Golfdom, April 2016

WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND Continued from page 21 the soil With greater water retention we get greater bacteria and with greater bacteria we get less disease With higher fairway mowing heights greater thatch accumulation and different soil types were going to need a heavier roller Nikolai says but we dont want the roller to weigh too much What we still have to do with research is figure out how much Whats the range we would like that roller to weigh minimum to maximum Nikolais current on course research is looking to spot decreases in weeds and disease mostly dollar spot and increases in golfer satisfaction He also notes that his previous research turned up no evidence that rollers transfer disease from one spot on the course to another although there are still more unknowns than knowns when it comes to the fairway If you have the time and have the machine I would stop applying pesticides he suggests to superintendents I would pick two par 3s and roll half the fairway and not roll the other half Do a little experiment If youre not getting results and you have something that you can add water to and increase the psi I would put more water in the drum Try to find the correct psi yourself Were getting there with research Nikolai says but on some agronomic benefits the jurys still out Ask the man who owns one On the superintendent side one convert to fairway rolling is Tim ONeill CGCS at the Country Club of Darien Conn and a former president of the GCSAA ONeill was an early adapter of Salscos Tranz Former which hes had for about three years Before I had the Tranz Former he says I had the notion that having something to smooth out my fairways would be good but it had to be something wider than a regular greens roller As far as solid bottom line results ONeill sees them Saving mower wear and tear allows his mechanic to do other things he says and in the summertime we can skip the middle mowing of the week when things are hot The fairway roller was what he was looking for because I actually had found myself trying to roll fairways with a small greens roller which was ridiculous In a bit of irony the superintendent who once rolled fairways with a greens roller now rolls greens with a fairway roller I have small greens here ONeill says so you wouldnt necessarily think that you would put it on the greens but for the amount of time we do it I would say that the machine has a number of different benefits One benefit ONeill has heard about but not experienced is the reduction in fungicide use Im on a pretty rigid spray program in the summertime he notes and I havent changed it at all because of the roller But Ive definitely found other uses for it Besides greens he says we use it on the approaches We use it in areas that may get damaged by vehicles whether its trucks or whatever After doing a lot of tree work this winter Ill wait for the right moment and when things are soft enough or firm enough Ill put that machine out there to roll it out and flatten some of the ruts And what about the question of the more expensive standalones versus the less expensive tow behinds Im all for the whole notion of rolling ONeill says and if you can get it done with those tow behinds OK Whatever fits your budget if youre not so worried about tire marks I like the ability to not have to tow this thing so that there are no wheel marks from a tractor or a heavy duty utility cart Quite honestly he says Im thinking about putting another fairway roller on my equipment needs list and that could be a three year process to get it from where that would start to when I could actually get one G Premium Liquid Fertilizer 22 Golfdom April 2016 Golfdom com PHOTO COURTESY SMITHCO www plantfoodgolf com 800 562 1291 pfc@ planƞoodco com According to Michigan States Thomas Nikolai more research is needed to determine optimal weight for fairway rollers We dont want the roller to weigh too much he says