Greens Scalping/Mower setup Cancel The title field is required!

1. Jeremy Waldrop

   

   0 posts
   
   7/7/2015 8:07 AM

   We have been experiencing some scalping issues as of late on our bent greens. We have been on a steady verticut/topdressing program in the spring but we obviously back off this program in the heat of summer. The scalp issue seems to start about a month after our last verticut and as we continue the light topdressing. We have gone to solid rollers and tried to roll our greens weekly as well as continuing a venting program. Is there anyone who has experienced this issue and how did you alleviate the problem. I believe we must be missing something in our cultural practices such as keeping the greens a little to wet or not rolling enough? Or could it be possible that we have too aggressive of a setup on our mower.
   
   Thanks for any opinions.

   
   
   
   
2. Michael Kriz

   

   0 posts
   
   7/7/2015 9:07 AM

   Across the entire surface of the green or on the edges/cleanup pass? We see it this time of year, puffies

   
   
   
   
3. Michael Palmer

   

   0 posts
   
   7/7/2015 12:07 PM

   Have you checked the end of bedknives for any burr's? We seem to get small stripes in our bentgrass greens if not filed down occasionally, and we mow greens every other day and roll in between those days. Have had a ton of rain also this summer which contributes to puffy spots on greens also.

   
   
   
   
4. Jeremy Waldrop

   

   0 posts
   
   7/7/2015 3:07 PM

   Most of the scalping has been when we were mowing down grain on slopes. Some of the scalp is on the edge but the worst is definitely on the steeper slopes.

   
   
   
   
5. Jeffrey Sexton

   

   0 posts
   
   7/7/2015 4:07 PM

   We had this problem a couple of summers ago. We us toro flex 2100 walking mowers and at the time they had a black bed knife bar installed. We found later that toro made these for a more aggressive bed knife angle. We changed to the red bed knife bar and it solved the problem. We have also had issues if our phosphorus fertility got too high in the summer. The bed knife angle change helped us tremendously. Good luck.
   
   Jeff Sexton
   Evansville CC

   
   
   
   
6. Henry Heinz

   

   0 posts
   
   7/8/2015 6:07 AM

   If your running Jac mowers you can try the super thin extended tournament knives. If your running Deere run the 109 knife from JRM, it's a max clearance knife and extended. Set your bedknife attitude between 5 and 6 degrees. This should flatten you out and provide a good quality of cut through your hot humid periods of mowing. If running the Toro mowers you can do the same, run ultra thin knives, with an attitude of 5 to 6 degree. I like using the extended knives as it pushes the knife about 3 degree forward and helps soften the aggressiveness. I will also grind/buff down the bottom edges of the knife on the ends making them smooth and rounded so that should then get into a undulation they are more likely to skid/push off the turf instead of biting in.
   
   Regards,

   
   
   
   
7. Jeremy Waldrop

   

   0 posts
   
   7/8/2015 8:07 AM

   Thank you for the replies. We are using the Toro Flex 21 with the more aggressive bed bars.

   
   
   
   
8. Henry Heinz

   

   0 posts
   
   7/8/2015 11:07 AM

   If that's the case, as you know they have a standard and a non-aggressive shoe that you can use. Well I should say at one point they offered three different shoes. I ran standard and non aggressive with extended knives and never an issue. I think you'll find your problem goes away during this period once you soften up that knife attitude.
   
   Regards,

   
   
   
   
9. Joshua Sawyer

   

   0 posts
   
   7/8/2015 1:07 PM

   Check the aggression of the setup as it relates reel to bed knife...sounds like the reel is just getting into the canopy. Thinner knife/more neutral setup on reel to bed knife? Good luck.

   
   
   
   
10. Dinger Greg

    
    7/8/2015 2:07 PM

    What year Flex mower are you dealing with? You can put an extended bedknife on them, 108-4303. This raises the reel up out of the turf another .015" +/-. There is some adjustability in the rear roller as well, but I think that mostly makes them more aggressive, but you may just verify they're in the most benign settings, or highest holes.

    
    
    
    
11. Corey Eastwood

    

    80 posts
    
    7/9/2015 11:07 AM

    No one has mentioned wetting agents. A few years back it was found that certain wetting agents caused puffiness and thus scalping.

    
    Corey Eastwood CGCS, Stockton Golf & CC, Retired
    
    
12. Jeremy Waldrop

    

    0 posts
    
    7/9/2015 3:07 PM

    We sprayed a penetrant this week to try to move some water off the surface and hopefully reduce the amount of scalping.

    
    
    
    
13. Tony Feheregyhazi

    

    7 posts
    
    7/16/2015 7:07 PM

    Whenever we have missed an important cultural practice in the spring like aeration or a deep verticutting (graeden) my greens get puffy this time of year as well and it is hard to maintain a cut near .125. Greens need large amounts of sand for today's heights. I remember when .150 was crazy low, now it's the shoulder season height!!
    
    Tony Feheregyhazi
    Bridges Golf Course
    Winnipeg, Canada