Figure 1. Figure 2.

They Are Mowing Fairways withTriplex Mowers andPicking Up the Clippings, Too!by STANLEY J. ZONTEKDirector, North-Central Region, USGA Green Section

AT FIRST it may sound ludicrous!On the other hand, it may beone of the most significant

advances in fairway management sincethe invention of the aerifier. Whateveryone in the Northeast and Mid-western states is talking about thesedays is the mowing of bentgrass/ Poaannua fairways with triplex mowers.Even more unlikely, some superinten-dents are actually catching and removingthe clippings from the fairways! Whatwas unheard of in past years becamemore and more commonplace duringthe summer of '82. Is there somethingto this idea after all?

S orne golf courses used triplexmowers last summer and caught allclippings every time they mowed fair-ways. Others used these lighter-weight mowers continuously, but theyremoved clippings only on some holesor on certain occasions (to pick upPoa annua seed heads, etc.). Othersused their traditional five- or seven-or nine-gang mowers on some holesand the triplex mowers on others.Members of neighboring courses sawwhat was going on and, more important,the results of this technique, and planneda similar program oftheir own for 1983.What started out as a good idea on a

modest scale on a few golf courses hasnow developed into a program for manyothers that maintain bentgrass/ Poaannua fairways in the upper Midwestand Northeast.

IT IS DIFFICULT to say exactlywhere and when this idea of triplex

mowing and clipping removal on fair-way areas began. With the developmentof the triple~ putting green mowers,the golf course superintendent had, forthe first time, a precision piece ofequipment to mow large areas of closelycut turf that was not possible with handmowers or other multi-unit mowers.

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Figure 3.

Then, as the equipment aged and normalturnover and replacement took place,many of these machines were availableto maintain tees, collars, approachesand, in a few cases, small par-threefairways where traditional tractor-drawn multi-gang units simply couldnot operate in the confined spaces. Theresults were dramatic. Turf quality andreliability improved, especially in thedifficult-to-maintain putting greenapproach areas.

Superintendents in the cool-seasongrass growing areas of this country havealways had problems maintaining theapproach areas to certain puttinggreens. These areas, so important toplay, receive tremendous compactionand abrasion from the normal flow oftraffic onto a green as well as enduringcontinuous turning of the fairwaymowing equipment. Nothing is moredisconcerting to a golfer than to seethe approach to a green thin and poorlyturfed with cuppy lies. It looks bad andit plays poorly.

Common sense and the availabilityof triplex mowers allows the golf coursesuperintendent to alter fairway mowingpatterns and maintain the approacheswith less~stressful and less-compactingmowers. In addition, he also has the

2 USGA GREEN SECTION RECORD

option of removing clippings. The resultshave proven worth the extra effort!Areas treated in this manner improvedthe first year. They only got better thesecond and third years. Then, as timewent by, something else became apparent.The percentage of bentgrass in theseapproach areas was increasing. Itreached a point where the bentgrassbegan to predominate over Poa annua.It is difficult to explain why, but itactually happened. Figure 1 illustratesthis phenomenon. You can see the linebetween the triplex-maintained approachand the conventionally maintained andpredominately Poa annua fairway.This is not an isolated instance. Figure 2illustrates a similar case. Simply bykeeping the heavy mowing equipmentand extra traffic off these areas, theturf is markedly better.

This scenario has been repeated overa great number of golf courses in theNortheast and Midwest during the pastfew years. What were once summerproblem areas became vastly improvedsimply by controlling traffic, switchingto lightweight mowing equipment andremoving the clippings.

The observant and ingenious golfcourse superintendent realized some-thing was happening that was good for

him (less turf loss, less Poa annua andmore bentgrass), and the appearanceand playability of these areas weredramatically improved. The next logicalstep was to do whole fairways. Generally,the weakest fairway was chosen. Itbecame obvious that where triplexeswith baskets were used to catch clippings,the grass, no matter what species, washealthier, much more playable, andshowed an increasing percentage ofbentgrass.

In the North-Central Region of theUSGA Green Section, Cal Gruber, golfcourse superintendent at the ColdStream Country Club, in Cincinnati,Ohio, is believed to be the first to mowall fairways with triplex mowers andpick up the clippings. Since he beganthis program, in 1980, the results havebeen outstanding. Figure 3 shows ColdStream Country Club's fairways duringthe heat of the summer stress period.Note the quality turf and excellentplaying conditions on bentgrass fair-ways in a part of the country wheresummer turf stress can be extreme.

FOLLOWING THE SUCCESS ofthis program, plus parallel obser-

vations in other parts of the country,the majority of private golf courses in

Cincinnati that have combination bent-grass/ Poa annua fairways are nowtriplex mowing all or part of theirfairways. Courses such as OakmontCountry Club, in Oakmont, Pennsyl-vania, site of the 1983 U.S. OpenChampionship; Bloomfield Hills CountryClub, in Birmingham, Michigan; BobO'Link Country Club, in HighlandPark, Illinois; The Country Club, inCleveland, Ohio (Figure 4); andInverness Club, in Toledo, Ohio, allare currently maintaining their golfcourses in this way. Even smaller club-type courses, both nine and 18 holes,have adopted this program. It seems towork wherever it's tried.

The inevitable question of cost hasa variable answer. Total fairway acresmaintained, clippings removed all orpart of the time, frequency of cut,clippings disposed of on site or com-mercially hauled away, number of

machines used, the cutting widths of themachines, are all important factors. Thebest information indicates that triplexmowing and clipping removal triplesthe cost of the physical fairway mainte-nance operation. This includes justabout three times the labor, gasoline,manhours and equipment maintenanceand repair costs. It does not include thepurchase price for new equipment.

MOWING EQUIPMENT has beenadapted recently that is more

rugged, cuts a wider swath, and generallydoes a more efficient job than theoriginal triplex putting green mowers.The ideal machine for this chore, how-ever, is still to be developed. Somesuperintendents have modified currentequipment. The adaptations includeextra engine cooling vents, extrahydraulic oil coolers, rollers or casterwheels versus skids, engine speed. or

cruise control (to reduce operatorfatigue), conversion from air-cooledgasoline to water-cooled diesel.

Equipment manufacturers probablywill recognize what the superintendentsin the field have seen. This type ofmowing works, and it is here to stay formany golf courses. The new equipmentwill require more efficient and reliablelightweight, three- or even five-ganghydraulically driven mowers, capableof clipping removal for those coursesthat want this option. There's no doubt,new mowers will be on the way.

Remember, we are talking about twodifferent types of operations, plus theadded step of clipping removal. Everygolf course superintendent seems tohave developed his own pattern ortechnique. There are no fixed standards.For example, some superintendentshave their clipping trailers towedbehind the machines, others park them

at strategically located areas along thefairways (Figure 5), some collect themfor removal in dumpster types ofvehicles (Figure 6), others compost ordiscard the clippings in dump sites onthe course. In many cases, the majorpart of the cost and inconvenience ofthis program is in clipping disposal. Itis a problem, but the advantages realizedby those courses that want tight bent-grass fairways with a minimum of Poaannua seem to be worth it.

An important part of making a fair-way triplex mowing program practicalis the careful contouring and reductionin total acreage of fairway turf to bemaintained. The majority of coursesthat use triplex mowers maintain 30acres or less of total fairway area.Obviously, if one golf course has 50acres of fairways and another 25 acres,this program is much less practical forthe course with 50 acres. Thus, sometype of fairway acreage reduction maybe necessary on certain golf courses ifthey wish to adapt this program.

References have been made to theimportance of removing the clippingsfrom bentgrass / Poa annua fairwayswhere there is a wish to increase bent-grass populations at the expense ofPoa annua. Skeptics point to puttinggreens where, for years, they have been

Figure 5.

mowed by triplex and / or hand mowerswith clippings removed, and still Poaannua encroaches, proliferates and evendominates bentgrasses. Contrast thisstatement to the reality shown byFigure 1 and the field experience of somany superintendents who have seenthe fairway triplex effect. One thenbegins to appreciate the complexagronomic factors that are at work.Remember, we are talking about twodistinctly different, yet related, opera-tions. Mowing fairways with lighter-weight equipment. for less stress andsummer turf loss (no matter what typeof grass is involved) and the second stepof clipping removal seems to have aneffect on the bentgrass / Poa annuabalance.

In the case of using lighter-weightmowing equipment, one can readilyunderstand how less stress is placedon the grass, less abrasion and less soilcompaction. This reduction of stress isparticularly evident in all turn areas.

Improvement in fairway quality canalso be linked to improved frequency ofcut, narrower cutting units that followthe contours of the fairways better,variable reel speeds and the fact thatfairways can be more easily angle- orcross-cut. All in all, the mowers, bytheir basic engineering and function,

improve turf quality for improvedfairway playability.

What is not so clearly understood iswhy bentgrasses now compete so muchmore favorably in the approach andfairway areas and not necessarily sovigorously on greens, just a few yardsaway. Dr. James Watson, Vice-Presidentof Toro Manufacturing Company,once said, after observing triplex-mownfairways, that probably at least threePh.D. dissertations will be involved indetermining exactly what is happeningand why. Certainly, no conclusiveexplanation of what is occurringagronomically will be attempted here.Rather, an offering of some probable orpossible reasons is made:

A. Less compaction. Shallow-rootedPoa annua is more competitive in com-pacted soils than deeper-rooted bent-grass. With less compaction, the bent-grass may be more competitive.

B. Bentgrass is more aggressive atlower fertility levels. With clippingsremoved, bentgrass can perhaps betterassert itself over Poa annua.

C. Greater bentgrass aggressivenessat %" to %" cutting heights. Bentgrassesmaintained at these heights may have acompetitive edge over Poa annua.Seldom are turfgrasses grown at their

Figure 6.

best and most adaptive heights, butrather at the lower end of the spectrum.Perhaps this is why, on a putting green,the bents may not be as competitive asPaa annua. They both are being cutclosely, stressing both and, perhaps dueto annual bluegrass's shallow rootingsystem, it may be as aggressive, if notmore aggressive, than the creepingbentgrass at the closer heights. Thus,bentgrass cut nearer ~" may be at itsbest and therefore more aggressive thanPaa annua.

D. Lower water requirement. Withlighter-weight equipment, the grassplants are put under less stress. Thiscan mean less irrigation in general andless syringing in particular. Bentgrasseshave a deeper rooting system and thusa deeper root zone from which to drawwater.

E. Paa annua seedhead removal.Common sense would indicate that withPaa annua seed heads removed, therecan be, with time, less seed in the soilto germinate.

F. Heat of clipping decomposition.Decomposing grass clippings generate

heat. Whether or not this heat ofdecomposition is a factor is open toconjecture.

G. The best weed control is a denseturf. Mowing the turf with lightweightequipment reduces stress regardless ofclipping removal. Thus, with a tightsod, Paa annua may not have as greatan opportunity to germinate.

SO FAR, the program has beenreasonably easy to sell. Members

generally want the best playing conditionspossible within their means. By demon-strating this technique on several holes,the member can easily see the improve-ment on his own course. The impact iseven greater when the poorest and mosttrou blesome fairway is chosen andit improves in turf quality beyondexpectations.

A field trip and visit to other coursesthat are or have been on this programfor some time is most effective in sellingthe idea. In this way, influential mem-bers, like the Green Committee Chair-man, club President, or Governing

Board members can see what the turflooks like, how it plays, and how muchit costs. It is one thing to hear about aprogram of this sort and quite anotherto actually see it.

Perhaps the most important aspectof this program, at least for the golfer,is improved fairway playability. He isinterested in a green turf that is alive,full, dense, and that properly supportsthe ball. This type of mowing seems toprovide that kind of turf.

Surely this technique is not for everyclub. There are still areas for equipmentimprovement, and the managementand logistics of it can be a headachefor the golf course superintendent. Itis not a panacea. All the agronomicanswers are not in. There is a cost factorthat must be considered, and perhapseven recontouring the fairway mowingpatterns may be necessary. Nevertheless,a growing number of golf courses in thebentgrassj Paa annua fairway regionsof this country have turned to thismanagement technique. It has producedresults. Those who have tried it havenot been disappointed.

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