How to Make Your Lawn Look Like a Golf Course

When we sign up a new customer, many times they tell me “I want you to make my lawn look like a golf course.” “I do too.” is my typical reply, “and while a solid fertilization and weed control program is essential, it is not the only thing that must be done for your lawn to look like a golf course.” Then I go on to explain all the different things that go into making a lawn look like a golf course.

Rule #1: If you want your lawn to look like a golf course, you have to be willing to mow it more often.

First is mowing height and frequency. Golf courses are typically mowed a lot lower than a lawn. The average height of a fairway is .75″. The average lawn mowing height is 2.5″ to 3″ which means that they have to mow a golf course much more often. This actually helps the grass. Cutting grass more often, makes the grass grow thicker, which helps to choke out weeds, and believe it or not, grass actually likes to be cut. So, it makes the turf healthier. Usually they mow the fairways every other day and the greens and tee boxes every day. I’m not saying you need to start mowing your lawn every other day, but I am saying that you need to cut it when it needs to be cut and not on a set schedule.

So, how do you know how often you should mow? Use the 1/3 rule. Never remove more than 1/3 of the plant when you cut it. When I’m mowing my lawn, I usually only like to take off about .5″ each time. That means I may mow once a week if it’s dry or cool, and sometimes I may have to cut it every three days if conditions are right. One thing I’ve started doing when my grass is growing really fast, is apply a low rate of growth regulator. This slows down the rate of growth so I don’t have to mow every three days, but I can stretch it out to 7 or 10 days if necessary. This is great if you are really busy or have a vacation planned.

Rule #2: If you want your lawn to look like a golf course, have it aerated at least once a year.

The second thing they do to golf courses that we don’t typically do to our lawns is aeration. Most of the time golf courses are aerated once a month. Again, circumstances are different for lawns than they are for golf courses. Golf courses are subjected to a lot more traffic than a lawn. People are constantly driving golf carts over them and they receive a lot of foot traffic too. Most lawns don’t need to be aerated monthly because they aren’t subject to a lot of traffic, but once a year is always beneficial to the grass.

Rule #3: If you want your lawn to look like a golf course, give it the water it needs.

The third difference between golf course maintenance and lawn maintenance is watering. Most golf courses have automatic sprinkler systems, but what you may not know is that the best superintendents don’t just have their sprinkler systems on a set timer. They adjust it constantly based on the weather. They aim for 1″ to 1.5″ of rainfall/irrigation per week and they modify accordingly. They also water deeply, not frequently. Most of them do their homework and they know how long it takes for the irrigation system to deliver 1″ of water. Then they break that down into 2 or 3 waterings per week on the fairways. Greens and tee boxes are a different story because that grass is kept so short. They have to water them daily for them to survive in the summer months.

Rule #4: If you want your lawn to look like  golf course, adhere to  regular weed control and fertilization program.

Golf courses also adhere to a regular schedule of applying pre-emergent herbicides as well as weed killers and fertilizer. The key behind pre-emergent herbicides is weed prevention. Of course there are no “magic bullets” that keep all weeds out for the entire growing season. So they have to use weed killers to control the weeds that come up.  Mowing frequency and aeration also help with weed control. The thicker the grass is, the less likely they are to have weeds. The same is true for lawn maintenance.

A weed control and fertilization program will be different for golf courses than it is for lawns, but they are basically doing the same thing as our 8 treatment plan. The goal is to cultivate a healthy turf and prevent weeds from coming up, and when we do see weeds, control them as quickly as possible. Many superintendents experiment with different products and change their program as needed. I certainly believe in that as well. I use my lawn (and most of my family members) as a place to experiment with new products, then we determine if there was a visible difference and whether or not it warrants a change.