I discuss ATC blog posts, with supplementary information, stories, and the reasons why I thought the topic was worth writing about, and worth reading about. Thus, a doublecut of these topics. This covers grass selection, playability, and all the work done to create a certain type of turfgrass surface.
The topic of nutrient availability and extractable vs. exchangeable vs. available nutrients used to come up a lot, and I'm glad I haven't been asked this question as frequently in recent years. Fortunately, I have a long list of blog posts about this topic, and a good starting point is the one reviewed in this episode : https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/its-not-really-about-extractable-or-available/ Read more about all kinds of turfgrass topics at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/ Find a suite of decision-making tools at https://www.paceturf.org/ Get free ATC newsletters at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/newsletter/ Find out more about soil tests with ATC at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/project/soil-tests/
This episode discusses Grime's definition of stress as "external constraints which limit the rate of dry matter production" and how this is related to nutrient supply/demand/requirement for fine turfgrass. The post discussed is https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/does-stressed-turf-require-more-or-fewer-nutrients/ Read more about all kinds of turfgrass topics at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/ Find a suite of decision-making tools at https://www.paceturf.org/ Get free ATC newsletters at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/newsletter/ Find out more about soil tests with ATC at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/project/soil-tests/
I looked at sand particle sizes at the top of putting green rootzones, and compared those particle sizes to what is in the sand topdressing. The average results of this analysis are presented in this episode. The chart discussed is available at https://www.paceturf.org/gallery/detail/particle-size-change-from-topdressing-to-om2 Read more about all kinds of turfgrass topics at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/ Find a suite of decision-making tools at https://www.paceturf.org/ Get free ATC newsletters at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/newsletter/ Find out more about soil tests with ATC at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/project/soil-tests/
I looked at the temperatures and dew points for a range of cities around the world during the first month of the most recent meteorological summer. June 2026 in the northern hemisphere, and December 2025 in the southern. The blog post discussed is: https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/first-month-of-summer-dew-point-depression/ Also see the day in that month with the highest average dew point: https://www.paceturf.org/gallery/detail/first-month-of-summer-2026-maximum-dew-point Read more about all kinds of turfgrass topics at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/ Find a suite of decision-making tools at https://www.paceturf.org/ Get free ATC newsletters at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/newsletter/ Find out more about soil tests with ATC at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/project/soil-tests/
The firmness of putting greens varies with the surface organic material. More organic material in the top 2 cm (0.8 inches), and greens are softer. I discuss terminology, the relationship between firmness and organic material, and what you can do about this. The blog post discussed is https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/om2-and-firmness/ Read more about all kinds of turfgrass topics at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/ Find a suite of decision-making tools at https://www.paceturf.org/ Get free ATC newsletters at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/newsletter/ Find out more about soil tests with ATC at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/project/soil-tests/
I've updated my recommendation for the sand quantity to apply for every unit of clipping volume harvested, if your goal is to keep surface organic material constant. Bjarni and I discussed topdressing by this method and the new equation that finds this sand amount. We discussed this post: https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/sand-topdressing-ratios-clipping-volume/ The PACE Turf table of sand rates based on surface organic material is at https://www.paceturf.org/public/sand-and-clipping-volume Bjarni and I discussed the spring green-up and growth from adding sand: https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/turfgrass-mystery-the-case-of-the-greener-grass/ Read more about all kinds of turfgrass topics at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/ Find a suite of decision-making tools at https://www.paceturf.org/ Get free ATC newsletters at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/newsletter/ Find out more about soil tests with ATC at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/project/soil-tests/
This is about partitioning the growth flush after a rain. What's causing that growth flush? I made some calculations, using New Forest GC in the UK as an example. The increased soil water content from a 20 mm rain, in this example, would increase daily clipping volume from 10 mL/m2 to 22 mL/m2, a 12 mL increase. The blog post discussed is https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/nitrogen-in-rain-or-nitrogen-from-the-soil/ See also https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/how-much-n-is-in-rain-and-snow/ for information on atmospheric deposition of N Read more about all kinds of turfgrass topics at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/ Find a suite of decision-making tools at https://www.paceturf.org/ Get free ATC newsletters at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/newsletter/ Find out more about soil tests with ATC at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/project/soil-tests/
It sounds counterintuitive at first, that you can maintain a lower average water content in the soil, and a higher air content in the soil, by applying irrigation every day. Once upon a time, I thought the way to keep soils drier and with more air was to implement deep and infrequent irrigation. The blog post discussed is: https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/deep-and-infrequent-or-light-and-frequent-irrigation-which-is-better/ I also mentioned John Jordan's research, see: https://tic.msu.edu/tgif/flink/RECNO/59354 Paul Johnson article about irrigation frequency: https://usgatero.lib.msu.edu/v02/n06.pdf Read more about all kinds of turfgrass topics at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/ Find a suite of decision-making tools at https://www.paceturf.org/ Get free ATC newsletters at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/newsletter/ Find out more about soil tests with ATC at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/project/soil-tests/
Brian Whitlark joined me to talk about sand topdressing of putting greens and especially about sand amounts. The blog post we discussed is: https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/standard-sand-amounts/ Listen to Brian's recent appearance on the Frankly Speaking podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/lt/podcast/firm-fast-desert-with-brian-whitlark/id1793571091?i=1000743219832 OM246 calculator web app with sand quantity conversion calculator: https://asianturfgrass.shinyapps.io/om246/ How to measure topdressing rates: https://youtu.be/6LurONpyg5M?si=LW4IPwzzXbVAOn-m Managing salinity in putting greens article by Brian: https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/course-care/green-section-record/64/issue-08/managing-salinity-in-putting-greens.html Terminology of turfgrass organic matter: https://youtu.be/tMfby5xR2IM?si=8aOQ-Ju6A_cLib8M Whitlark and Thompson article from 2019 on topdressing: http://gsrpdf.lib.msu.edu/ticpdf.py?file=/article/whitlark-thompson-light-5-3-19.pdf Read more about all kinds of turfgrass topics at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/ Find a suite of decision-making tools at https://www.paceturf.org/ Get free ATC newsletters at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/newsletter/ Find out more about soil tests with ATC at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/project/soil-tests/
High maintenance turf often requires a high disturbance and high stress environment. Grime's CSR theory says there are "no viable strategies" for plants in such an environment. I discuss the implications of this. Blog post discussed is https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/competition-stress-disturbance/ Read more about all kinds of turfgrass topics at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/ Find a suite of decision-making tools at https://www.paceturf.org/ Get free ATC newsletters at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/newsletter/ Find out more about soil tests with ATC at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/project/soil-tests/
T-Jay Creamer is the golf course superintendent at Olympic View Golf Club on Vancouver Island. He's seen a steady decrease in OM2 in response to his N and sand rates, along with substantially more consistent OM2 values green to green. We discussed the results and what he does to accomplish this. The blog post we discussed is https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/gvx-and-sand/ The OM246 calculator Shiny app is https://asianturfgrass.shinyapps.io/om246/ Exact sand topdressing rates https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/sand-topdressing-measurement-by-exact-methods/ Three ways to measure sand https://youtu.be/6LurONpyg5M Read more about all kinds of turfgrass topics at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/ Find a suite of decision-making tools at https://www.paceturf.org/ Get free ATC newsletters at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/newsletter/ Find out more about soil tests with ATC at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/project/soil-tests/
Jason Haines is the Links Superintendent at Cabot Cape Breton. We had a wide ranging conversation about blog posts from 2025, a new #MLSN article, controlling snow mold, things that look easy but aren't easy, and more. The blog post we discussed is https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/ten-posts-no-one-read-in-2025/ The spring 2026 article in GreenMaster about MLSN: https://online.flipbuilder.com/gbcmagazine/rpae/#p=16 Video with Jason that shows the control of snow mold on greens in BC with minimal pesticides: https://youtu.be/L8Q8v5SAzSo?si=Jm8Vinz6fKZImH3P Read more about all kinds of turfgrass topics at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/ Find a suite of decision-making tools at https://www.paceturf.org/ Get free ATC newsletters at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/newsletter/ Find out more about soil tests with ATC at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/project/soil-tests/
Stewart Naugler is the Director of Agronomy at Loraloma in Texas. We talked about zoysiagrass as a golfing surface, playability, and maintenance requirements. We started by discussion my "Achieving the warm-season links" article, available here: https://www.asianturfgrass.com/publication/woods-2013-gca/ Read more about all kinds of turfgrass topics at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/ Find a suite of decision-making tools at https://www.paceturf.org/ Get free ATC newsletters at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/newsletter/ Find out more about soil tests with ATC at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/project/soil-tests/
Thatch and mat at the top of turfgrass rootzones are removed from soils prior to testing for soil organic matter. Total organic material (OM246) testing is designed to measure the soil organic matter plus the thatch and mat. The blog post discussed is https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/organic-matter-and-screens/ Read more about all kinds of turfgrass topics at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/ Find a suite of decision-making tools at https://www.paceturf.org/ Get free ATC newsletters at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/newsletter/ Find out more about soil tests with ATC at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/project/soil-tests/
This gives an overview of the seminars I presented at the GCSAA Conference in 2026 and discusses updated PACE Turf site analyses of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR). Seminar handout page: https://www.asianturfgrass.com/seminar/gcsaa-2026/ Example PAR site analysis in the PACE Turf gallery: https://www.paceturf.org/gallery/detail/site-par-analysis Read more about all kinds of turfgrass topics at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/ Find a suite of decision-making tools at https://www.paceturf.org/ Get free ATC newsletters at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/newsletter/ Find out more about soil tests with ATC at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/project/soil-tests/
Maggie Reiter joined me to discuss her "Finding Turf Twitter" analysis, her analysis of current turf research topics at the ASA-CSSA-SSSA meetings, tropical grasses, and irrigation water requirements. We discussed: https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/a-brand-new-turf-twitter-analysis/ https://maggiereiter.com/ https://www.asianturfgrass.com/tag/carpetgrass/ https://www.paceturf.org/gallery/detail/five-year-map https://www.paceturf.org/public/university-research-location-climate-appraisals Read more about all kinds of turfgrass topics at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/ Find a suite of decision-making tools at https://www.paceturf.org/ Get free ATC newsletters at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/newsletter/ Find out more about soil tests with ATC at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/project/soil-tests/
Scientific writing is not always as clear as this. There's an article I really enjoyed that stated right at the start, in the abstract, that core aeration "might not be worth doing." The blog post discussed in this episode is https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/core-aeration-lucid-abstract/ Full text of the article is available at https://doi.org/10.4141/S05-073 Read more about all kinds of turfgrass topics at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/ Find a suite of decision-making tools at https://www.paceturf.org/ Get free ATC newsletters at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/newsletter/ Find out more about soil tests with ATC at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/project/soil-tests/
Dr. Kaminski joined me from his sabbatical in Australia to discuss flights, turf photos, and what he's been doing on his sabbatical. The blog post we discussed is: https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/flights-favorite-turf-photos-2025/ Read more about all kinds of turfgrass topics at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/ Find a suite of decision-making tools at https://www.paceturf.org/ Get free ATC newsletters at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/newsletter/ Find out more about soil tests with ATC at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/project/soil-tests/
This episode answers that question with how I recommend doing this. For today, we don't need to add N. But the soil nutrient levels decrease with time, we can predict how much the grass will use, and I make fertilizer recommendations looking into the future, rather than waiting to test again before making a decision to apply. The blog post discussed in this episode is: https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/we-only-need-to-apply-n/ Read more about all kinds of turfgrass topics at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/ Find a suite of decision-making tools at https://www.paceturf.org/ Get free ATC newsletters at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/newsletter/ Find out more about soil tests with ATC at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/project/soil-tests/
Joe Gulotti joined me to give the doublecut treatment to the top posts of 2025 on the ATC blog, plus a bit of holiday extravaganza. Blog post discussed is: https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/top-10-posts-2025/ National Links Trust updates: https://www.nationallinkstrust.org/whats-happening-now Petition to keep D.C.'s publich courses out of political control: https://www.change.org/p/keep-dc-s-public-golf-courses-out-of-political-control 2022 Talking Greenkeeper Holiday Extravaganza: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/micah-woods-phd-iv/id1435947281?i=1000590700618 2023 Talking Greenkeeper Holiday Extravaganza: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-micah-woods-annual-holiday-special/id1435947281?i=1000639222356 2024 Talking Greenkeeper Holiday Extravaganza: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-micah-woods-phd-annual-holiday-extravaganza-episode/id1435947281?i=1000680710300 Read more about all kinds of turfgrass topics at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/ Find a suite of decision-making tools at https://www.paceturf.org/ Get free ATC newsletters at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/newsletter/ Find out more about soil tests with ATC at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/project/soil-tests/
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