The ATC Doublecut with Micah Woods

The firmness of putting greens varies with the surface organic material. More organic material in the top 2 cm (0.8 inches), and greens are softer. I discuss terminology, the relationship between firmness and organic material, and what you can do about this. The blog post discussed is https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/om2-and-firmness/ Read more about all kinds of turfgrass topics at https://www...

I've updated my recommendation for the sand quantity to apply for every unit of clipping volume harvested, if your goal is to keep surface organic material constant. Bjarni and I discussed topdressing by this method and the new equation that finds this sand amount. We discussed this post: https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/sand-topdressing-ratios-clipping-volume/ The PACE Turf table of sand rates...

This is about partitioning the growth flush after a rain. What's causing that growth flush? I made some calculations, using New Forest GC in the UK as an example. The increased soil water content from a 20 mm rain, in this example, would increase daily clipping volume from 10 mL/m2 to 22 mL/m2, a 12 mL increase. The blog post discussed is https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/nitrogen-in-rain-or-nit...

It sounds counterintuitive at first, that you can maintain a lower average water content in the soil, and a higher air content in the soil, by applying irrigation every day. Once upon a time, I thought the way to keep soils drier and with more air was to implement deep and infrequent irrigation.  The blog post discussed is: https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/deep-and-infrequent-or-light-and-frequ...

Brian Whitlark joined me to talk about sand topdressing of putting greens and especially about sand amounts. The blog post we discussed is: https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/standard-sand-amounts/ Listen to Brian's recent appearance on the Frankly Speaking podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/lt/podcast/firm-fast-desert-with-brian-whitlark/id1793571091?i=1000743219832 OM246 calculator web app wit...

High maintenance turf often requires a high disturbance and high stress environment. Grime's CSR theory says there are "no viable strategies" for plants in such an environment. I discuss the implications of this. Blog post discussed is https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/competition-stress-disturbance/ Read more about all kinds of turfgrass topics at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/ Find a suite of...

T-Jay Creamer is the golf course superintendent at Olympic View Golf Club on Vancouver Island. He's seen a steady decrease in OM2 in response to his N and sand rates, along with substantially more consistent OM2 values green to green. We discussed the results and what he does to accomplish this. The blog post we discussed is https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/gvx-and-sand/ The OM246 calculator Sh...

Jason Haines is the Links Superintendent at Cabot Cape Breton. We had a wide ranging conversation about blog posts from 2025, a new #MLSN article,  controlling snow mold, things that look easy but aren't easy, and more. The blog post we discussed is https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/ten-posts-no-one-read-in-2025/ The spring 2026 article in GreenMaster about MLSN: https://online.flipbuilder.com/g...

Stewart Naugler is the Director of Agronomy at Loraloma in Texas. We talked about zoysiagrass as a golfing surface, playability, and maintenance requirements. We started by discussion my "Achieving the warm-season links" article, available here: https://www.asianturfgrass.com/publication/woods-2013-gca/ Read more about all kinds of turfgrass topics at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/ Find a suite o...

Thatch and mat at the top of turfgrass rootzones are removed from soils prior to testing for soil organic matter. Total organic material (OM246) testing is designed to measure the soil organic matter plus the thatch and mat. The blog post discussed is https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/organic-matter-and-screens/ Read more about all kinds of turfgrass topics at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/ Fin...

This gives an overview of the seminars I presented at the GCSAA Conference in 2026 and discusses updated PACE Turf site analyses of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR). Seminar handout page: https://www.asianturfgrass.com/seminar/gcsaa-2026/ Example PAR site analysis in the PACE Turf gallery: https://www.paceturf.org/gallery/detail/site-par-analysis Read more about all kinds of turfgrass top...

Maggie Reiter joined me to discuss her "Finding Turf Twitter" analysis, her analysis of current turf research topics at the ASA-CSSA-SSSA meetings, tropical grasses, and irrigation water requirements. We discussed:  https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/a-brand-new-turf-twitter-analysis/ https://maggiereiter.com/ https://www.asianturfgrass.com/tag/carpetgrass/ https://www.paceturf.org/gallery/detail...

Scientific writing is not always as clear as this. There's an article I really enjoyed that stated right at the start, in the abstract, that core aeration "might not be worth doing."  The blog post discussed in this episode is https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/core-aeration-lucid-abstract/ Full text of the article is available at https://doi.org/10.4141/S05-073 Read more about all kinds of turfg...

Dr. Kaminski joined me from his sabbatical in Australia to discuss flights, turf photos, and what he's been doing on his sabbatical. The blog post we discussed is: https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/flights-favorite-turf-photos-2025/ Read more about all kinds of turfgrass topics at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/ Find a suite of decision-making tools at https://www.paceturf.org/ Get free ATC news...

This episode answers that question with how I recommend doing this. For today, we don't need to add N. But the soil nutrient levels decrease with time, we can predict how much the grass will use, and I make fertilizer recommendations looking into the future, rather than waiting to test again before making a decision to apply.  The blog post discussed in this episode is: https://www.asianturfgrass....

Joe Gulotti joined me to give the doublecut treatment to the top posts of 2025 on the ATC blog, plus a bit of holiday extravaganza. Blog post discussed is: https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/top-10-posts-2025/ National Links Trust updates: https://www.nationallinkstrust.org/whats-happening-now Petition to keep D.C.'s publich courses out of political control: https://www.change.org/p/keep-dc-s-pub...

When grass clippings are returned to the turf, the quantity of nutrients required as fertilizer is decreased. In this episode I discuss how I handle the clippings returned situation. Blog post discussed is: https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/clippings-removed-or-returned/ Also discussed how to get a quick estimate of grass nutrient use: https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/how-to-arrive-at-that-nu...

The #MLSN method for nutrient recommendations involves an MLSN value that the soil is not supposed to drop below. But what does this value mean, when converted from the usual units of ppm (mg/kg) to how many years it would take grass to use that much of the element?  The blog post discussed is https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/soil-nutrients-and-extra-beer/ Read more about all kinds of turfgrass...

This episode explains the steps I'd take to change greens from too hard (surface hardness and ball bounce, not hard as in difficulty) to just right. It follows that the opposite steps could be taken to move greens from too soft to just right. The blog post discussed is https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/to-keep-green-soft/ The ball bounce video from Dan Dinelli is at https://youtu.be/r1LV77z_Ziw...

Expressing sand quantities as a depth makes communication easier. But to know the depth, you need to know how much sand was applied to begin with. I've been surprised at how many turf managers don't know the exact amount applied. This short episode explains why I think you should measure sand amounts. Blog post discussed was https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/sand-topdressing-by-depth/ Sand rate...

I explain how I answered a couple questions about how much N and how much sand a particular grass might require. Specifically, I recommend adjusting N based on #ClipVol and sand based on #OM246. Blog post discussed: https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/sand-nitrogen-measuring-guessing/ OM246 calculator: https://asianturfgrass.shinyapps.io/om246/ Read more about all kinds of turfgrass topics at http...

The New York Golf Economic & Environmental Impact Report has interesting results for MLSN and ClipVol usage in New York. 58% of golf courses measure clipping volume and 47% interpret soil tests using MLSN. Blog post: https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/survey-says-mlsn-clipping-volume-golf-courses-new-york/ Full report: https://www.newyorkgolfimpact.org/ Read more about all kinds of turfgrass...

Piper and Oakley wrote that "there is nothing mysteriously beneficial in their formulas" and that mixed fertilizers are "extensively advertised" but "are not to be recommended." Arthur wrote that soil testing is a "commercial gimmick" and that fine turf with clippings collected needs only "a little nitrogen in spring, no phosphates, and very little potash."  I recommend an article I wrote that att...

I explain why I recommend collecting soil nutrient samples to a 10 cm (4 inch depth). I also discuss the importance of repeated soil sampling in order to check the change in test results over time. I look at a photo gallery from the 2025 Danish Golf Championship. Posts discussed include: https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/recommended-soil-sampling-depth-for-turfgrass/ https://www.asianturfgrass.c...

My Short Grammar of Greenkeeping book is one of the required books for turf class at Horry-Georgetown Technical College in South Carolina. Professor Jim Huntoon joined me to discuss the book, why he uses it for teaching, and how the internship (or summer cooperative work experience) program works. We discussed this post: https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/i-wrote-a-book-and-you-can-read-it-this-w...