Introduction
Performance standards should be well defined, otherwise it defeats the purpose of having readily measurable criteria. This document provides an illustrative example of the sort of performance standards and parameters that might be considered for a golf course.
Please note that these are only intended to be a guide and should not be treated as definitive. However, they will prove useful in drawing up a suitable document for a golf course.
The overall quality is that which is attained from all the work carried out on the facility. The objectives that are stated will also give a greenkeeper a good idea of the materials and work required to achieve the desired result.
One person's idea of a good quality course can frequently be quite different to anothers! This alone is a good enough reason to set performance standards and to reduce the scope for disagreement.
Some of the benefits of using performance standards for the maintenance of golf courses can also include:
- being an aid with budget negotiations for the turf manager - evidence can be used to argue for a change in staff, materials or machinery if a different standard or overall quality is desired by the membership;
- the ability to make realistic comparisons between courses and to counter comments about one course supposedly being better than another;
- to train staff to utilise their time more effectively in achieving the desired results by having a well defined end product;
- to provide a suitable basis for drawing up a detailed work programme and to allow for an accurate assessment of resource requirements.
An experienced turf manager will be able to get a 'feel' for the level of standard as they walk the golf course. A detailed assessment will only occur occasionally, yet most likely at regular intervals.
Greens
(Green aprons and perimeters will most likely have very similar, if not the same in many cases, standards to those of the green)
A typical range of standards might be as follows, however, the actual performance criteria are set by whomever manages or owns the golf course.
Golf Green Standards numbering:
Standards 1 - 10 can all be measured by using a grid with evenly sized squares. Typical sizes for the grids are 0.5 x 0.5m, or 1 x 1m. Ideally 100 squares from the grid/s used will equal 1m², thus each grid square is 10cm in length per side.
The parameters are normally assessed over a 1m² area, with a number of tests for each standard being carried out to give a realistic indication of the relevant area's condition.
It needs to be made clear whether the parameters apply just to individually assessed square metres, and/or to the area as a whole. To illustrate this point, consider the following : a 1 m² area is being assessed with 1% of undesirable content. This could consist of a 'clump' of weeds 10cm x 10cm in size within the 1m² area. (100cm x 100cm = 10,000cm², 1% = 100cm²). If 1% of the total area, say a green of 500m², was permitted, this could equate to a clump 5m² in size.
Standards 11 - 13 can be measured by using a steel rule.
Standards 14 - 22 are measured by a variety of techniques.
The numbering of the standards varies between the areas, however, the assessment method is mostly the same for each.
| Performance Standard | Parameter to be achieved (When measured at any time during the year, unless otherwise stated) |
Comment |
| 1. Total ground cover | Min. 99.5% | This may be adjusted to allow for seasonal growth of grasses because it is easier to achieve during the summer than the winter period, as well as any maintenance work that may be undertaken, e.g. hollow-tining. The principle will be to have as much ground cover as possible at all times. |
| 2. Desirable grass species content | Min. 80% | Usually stated as Browntop Bents, Creeping Bents, Chewing's Fescues and Slender Creeping Red Fescues. Occasionally Velvet Bent. |
| 3. Annual meadow grass content | Max. 20% | Ideally this would be nil, but such a figure is unrealistic. A maximum figure of less than that given may be considered for some very high quality greens. Some greens will contain up to 100% of annual meadow grass, so the figure which is set must take this into account. An indication should also be given of how the optimum level is to be reached over a period of stated years, with the maximum content being reduced for each year. |
| 4. Fine leaved weed content | Max. 4% | This would include weeds such as clovers, pearlwort, parsley piert, toadrush and yarrow. |
| 5. Broad leaved weed content | Nil | This would include weeds such as daisy, dandelion, etc. |
| 6. Moss content | Max. 2% | This figure might be varied due to seasonal growth, allowing for may be up to 5% moss during the autumn / winter period, coming done to the 2% figure during the playing season. |
| 7. Algae content | Nil | Any substantial amount of algae is a good indicator of wet conditions and soil problems. Some form of soil treatment would certainly be needed, however, algae should not be permitted to become established by implementing effective maintenance practices. |
| 8. Earthworm surface casts | Max. 3 per m2 | A figure needs to be set to prevent any casts from interfering with play or from smothering the grass. A slightly higher figure may be considered if cultural control, alone, is being carried out. An ideal figure would be nil surface casts, but with the limited chemical controls available this is most likely to be unrealistic. |
| 9. Pest infestation | Nil | This relates to leatherjackets and chafer grubs which will exhaust the grass roots and should not be tolerated. |
| 10. Disease infestation | Max. 2% | A balance is needed to prevent excessive chemical application and also to give the grass and rootzone some potential to build up a certain level of resistance to disease. Different types of disease may be allowed to be more prevalent than others. Red Thread may be permitted to say just over 5% of the sward, whilst Fusarium Patch disease would most likely want to be treated fairly immediately due to its ability to spread rapidly and its overall destructiveness on golf greens. |
| 11. Grass length | 5mm | This may actually be stated for both the main growing season (e.g. 4 - 6mm, or even 7mm) and out of the main growing season (6 - 8mm), as well as which height to use for Tournament play, e.g. 4mm.. |
| 12. Thatch depth | Range 3mm-8mm | Too much will cause problems, whilst too little will make the green wear that much quicker. |
| 13. Root depth | Min. 75mm | In general, the deeper the better, but 75mm should realistically be aimed at as a minimum. Some form of criteria may also be built into this relating to root density as well. |
| 14. Sward colour | Uniform 'medium to dark' green | Some form of colour chart may be beneficial to clarify what this means. |
| 15. Quality of cut | Sharp and uniform | No jagged, blunt or bruised edges. This will ensure the mower is set correctly. An indication of the presence of 'stripes' as a result of a mowing operation any also be given, as well as finishing off by mowing around the perimeter of the green - or this may be included elsewhere. |
| 16. Surface evenness | Using a 0.5m straight edge - Max ± 1mm; plus the ball must run true throughout the green | It is unlikely that a perfect evenness to the surface is achieved, but it should be near to that. This will especially apply to changed holes which have been filled in with a turf core to ensure the golf ball is not affected by the finished level - which should blend in perfectly if carried out correctly. |
| 17. Soil pH | 5.0-6.5 | This is a good range for the finer turfgrasses, although if Creeping bent predominates, this might be given as, say 6.0-7.0. |
| 18. Phosphorus content | ADAS : 0 -1 | Only very small amounts are required by the finer turfgrasses. |
| 19. Potassium content | ADAS : 1 - 2 | This may depend upon how sandy the soil profile is and what is the potential for leaching. |
| 20. Permeability of the soil profile | 1.2 cm/hr to 1.8 cm/hr | Considering that golf is played for 12 months of the year a suitable enough rate will need to be included: This will vary depending upon the geographic location of the site, with greens in the north and west of the country requiring higher rates than the south and east. Too high a figure may result in an unnecessarily high irrigation requirement, although rates of up to 2.5 cm/hr may need to be stated for high sand content greens. |
| 21. Soil particle size analysis | Main particle range, say 60-80% within: 0.25 - 0.5mm | A suitable breakdown might be included, especially for the top-dressing which is applied. The material will need to be compatible with the existing rootzone material, especially if the construction is of a specialist nature, for example, a USGA specification. |
| 22. Green Speed | Club play during (a) the main growing season : Medium-Fast: 7' 6" and (b) outside of this: Medium: 6' 6". Tournament play: Medium 8' 6" |
Stimpmeter reading: Regular play is graded from Fast (8' 6") to Slow (4' 6"), whilst Tournament play is graded from Fast (10' 6") to Slow (6' 6"). This will depend upon the time of year as well as the level of play, e.g. tournament or normal club play. A monthly figure might be given to enable maintenance practices to be gradually adapted to meet the necessary conditions. |