Research

A turfie returns to the Lone Star State

August 6, 2019 By Rebecca Grubbs, Ph.D.

Hi, my name is Becky Grubbs-Bowling, Ph.D. I’m originally from Dallas, Texas, and I completed my undergraduate and master’s degrees in horticulture at Texas Tech University in 2010 and 2013, respectively. I then went on to complete my Ph.D. in ...

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Things I learned about snow mold last winter

August 6, 2019 By Paul Koch, Ph.D

Every winter is different. Some are snowier than others, some are colder than others and some have those dreaded ice events. Sometimes our research plots have lots of snow mold, other years, sadly, none. No matter the conditions, I always ...

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Trouble with goosegrass control

July 25, 2019 By Jim Brosnan, Ph.D.

Goosegrass (Eleusine indica) is a problematic annual grassy weed found on golf course turf across the United States in summer. This species germinates from seed each spring, with emergence typically occurring several weeks after superintendents begin to see summer annual ...

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Lyme disease and deer ticks

July 9, 2019 By Clark Throssell, Ph.D.

Clark Throssell, Ph.D., discusses Lyme disease and deer ticks with Timothy Gibb, Ph.D. Gibb is an entomologist at Purdue University. Tim has worked on numerous insect problems throughout his career, including turfgrass pests and insects that impact human health. You ...

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Data-driven irrigation scheduling techniques for sand-capped fairways

July 9, 2019 By Ben Wherley, Ph.D., Kevin McInnes, Ph.D., Rebecca Grubbs, Ph.D. and Reagan Hejl

With current strains on water resources and with the increasing trend of capping degraded golf fairways with sand, the golf industry needs research toward efficient methods for irrigation management on sand-capped soil. While Reference ET-based scheduling — based as it ...

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Measurement devices used in this research. From left to right: TruFirm, Clegg and TDR350 with Turf Rod Spacers at 0.5-, 1.0- and 1.5-inch depths. (Photo: Daniel O'Brien)

What putting green firmness measurements actually tell us

June 5, 2019 By Daniel O’Brien, Doug Karcher, Ph.D. and Mike Richardson, Ph.D.

Firmness is an important attribute of championship greens, affecting both playability and durability of the putting surface. However, firmness can be interpreted and managed in various ways. Underlying factors often associated with firmness include volumetric water content (VWC), organic matter ...

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