The Doublecut with Micah Woods

The Brede equation takes the harmonic mean of the uphill and downhill directions to give the precise stimpmeter measurement with no overestimation.

• The update discussed is https://paceturf.org/updates/newton-and-green-speed/
• Read Dr. Brede's article "Measuring Green Speed on Sloped Putting Greens" from the Green Section Record at https://gsrpdf.lib.msu.edu/?file=/1990s/1990/901110.pdf
• Read Chris Hartwiger's article "Location, Location, Location: Choosing Good Spots To Measure Green Speed" from the Green Section Record at https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/course-care/green-section-record/64/issue-13/location--location--location--choosing-good-spots-to-measure-gre.html
• Find a suite of decision-making tools at https://www.paceturf.org/
• Read more about all kinds of turfgrass topics at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/
• Get free newsletters at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/newsletter/

I answer a question from a listener and describe resources I use when assessing likely effects from an El Niño weather pattern,

• The update discussed is https://paceturf.org/updates/new-enso-blog/
• See the ENSO blog at https://www.climate.us/news-features/blogs/enso
• See global precipitation and temperature anomalies at https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/precip/CWlink/ENSO/regressions/geplr.shtml
• See USA precipitation and temperature anomalies at https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/precip/CWlink/ENSO/composites/EC_ENP_index.shtml
• Find a suite of decision-making tools at https://www.paceturf.org/
• Read more about all kinds of turfgrass topics at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/
• Get free newsletters at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/newsletter/

I go back five years to another video showing ball reaction on greens topdressed once that year.

• The post discussed with embedded video, is https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/what-happens-if-you-dont-sand-greens/
• 2026 video at https://youtu.be/3UL6euRZJko
• 2021 video is at https://youtu.be/bbcJhA1zqNo
• Firm greens, three general principles: https://paceturf.org/updates/firm-green-fundamentals/
• Find a suite of decision-making tools at https://www.paceturf.org/
• Read more about all kinds of turfgrass topics at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/
• Get free newsletters at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/newsletter/

Calcium is an essential element that is almost never required as fertilizer for turfgrass. This episodes explains how mass flow of Ca in the soil water creates an accumulation of Ca at the root surface.

• The post discussed is https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/calcium-accumulation-root-surface/
• Find a suite of decision-making tools at https://paceturf.org/
• Read more about all kinds of turfgrass topics at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/
• Get free newsletters at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/newsletter/

The KBC News TV station did a profile of Keya GC greenkeeper Andrew McDaniel. Watch that (with an English language soundtrack, if necessary) and hear about the driest summer in at least 40 years (I didn't look back farther than that).

• The post discussed is https://paceturf.org/updates/day-in-the-life/
• Direct link to the KBC News profile at https://youtu.be/8RjcS21Mvos
• Find a suite of decision-making tools at https://paceturf.org/
• Read more about all kinds of turfgrass topics at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/
• Get free newsletters at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/newsletter/

I discussed grass responding to P at establishment, but not at maturity, as a function of soil P combined with rootzone volume.

Posts discussed are:

• https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/rootzone-volume-and-p/
• https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/algae-sand-fertilizer/
• Find a suite of decision-making tools at https://www.paceturf.org/
• Read more about all kinds of turfgrass topics at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/
• Get free newsletters at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/newsletter/

The topic of nutrient availability and extractable vs. exchangeable vs. available nutrients used to come up a lot, and I'm glad I haven't been asked this question as frequently in recent years. Fortunately, I have a long list of blog posts about this topic, and a good starting point is the one reviewed in this episode : https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/its-not-really-about-extractable-or-available/

• Read more about all kinds of turfgrass topics at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/
• Find a suite of decision-making tools at https://www.paceturf.org/
• Get free ATC newsletters at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/newsletter/

This episode discusses Grime's definition of stress as "external constraints which limit the rate of dry matter production" and how this is related to nutrient supply/demand/requirement for fine turfgrass.

• The post discussed is https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/does-stressed-turf-require-more-or-fewer-nutrients/
• Read more about all kinds of turfgrass topics at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/
• Find a suite of decision-making tools at https://www.paceturf.org/
• Get free ATC newsletters at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/newsletter/

I looked at sand particle sizes at the top of putting green rootzones, and compared those particle sizes to what is in the sand topdressing. The average results of this analysis are presented in this episode.

• The chart discussed is available at https://www.paceturf.org/gallery/detail/particle-size-change-from-topdressing-to-om2
• Read more about all kinds of turfgrass topics at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/
• Find a suite of decision-making tools at https://www.paceturf.org/
• Get free ATC newsletters at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/newsletter/

I looked at the temperatures and dew points for a range of cities around the world during the first month of the most recent meteorological summer. June 2026 in the northern hemisphere, and December 2025 in the southern.

The blog post discussed is: https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/first-month-of-summer-dew-point-depression/

Also see the day in that month with the highest average dew point: https://www.paceturf.org/gallery/detail/first-month-of-summer-2026-maximum-dew-point

• Read more about all kinds of turfgrass topics at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/
• Find a suite of decision-making tools at https://www.paceturf.org/
• Get free ATC newsletters at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/newsletter/

The firmness of putting greens varies with the surface organic material. More organic material in the top 2 cm (0.8 inches), and greens are softer. I discuss terminology, the relationship between firmness and organic material, and what you can do about this.

• The blog post discussed is https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/om2-and-firmness/
• Read more about all kinds of turfgrass topics at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/
• Find a suite of decision-making tools at https://www.paceturf.org/
• Get free ATC newsletters at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/newsletter/

I've updated my recommendation for the sand quantity to apply for every unit of clipping volume harvested, if your goal is to keep surface organic material constant. Bjarni and I discussed topdressing by this method and the new equation that finds this sand amount.

• We discussed this post: https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/sand-topdressing-ratios-clipping-volume/
• The PACE Turf table of sand rates based on surface organic material is at https://www.paceturf.org/public/sand-and-clipping-volume
• Bjarni and I discussed the spring green-up and growth from adding sand: https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/turfgrass-mystery-the-case-of-the-greener-grass/
• Read more about all kinds of turfgrass topics at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/
• Find a suite of decision-making tools at https://www.paceturf.org/
• Get free ATC newsletters at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/newsletter/

This is about partitioning the growth flush after a rain. What's causing that growth flush? I made some calculations, using New Forest GC in the UK as an example. The increased soil water content from a 20 mm rain, in this example, would increase daily clipping volume from 10 mL/m2 to 22 mL/m2, a 12 mL increase.

• The blog post discussed is https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/nitrogen-in-rain-or-nitrogen-from-the-soil/
• See also https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/how-much-n-is-in-rain-and-snow/ for information on atmospheric deposition of N
• Read more about all kinds of turfgrass topics at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/
• Find a suite of decision-making tools at https://www.paceturf.org/
• Get free ATC newsletters at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/newsletter/

It sounds counterintuitive at first, that you can maintain a lower average water content in the soil, and a higher air content in the soil, by applying irrigation every day. Once upon a time, I thought the way to keep soils drier and with more air was to implement deep and infrequent irrigation.

• The blog post discussed is: https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/deep-and-infrequent-or-light-and-frequent-irrigation-which-is-better/
• I also mentioned John Jordan's research, see: https://tic.msu.edu/tgif/flink/RECNO/59354
• Paul Johnson article about irrigation frequency: https://usgatero.lib.msu.edu/v02/n06.pdf
• Read more about all kinds of turfgrass topics at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/
• Find a suite of decision-making tools at https://www.paceturf.org/
• Get free ATC newsletters at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/newsletter/

Brian Whitlark joined me to talk about sand topdressing of putting greens and especially about sand amounts.

• The blog post we discussed is: https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/standard-sand-amounts/
• Listen to Brian's recent appearance on the Frankly Speaking podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/lt/podcast/firm-fast-desert-with-brian-whitlark/id1793571091?i=1000743219832
• OM246 calculator web app with sand quantity conversion calculator: https://asianturfgrass.shinyapps.io/om246/
• How to measure topdressing rates: https://youtu.be/6LurONpyg5M?si=LW4IPwzzXbVAOn-m
• Managing salinity in putting greens article by Brian: https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/course-care/green-section-record/64/issue-08/managing-salinity-in-putting-greens.html
• Terminology of turfgrass organic matter: https://youtu.be/tMfby5xR2IM?si=8aOQ-Ju6A_cLib8M
• Whitlark and Thompson article from 2019 on topdressing: http://gsrpdf.lib.msu.edu/ticpdf.py?file=/article/whitlark-thompson-light-5-3-19.pdf
• Read more about all kinds of turfgrass topics at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/
• Find a suite of decision-making tools at https://www.paceturf.org/
• Get free ATC newsletters at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/newsletter/

High maintenance turf often requires a high disturbance and high stress environment. Grime's CSR theory says there are "no viable strategies" for plants in such an environment. I discuss the implications of this.

Blog post discussed is https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/competition-stress-disturbance/

• Read more about all kinds of turfgrass topics at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/
• Find a suite of decision-making tools at https://www.paceturf.org/
• Get free ATC newsletters at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/newsletter/

T-Jay Creamer is the golf course superintendent at Olympic View Golf Club on Vancouver Island. He's seen a steady decrease in OM2 in response to his N and sand rates, along with substantially more consistent OM2 values green to green. We discussed the results and what he does to accomplish this.

• The blog post we discussed is https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/gvx-and-sand/
• The OM246 calculator Shiny app is https://asianturfgrass.shinyapps.io/om246/
• Exact sand topdressing rates https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/sand-topdressing-measurement-by-exact-methods/
• Three ways to measure sand https://youtu.be/6LurONpyg5M
• Read more about all kinds of turfgrass topics at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/
• Find a suite of decision-making tools at https://www.paceturf.org/
• Get free ATC newsletters at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/newsletter/

Jason Haines is the Links Superintendent at Cabot Cape Breton. We had a wide ranging conversation about blog posts from 2025, a new #MLSN article, controlling snow mold, things that look easy but aren't easy, and more.

• The blog post we discussed is https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/ten-posts-no-one-read-in-2025/
• The spring 2026 article in GreenMaster about MLSN: https://online.flipbuilder.com/gbcmagazine/rpae/#p=16
• Video with Jason that shows the control of snow mold on greens in BC with minimal pesticides: https://youtu.be/L8Q8v5SAzSo?si=Jm8Vinz6fKZImH3P
• Read more about all kinds of turfgrass topics at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/
• Find a suite of decision-making tools at https://www.paceturf.org/
• Get free ATC newsletters at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/newsletter/

Stewart Naugler is the Director of Agronomy at Loraloma in Texas. We talked about zoysiagrass as a golfing surface, playability, and maintenance requirements.

We started by discussion my "Achieving the warm-season links" article, available here: https://www.asianturfgrass.com/publication/woods-2013-gca/

Read more about all kinds of turfgrass topics at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/
Find a suite of decision-making tools at https://www.paceturf.org/
Get free ATC newsletters at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/newsletter/

Thatch and mat at the top of turfgrass rootzones are removed from soils prior to testing for soil organic matter. Total organic material (OM246) testing is designed to measure the soil organic matter plus the thatch and mat.

The blog post discussed is https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/organic-matter-and-screens/

Read more about all kinds of turfgrass topics at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/
Find a suite of decision-making tools at https://www.paceturf.org/
Get free ATC newsletters at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/newsletter/