Kenneth Ingram, CGCS said: Great post. The USGA Green Section has beat this to death. They visit a course once a year. Naturally they are going to look at bare or thin spots greens. They see marks from grooved rollers and declare them the culprit even though traffic, drainage, and shade are much more of an issue. I disagree and don't think they are more damaging than solid rollers. Solids during grow in but once turf is established grooved rollers are fine. Kenneth Ingram, UMD
The Green Section prefers to build a relationship with a facility and visit as often as possible. That being said, the financial side of bringing in a third party isn't always equal to the desire. So, most often one visit is all they get. It's no secret solid rollers decrease stress, hence the reason you use them on a grow in. So if the Green Section staff sees an area affected by stress, they offer suggestions to alleviate that stress including using a solid roller. I have only met three USGA Agronomists, but they've all been very good in looking at all causes of an issue.
We run grooved rollers from March through September, solids the remainder. We do not overseed so the less stress we can put on the greens as we head into periods of little to no growth and VERY high traffic, the better we are throughout the winter months. Especially on the clean up passes. I prefer grooved when we are actively growing as I feel we get a better cut.