Your best bet is to consult with local greenskeepers and get their advice as to which kind of turf: Bermuda or Bent to use in your part of Texas. The GCSAA (The Golf Course Superintendants Association is celebrating it's 75th year with a special dues rebate program making it possible to join that fine gruop for just $75. This will allow you to attend a trade show, get Golf Course Maintenance Magazine and have access to their website. You can find out more about this offer at: http://www.gcsaa.org. For Turf Equipment, replacement parts, supplies and irrigation, check out Bel-Air Turf Products, Inc. at http://www.belairturf.com or call them at 800 279-2233 and request a catalogue. They've got lots of replacement parts and golf course accessories including a stimp meter. January Update Greetings and Happy New Year's to all. Sorry for the lack of new posts, but it is hard to get motivated for golf when your under a few inches of snow and freezin. Anyway, golf season is just around the corner (sooner for some of you) ... so for all of you who haven't begun your projects yet, now is a great time to draw up a plan. Plant in the Spring and you should be able to have a year-end golf tournament at the end of the season. My New Year's resolution is to try to add more content to the website and help all of my fellow greenskeepers with tips and good information that I come across. I'll start by recommending Golf Course Maintenance Magazine, available from the Gcsaa.org website. This great mag is full of monthly tips and the latest in scientific information in greenskeeping. It is not for beginners but a great expert resource for hardcores like me. Also, check out some new books from Ann Arbor Press ... at Sleepingbearpress.com. They have some cool new books on golf course management, weed and pest management and greens maintenance. I'd like to get more photos of greens up on the site, so keep those pics (.jpg files if possible) comin and I'll post them in our Photo Gallery on the Photos Page. As always, remember to check out the Discussion Forum on the Chat Page. Here is where you can get any questions answered and some great advice from your fellow greens worshippers. My thanks go out to the visitors to this forum for their questions and help/advice for others just getting started. There is a steep learning curve in backyard greenskeeping, and the experience of those that have managed green is invaluable ... the best part of this website. I'm also always interested in Mowers and maintenance equipment out there. If you have a good mower for sale, I'll post ads for you on the Gear Page. Here, I'll also post everything that I know about mowers, so if you have some good leads, information, or reviews, please let me know so that we can all benefit. As you know ... mowers are the essential piece of equipment in greenskeeping. I'm also interested in any good/new links that you have for the Links Page. If you haven't checked them out, these links will take you to great sites that will help you with your greenskeeping Construction and Maintenence. If you would like to order my manual on the subject or any of our other products: bentgrass seed, cup cutters, flagsets, and Hudson-Star Mowers, go to the Order Page. If you have suggestions for other products you would like me to carry that will be beneficial to greenskeepers, drop me a line. And as mentioned, I will try to bring you more information and tips. I'll post them here in the News Page or on the Info Page where you can find a good general FAQ with the most commonly asked questions. If you have specific questions, look here first. I'll gladly answer any general questions with my advice. Just drop me a line. Good luck and happy backyard putting in 2001. Leo Melanson
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