Turf Covers – Fun Facts

Purchasing green covers requires a large financial investment and we are confident an informed decision will lead you to GreenGuard. To assist you in making an informed decision, we have included links to various research performed on golf green covers.

The GreenGuard turf cover was designed to provide golf course owners with a product that is long lasting, durable, water and air permeable and affordable.

In designing GreenGuard, we looked at the properties of existing winter covers and tried to improve each aspect. Below we highlight each article and provide links to the available research.

PERMEABLE VS. IMPERMEABLE

This is the one question where almost everyone agrees. A permeable cover yields better results than an impermeable one.

Golf Course Management – September 2007. To read the full article, click on GCM

  • Permeable turf covers improve spring green-up and winter survival of annual bluegrass.
  • Bluegrass survival rate improves dramatically with the use of a permeable cover.
  • Superintendents should use permeable winter covers every year to prevent turf loss that frequently occurs from winter desiccation. They generally reduce winter injury and speed growth in the spring.
  • Covering greens with permeable covers is an important strategy when managing annual bluegrass greens.

Golf Course Management – August 2007. To read the full article, click on GCM2

– Rain covers (non-permeable) resulted in the lowest turf-quality ratings.

Prevention and Control of Desiccation on Golf Greens – Watson. To read the full article, click on Desiccation

– Desiccation is especially critical when the soil has a low moisture content.

Winter Turf Covers – Powell. To read the full article, click on Permeable

– Covers should be permeable to air and water.

COVER COLOR

Several opinons on this one. Golf Course Management – August 2007. To read the full article, click on GCM2

  • The least reduction in soil-surface photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) occurred with the white covers. Covers that significantly restrict PAR will likely limit rapid spring regrowth from dormancy.
  • White covers aid in trapping additional thermal radiation. The white covers resulted in significant mean minimum temperature increase over plain white. They also provided the highest average daily minimum temperatures and consistently had some of the highest average daily mean and lowest average daily ranges.
  • White covers yield the highest mean daily temperatures.
  • Covers with a visibly loose interweave (partially translucent) allowed for significant daytime heating but much of the energy captured was lost during the evening hours.
  • Black covers consistently had some of the highest average daily minimum temperatures.

The Effect of Tarp Color and Cover Material on Poa Pratensis (Kentucky Bluegrass) Growth – Minner et al. To read the full article, click on Tarp Color

  • Black covers may enhance turf greenup during the spring.
  • White tarps produced significantly better turf color than light-green, dark green and gray/white. Compared to non-covered control, red, yellow and white tarps actually enhanced turf color.
  • Red, yellow and white provided significantly better turf color and recovery than all other tarp colors. Light green, dark green and gray/white had the poorest turf appearance.
  • In general, white is superior to green and gray.

Winter Turf Covers – Powell. To read the full article, click on Permeable

Fabric color has not been proven important relative to winter protection. However, if Bermuda is overseeded with perennial ryegrass and the overseeding is intended for spring use, maximum light penetration is important. If not overseeded, dark covers that reduce light penetration are preferable to reduce weed germination and establishment.

ULTRADWARF BERMUDAGRASS

Great article on the importance of winter covers to bermudagrass. To read the full article, click on Bermudagrass

  • Covering ultradwarf bermudagrass putting greens when conditions warrant is vital to protect against winter injury.
  • Winter injury is no laughing matter. Covers must be used.
  • A key component to having successful ultradwarf putting greens is managing them to a high standard in the winter months.
  • There are no ifs, ands or buts about it. Cold temperatures can damage bermudagrass. History has shown that unprotected bermudagrass putting greens often are the first part of an all-bermudagrass golf course to succumb in cold weather. Fortunately, a wide variety of turf covers that can dramatically decrease the chance for winter injury are available. Ultradwarf putting greens in the transition zone need to have covers and must deploy them when conditions warrant.
  • If a location is one where temps commonly fall below 25, covers are not only recommended, they are considered mandatory. The cover/no cover line extends from Jackson, Miss to Montgomery, AL to Macon, GA through South Carolina. Cover the greens any time the temperatures are predicted to fall below 25.
  • The use of covers should be viewed as insurance, not a nuisance. If there is ever any doubt about whether to cover or not, go ahead and cover the greens.