It’s fairly well known that Golf Course greens are among some of the most meticulously looked after areas of grass that commonly exist, but what can the novice or even more experienced gardener learn from this green fingered art form?
Any good Greenkeeper will tell you that the most important thing that they are trying to achieve is to create and maintain a surface on which the game can be enjoyed. Sounds simple enough, but when you consider the variations in player expectations, and of course the sheer foot fall of players using the course you begin to realise that not only is this a full time task but one that must be executed with impeccable attention to detail.
So in the summer months especially the Greenkeeper is faced daily, yes daily not fortnightly like you or I, with the challenge of keeping a green free of imperfections and debris, dealing with frost damage, keeping the soil aerated, and perhaps most importantly and challenging of all making sure that every green on the course responds and feels exactly the same. Golfers whilst generally good spirited still demand certain standards from the courses that pay hard earned money to play.
Now of course in a domestic setting it’s unlikely that you’ll need to go to quite the same extent as a Greenkeeper, but if you can take something of the discipline required and implant it in your own lawn maintenance regime then you won’t go too far wrong. You might be disappointed to learn that there isn’t real secret, beyond hard work and determination, but as with so much in life this is all there really is to it!
