Surface hardness and bermudagrass greens

Maintaining the desired level of firmness on putting greens, day in and day out, is one of many demands faced by superintendents. We have written about the issues involved in managing firmness on cool-season greens. Now, Mississippi State University researcher Herbert Philley and colleagues have explored this question on bermudagrass greens with their study, "Surface hardness varies with bermudagrass cultivar".

The researchers looked at 21 different bermudagrass cultivars (mowed at greens heights) over a period of two years, and found…