GREENKEEPER BLOG

How Much Can Surface Organic Matter Change in a Year?

Scheduling cultivation and topdressing is always a tricky and sometimes controversal task. These practices are disruptive to players, costly, and tough on turf equipment. How much cultivation is really required? What's the right amount of sand topdressing for a...

A Thermometer Is a Better Clock Than a Calendar

In the first article of the GreenKeeper Growth Series, we used nearly 500,000 clipping-volume measurements to examine how much putting greens actually grow. One of the clearest environmental signals associated with that growth was temperature. This week, we are taking...

A Very Strong El Niño Is Building. What Should Turf Managers Expect?

El Niño is strengthening quickly, and the months ahead could bring unusual weather patterns around the world. The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association now gives greater than a 90% chance that the 2026–27 El Niño becomes very strong during the Northern...

How Much Does a Putting Green Actually Grow?

This launches the GreenKeeper Growth Series: an ongoing look at what we’ve learned from 500,000 clipping volume observations. Over the coming weeks, we’ll use this dataset to explore how putting greens grow, how factors like weather, fertility and PGRs influence...

When 60% Regulation Still isn’t Enough

Summer Created a Misleading Growth Surge It has been a hot, humid summer across much of the U.S., and one of the most common questions we’ve received is some version of: “Why is my PGR program not working anymore?” The evidence is usually sitting in the mower baskets....

Hi-Res Surface Organic Matter Analysis in GreenKeeper

Surface organic matter has always been one of the most important—and frustrating—variables to manage on putting greens. We know it influences firmness, infiltration, water holding capacity, and pest pressure. We also know that topdressing and cultivation are our...

Why Your Rainfall Data May Be Wrong: The Challenges of Estimated Precipitation

GreenKeeper, like the weather apps on your phone, uses extremely high-resolution weather models to estimate current conditions and forecast future weather. These systems combine observations from airports, weather balloons, satellites, and weather radar with...

A Completely New WhiteBoard Experience for Turf Managers

GreenKeeper WhiteBoard has been rebuilt from the ground up with a modern user experience, intelligent planning tools, and unmatched flexibility for daily turf operations.Daily labor planning in turf management is complicated. Every day, turf managers balance changing...

Your Spray Program Shouldn’t Keep You Up at Night

​Building a spray program can be stressful. You're thinking about pest control, fertility, PGRs, wetting agents, and plant health products. Are products from the last application still doing the job? Then comes the mixing math. A misplaced decimal or a wrong unit can...

Moving Beyond Pretty Maps

Today's weather forecast shows a 10% chance of rain in the late morning. Do you throw your rain gear in the cart? What if the forecast shows a 30% chance at 7:00 a.m.? Even without formal training in statistics, we use probabilities like these to make practical...
Mad-Tiller Disease

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...

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When Half an Inch Is Not

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...

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HOW-TO Guide: Water Resource Planner

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...

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Nightly Irrigation Guidance Comes to GreenKeeper App

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...

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One Easy Task Will Transform Your Management Program

One Easy Task Will Transform Your Management Program

I can assure you that this simple task, taking less than one minute each day, will provide valuable insight that directly impacts agronomic decisions. It is the most valuable piece of data that I collect, and it’s my biggest pet peeve when it’s skipped. This measurement predicts putting green performance, helps schedule mowing and topdressing frequency, and guides PGR and nitrogen application rates. It also helps me manage high and low performing greens differently. Still, there are a lot of questions about how to collect, log and use the data. This short article will help answer those questions.

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