GREENKEEPER BLOG

Predict wilt hours before it strikes: Proof of Concept

The turf industry has embraced various technologies to improve irrigation efficiency. Hand-held moisture meters have replaced pocketknives. Mower-mounted sensors help turf managers detect soil moisture variability, while in-ground sensors relentlessly monitor changes...

Smart Irrigation Strategies to Save Water

Water conservation is a top priority in the golf industry, as superintendents seek innovative ways to maintain high-quality turf while reducing overall irrigation. It is an active area of research and development at GreenKeeper, too. Advances in technology now allow...

Understanding Clipping Volume: How to and Why Explained

Measuring clipping volume is one of the simplest yet most impactful practices in turfgrass management. This straightforward process provides valuable insights into plant growth, nutrient uptake, and overall turf health. There is no more actionable piece of data for...

Target Pests and Save with GreenKeeper CIS

Turfgrass sprayer systems with GPS guidance can do more than reduce over-spray. These high tech platforms can be used to precisely target specific pests on your course or fields. The mapping software within GreenKeeper CIS makes it easy for users to map pest...

Shade Management is Growth Management

Turf growing under shade stress is difficult to manage. Most grass species evolved in sunny growing environments. That means shorter day lengths and lower sun elevations during the fall can quickly lead to problems. The cause is simple, really. Energy in (sunlight) is...

Grow-in Guidance: Tools to Track Overseeding Progress

The process of seeding newly renovated turf areas or overseeding dormant bermudagrass can be stressful. Golf course and sports fields operators need these surface back in-play quickly. Turf managers are tasked with several decisions regarding seed variety and pricing,...

Mad-Tiller Disease

Bacterial etiolation or "Mad-Tiller" disease is a very frustrating growth disorder that has perplexed many turfgrass managers and researchers. While the Kerns and Vargas labs have independently shown the rapid leaf growth rate is most likely the result of bacterial...

When Half an Inch Is Not

Not all precipitation events are created equal. That was definitely the case in Southeast Nebraska during the last week of July 2024. The high temperatures had been around 100F with dew points were in the 70s. Any storm that develops during those conditions can...

HOW-TO Guide: Water Resource Planner

The Water Resource Planner in GreenKeeper App is the most powerful irrigation scheduling tool in the professional turfgrass management market. It uses advance agronomic and meteorological models to predict changes in soil moisture with hourly resolution. While the...

Nightly Irrigation Guidance Comes to GreenKeeper App

It's always a tough call. Should we irrigate tonight or stretch it another day? Make the wrong decision and you'll be hand-watering wilt tomorrow afternoon. So you decide to water, but how many minutes are required? Over-watering not only wastes water and money, but...
Evolution of Data-Driven Turf Management

Evolution of Data-Driven Turf Management

The thought of using data and models to guide turfgrass management decisions may seem daunting, but golf course superintendents have been using both to improve course conditioning for centuries. Superintendents are incredibly observant, and data are simply a set of...

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Frustrating Frost Formation

Frustrating Frost Formation

It can be so frustrating to scout a golf course for frost on a crisp fall morning. It's 6AM and there is no frost on the course. Then the mowers get out and frost covers every blade of grass. How does this happen? The sun is starting to rise and then frost forms?!?...

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Do Wetting Agents Help Fairways?

Do Wetting Agents Help Fairways?

Wetting agents can easily pay for themselves when managing turf growing on sand-based or sand-capped soil. These products improve soil moisture uniformity, water infiltration rate and alleviate issues of soil water repellency - called soil hydrophobicity - in sandy...

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Late Summer Sugar Lows

Late Summer Sugar Lows

It's mid-August 2022 and many turfgrass managers feel as tired as their grasses. The sun is slower to rise, the shadows are starting to lengthen, and it's more difficult for me to pop out of bed when my alarm clock sounds. The weather has been brutal across much of...

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