The ATC Doublecut with Micah Woods
Episodes
Downward trend in OM2 and varying sand and N rates by green with T-Jay Creamer
05 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Averages, river crossings, fescue, nutrients, spot spraying, and snow mold with Jason Haines
03 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
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, c...
Firmness, sand, and zoysiagrass with Stewart Naugler
20 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Stewart Naugler is the Director of Agronomy at Loraloma in Texas. We talked about zoysiagrass as a golfing surface, playability, and maintenance requi...
Total organic material, soil organic matter, and screens
16 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Thatch and mat at the top of turfgrass rootzones are removed from soils prior to testing for soil organic matter. Total organic material (OM246) testi...
GCSAA seminar overview, condition-based maintenance, and PAR
09 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
This gives an overview of the seminars I presented at the GCSAA Conference in 2026 and discusses updated PACE Turf site analyses of photosynthetically...
Research words, a new Turf Twitter analysis, and tropical grasses with Maggie Reiter
15 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Maggie Reiter joined me to discuss her "Finding Turf Twitter" analysis, her analysis of current turf research topics at the ASA-CSSA-SSSA meetings, tr...
A blunt conclusion about coring
12 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Scientific writing is not always as clear as this. There's an article I really enjoyed that stated right at the start, in the abstract, that core aera...
Flights & turf photos with Dr. John Kaminski
07 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Kaminski joined me from his sabbatical in Australia to discuss flights, turf photos, and what he's been doing on his sabbatical.The blog post we d...
If soil is above #MLSN, add only N?
05 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
This episode answers that question with how I recommend doing this. For today, we don't need to add N. But the soil nutrient levels decrease with time...
Top 10 posts of 2025 holiday extravaganza with Joe Gulotti
24 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Joe Gulotti joined me to give the doublecut treatment to the top posts of 2025 on the ATC blog, plus a bit of holiday extravaganza.Blog post discussed...
Nutrient recommendations when clippings are removed vs. returned
22 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
When grass clippings are returned to the turf, the quantity of nutrients required as fertilizer is decreased. In this episode I discuss how I handle t...
Soil nutrient values in units of "years of use" rather than units of ppm
10 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The #MLSN method for nutrient recommendations involves an MLSN value that the soil is not supposed to drop below. But what does this value mean, when ...
How to make greens soft, and the opposite, making soft greens harder
28 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This episode explains the steps I'd take to change greens from too hard (surface hardness and ball bounce, not hard as in difficulty) to just right. I...
Sand quantity as depth, and a suggestion to measure sand application rates
24 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Expressing sand quantities as a depth makes communication easier. But to know the depth, you need to know how much sand was applied to begin with. I'v...
The right rate for N and sand topdressing: how I do it
07 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
I explain how I answered a couple questions about how much N and how much sand a particular grass might require. Specifically, I recommend adjusting N...
Usage rates for #ClipVol and #MLSN on golf courses in New York
03 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The New York Golf Economic & Environmental Impact Report has interesting results for MLSN and ClipVol usage in New York. 58% of golf courses measu...
Fertilizer quotes from Piper, Oakley, and Arthur, and #MLSN
07 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Piper and Oakley wrote that "there is nothing mysteriously beneficial in their formulas" and that mixed fertilizers are "extensively advertised" but "...
Turfgrass soil sample depth, and what a pesticide-free golf course looks like (photo gallery)
01 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
I explain why I recommend collecting soil nutrient samples to a 10 cm (4 inch depth). I also discuss the importance of repeated soil sampling in order...
The Short Grammar book and summer internships with Jim Huntoon
21 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
My Short Grammar of Greenkeeping book is one of the required books for turf class at Horry-Georgetown Technical College in South Carolina. Professor J...
Humidity, heat, mid-round lunches, saunas, and the ITRC with Janne Lehto
13 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Janne Lehto from Hirsala Golf in Finland attended the 15th International Turfgrass Research Conference (ITRC) in Japan. We discussed the heat and humi...
Layers in the rootzone and turf performance with John Forrest and Jeff Austen
10 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
John Forrest and Jeff Austen joined me from Western Australia to discuss layers in the rootzone, the educational system and apprenticeships, and sand....
Gradation, particle size distribution, sand, and more sand with Adam Moeller
05 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How do you compare sands to show to what degree one is finer or coarser than another? I've been trying to figure out an easy way to visualize this wit...
Regional MLSN and the soil nutrient levels producing good turf with John Emerson
05 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
John Emerson is an extension agent for the University of Delaware who has completed a statewide soil sampling project from good performing turf across...
The median particle size of sand used for putting green rootzones and topdressing
31 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The D50 is a value that represents the median particle diameter in a sand. I calculated the D50 for 302 sands from around the world, and 15% of them a...
How to find the photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) anywhere
23 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
I explain that moving from full sun to tree shade reduced photosynthetically active radiation by about 80%. I show an app, and a PACE Turf document, t...
The GvX, #OM246, and #MLSN with John Petrovsky
18 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
John Petrovsky is manager of USGA Green Section Education. He is also the host of the USGA Green Section podcast. We discussed a recent episode about ...
GP and ClipVol in the UK with Geoff Fenn
09 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Geoff Fenn and I discussed the use of the turfgrass growth potential (GP) in the UK, optimum temperatures, the GvX, clipping volume, and more in this ...
Green speed went down by 0.6 inches per hour
28 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
I discussed some green speed and green firmness data from measurements made at the Sky RKB Ladies Classic tournament, and I explained why the geometri...
Learning & remembering from a year of turf photos
11 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode I picked some of my favorite photos from 2024, and I remembered what I learned from them. From roots, layers, OM246, zoysia greens, an...
Surface firmness and soil water content
01 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
There have been a lot of conversations about soil water content and surface hardness (firmness). I discuss some measurements that I have made, and sug...
The turf GvX for checking grass growth with Jason Haines
25 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Jason came up with the GvX idea in a flash of inspiration that he describes here. This is the actual growth of the grass compared to the expected grow...
Living plant material (and thatch) are part of #OM246 too
23 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Achieving the lowest possible #OM246 total organic material value is not desirable, because the living plant material is part of the OM measured with ...
Calculation of the average daily temperature
17 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A common way to calculate average daily temperature is to take the sum of the daily maximum and daily minimum temperatures, and to divide by two. A be...
The ATC blog post bombs of 2024 with Joe Gulotti
30 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Joe Gulotti joined me to discuss his new job, The Talking Greenkeeper, and the ten posts on the ATC website that no one (practically) read in 2024.Thi...
Fertilizing grass this way seems strange to me now
17 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Although turf research is often done with fertilizer treatments applied at constant rates and on a fixed calendar schedule, that way of supplying nutr...
Top 10 posts of 2024, plus app and podcast recommendations
06 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
I recommend 4 podcast episodes and one useful app that calculates sand topdressing amounts, then quickly discuss the top 10 new posts from the ATC web...
Bracketing #ClipVol for a desired range of green speed
21 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Green speed varies because of many factors. One of those factors is clipping volume. I discuss that relationship and give some advice for those gettin...
Nitrogen rate, pendulum swings, and anchoring
29 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Did you know there was a time when up to to 2 lbs N per 1000 square feet per growing month, the equivalent of 100 kg of actual N per ha per month, was...
What every greenkeeper should know about sand in clippings with Dr. Bill Kreuser
10 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Bill Kreuser from GreenKeeper joined me to discuss how much grass grows, the complicated problems involved when sand is mixed with clippings, growth r...
Potassium, dogma, and putting green smoothness with Dr. Frank Rossi
04 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Frank Rossi, Ph.D. is the New York State extension turfgrass specialist at Cornell University. We talked about mentorship, potassium, turf nutrition, ...
Constants in the turfgrass growth potential equation
25 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The PACE Turf growth potential equation has one variable (the actual air temperature) and two constants. The constants are optimum air temperature and...
Two easy methods to estimate N mineralization under turfgrass
12 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
You can expect soil organic matter to be 5% nitrogen, and you can expect from 1 to 4% of that organic nitrogen to mineralize in one year. You can also...
Linear relationship between #ClipVol and dry weight
03 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This episode introduces multiple experiments that have demonstrated a link between rapid measurement of clipping volume and the clipping yield. Clippi...
Creeping, velvet, and browntop bentgrass seeds with Dr. Leah Brilman
30 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Leah Brilman, Ph.D., is the Director of Product Management & Technical Services for Seed Research by DLF. We discussed velvet bentgrass, creeping ...
Topdressing, mowing height, and education points with Andrew McDaniel
25 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Andrew McDaniel has been watching webinars to get education points, and some of these have been about management of soil organic matter on putting gre...
Four things to look at with #OM246 test results
22 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Here are four specific things to look at with total organic material by depth (#OM246) test results. The blog post I discussed is this one: https://ww...
Golf course water requirement, overseeding, & Zoysia vs. bermudagrass with Dr. Matteo Serena
18 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Matteo Serena is the Senior Manager of Irrigation Research and Services for the USGA. We discussed drip irrigation, growth regulators and soil surfact...
GvX, top six episodes, and turf terminology
16 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
I checked the top episodes, discussed turf terminology, and discussed the 2025 GCSAA Outstanding Contribution Award winners Dr. Wendy Gelernter and Dr...
Summer temperatures, turfgrass, and ΔGP
30 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
When the cool-season growth potential (GP) is lower than the warm-season GP, the difference between them (the ΔGP) will be negative. In this episode,...
Google's NotebookLM & audio summaries of the MLSN, GSS, and Grammar of Greenkeeping projects
23 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
I wondered what NotebookLM could do, so I created a couple notebooks. One has the title “Global Soil Survey,” and in that notebook I uploaded arti...
Browntop greens, Poa annua suppression, pH, & OM testing with Grant Saunders
22 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Grant Saunders is the course superintendent at Hamilton Golf Club in New Zealand. He has successfully overseen a green species conversion from Poa ann...
Using #OM246 test results to get net organic material accumulation rate
13 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
When you know the rate at which organic material is accumulating in the rootzone, you can adjust sand topdressing rates with more precision. You can a...
Tournaments and the "grammar" with T-Jay Creamer
02 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
T-Jay Creamer is the golf course superintendent at Olympic View Golf Club in western Canada. He joined me to discuss tournament golf maintenance and t...
My visit to Delaware with Joe Gulotti (The Talking Greenkeeper)
30 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A month ago Joe Gulotti and I walked the fairways and greens of the Montchanin Course at Dupont Country Club. I wrote a blog post about that, and we d...
A turf paradox: better turf in soils with lower nutrient content
08 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
You can sometimes, perhaps more often than you would think, find soil under good turf to have lower nutrient content than does soil under poor quality...
Disease, nutrition, and control problems, with Dr. John Dempsey
17 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Independent turfgrass researcher John Dempsey, Ph.D., joined me to discuss evaluating treatment effects and the importance of having a good control. W...
OM measurements, models, and data analysis with Dr. Henry Qu
14 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Henry Qu, partner and data scientist at Oxbridge Economics, joined me to talk about data analysis, and statistics, and how to try to learn things ...
Doing more work to produce better turf with Jon Wall
12 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jon Wall, golf course superintendent at Shanqin Bay, joined me to discuss doing more work to make grass better, rather than doing less. And also about...
Heat kills: a 12 point list and thermal death point temperatures for cool-season grass
09 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It's summer in the northern hemisphere, and the two items discussed in this episode provide guidance on managing turf when it has to survive through h...
Explaining MLSN and assessing ball roll on putting greens, with Carl Schimenti
27 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Carl Schimenti from Cornell University joined me to discuss intro to #MLSN explanations vs. using MLSN the way it is designed to be used. We also talk...
Checking phosphorus gradients on putting greens with an upper and lower rootzone sample
26 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Soil P, pH, and salinity are a few things that likely vary by depth in your rootzone. I've started recommending that 20% of putting greens tested be d...
Spring green-up of cool and warm-season grasses with Maggie Reiter
21 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Maggie Reiter joined me to discuss how the start (and end) of the turfgrass maintenance season might be predicted. When is spring green-up? When does ...
How many hours until the grass wilts? Predicting soil water content with Dr. Bill Kreuser
13 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Bill Kreuser, Ph.D., president of GreenKeeper, joined me to discuss the new water resource planning tools in GreenKeeper, along with disease risk, PGR...
Core sweepers make aeration easier, ball roll after 270 rounds, and estimating N in clippings
12 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
I discuss small plot university research with fixed treatments vs. golf course and sports turf maintenance with treatments that vary, and consider whi...
What you should know about soil test P, spring growth, and #TurfSpeedo calculations
09 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
I describe what we can learn from looking at five years of Mehlich 3 soil test phosphorus results from golf course putting greens, how to calculate ...
Putting surface management, the turf speedo (growth ratio), & surprising results with T-Jay Creamer
24 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
T-Jay Creamer joined me to discuss bentgrass & Poa annua (bent-Poa) management with a surprisingly low annual N rate, almost no use of PGRs, and n...
P fertilizer & Poa, the #MLSN time issue, and #ClipVol annual totals
19 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, I discuss sixteen year old bentgrass greens that have also gone sixteen years without P fertilizer. The greens are also free of Poa...
Optimal and practical overseeding windows with Jim Huntoon
19 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jim Huntoon joined me from Horry-Georgetown Technical College to discuss overseeding and the hows and whys of this common practice on warm-season turf...
Botanical walks, ecoregions, and MLSN for lawns with Maggie Reiter
30 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Maggie Reiter joined me to reminisce about the grasses one can find at the back of the 7th green at Pebble Beach Golf Links, to consider soil test res...
An example of ample light when temperature limits growth
22 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This is a follow-up to the episode last week when I mentioned that I was looking at snow outside, that the light would be ample for growth, but the te...
The combination of light (DLI) and temperature (GP)
16 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The growth potential converts air temperature to a 0 to 1 (or 0 to 100%) scale. Of course, there are a lot more things that affect actual growth, incl...
Leaf N normals from PACE, plus #OM246 video, #MLSN testing, #TurfMath, and soil test frequency
10 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This episode goes through a lot of updates from both the ATC and the PACE Turf websites. Topics discussed include OM246, the problem with frequent soi...
Adam Moeller on sand, #OM246, #ClipVol, and putting green management in 2024
17 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Adam Moeller joined me to discuss how to manage greens in 2024. We talked about his research at Purdue University on sand and bentgrass and coring and...
Physical testing of golf putting green rootzones & soil nutrient sampling with Brian Mavis
13 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Brian joined me to discuss his recommended soil sampling strategy for an 18 hole golf course. We also discussed what he teaches in a 2 hour GCSAA semi...
Forget about fertilizing with carbon, with Dr. Bryan Hopkins
10 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The 2018 article by Bryan and Tyler Hopkins, "Carbon: the next frontier in fertilization?" concludes that we "should not be fertilizing with carbon." ...
Annual sand topdressing quantities, zoysia seeds, and a measuring laser
03 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Zoysiagrass can seed year round when the conditions are right. In this episode, I discuss what those conditions are, share some tools for getting a si...
Blog post bombs of 2023 with Joe Gulotti
28 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Joe Gulotti, The Talking Greenkeeper, joined me to discuss the ATC blog posts that received the fewest views in 2023. We give these topics one more ch...
Nitrogen, coring, the pH chart, hourly ET, growth rate, and surface hardness: top posts of the year
22 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
With Google Analytics I can check the pages on the ATC website that get the most views. These were the ten posts from 2023 that got the most pageviews...
Photos remind me of what I learned last year
14 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
I looked through my "Flights and favorite turf photos" post to see what I learned, or what I was reminded of, through these photos. I discuss N rate, ...
How a conference education program gets put together with Deb Burnett & Sami Strutt
10 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In 2018, I delivered four presentations/classes at the Continue to Learn education conference in Harrogate, England. Deb Burnett and Sami Strutt from ...
Topdressing by rote isn't the best way to do it, with Chris Tritabaugh
08 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Chris Tritabaugh joined me to discuss sand topdressing, a long-running conversation we've been having with Dr. John Kaminski, the quantities of sand a...
Robotic automowers for golf course (and all kinds of) turf with Janne Lehto, MG
05 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Janne Lehto from Hirsala Golf joined me to discuss robotic automowers. Hirsala Golf currently has a fleet of 36 machines, mowing all fairways and 75% ...
Updated OM246 sampling guide, GP is not MLSN, and soil samples don't dry too much
24 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
I talked about some recent blog posts, including updated #OM246 sampling instructions, there is no such thing as an MLSN nitrogen rate, soil samples c...
Wetting agent re-application intervals by growing degree days (GDD) with Bill Kreuser
18 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Can soil surfactant (wetting agent) applications be scheduled based on site temperatures? Can a growing degree day model work for this? Dr. Bill Kreus...
Bentgrass greens in Perth summer temperatures with Fraser Brown
13 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Lake Karrinyup Country Club in Perth, Western Australia has creeping bentgrass greens and sometimes sees high temperatures over 40 °C. Course superin...
Maximum N rates that work when linked to growth potential (GP) with Dr. Michael Bekken
10 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
I spoke with Michael Bekken about normal nitrogen rates, why they vary so much, why that matters, what a normal N rate linked to growth potential (GP)...
Sand topdressing rates, soil organic matter/material, cultivation, and K with Chas Schmid
31 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Chas Schmid has been involved with many of the same topics I often study and consider---sand topdressing, potassium fertilization, soil organic ma...
Fertilizer by "program" vs. application by a flexible system
29 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This considers fertilizer programs, whether research can be misleading when fertilizer is applied at fixed rates on calendar schedules, and why I'm ex...
Documenting progress by comparing totals from one year to the next with Jon Wall
23 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
I was a co-author, in 2013, of an article with the title "Documenting your progress toward sustainability." Jon Wall joined me to discuss this topic, ...
How much soil organic matter is too much? Plus Zoysia, circle mows, botany, and ecology
22 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
I flipped through four recent blog posts, about zoysia seedheads on putting greens, the practical question of how much organic matter (or total organi...
The bobble test scoring scale and what the test is used for with Chris Tritabaugh
18 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Chris Tritabaugh joined me to discuss the #bobbletest scoring scale and the overall utility of this test. It is used for assessing the smoothness and ...
Total organic material testing and reacting to soil test results with John Rowland
11 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. John Rowland from the USGA Green Section Florida region joined me to discuss soil sampling, seasonal soil pH changes, plus sampling and testing me...
Change in ball roll on putting greens from morning to afternoon
04 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Everyone knows a golf green is smoothest right after the morning work, with some decrease in smoothness as the day goes on. How much does the smoothne...
Using turf math, mg/kg, ppm, and fertilizer rates, with Bjarni Hannesson
19 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Bjarni Hannesson joined me to discuss parts per million (ppm) and how that measure of nutrients in the soil can be expressed as a fertilizer rate, and...
Does a location exist with 365 days a year of high GP for cool-season grass?
14 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The temperature-based growth potential, developed by PACE Turf, transforms the average air temperature to a growth potential (GP). The GP is convenien...
"Blown away by the quality" of turfgrass by a simple method of adjusting N fertilizer
10 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
An anonymous golf course superintendent wrote that they were "blown away by the quality of these surfaces with an amount of nitrogen I would’ve thou...
A daily tournament diary from the 2023 KBC Augusta golf tournament in Japan
04 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
I spent nine days at the KBC Augusta golf tournament in 2023. In this episode, I introduce the blog post with the daily diary of my observations and m...
Reflections on a July with record heat and drought
26 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Andrew McDaniel and I worked together at Habu CC in July 2001. We also worked together at the 50th KBC Augusta tournament in August 2023. I reflect on...
Green firmness measurements after using a 4 ton roller (it actually didn't firm the surface much)
24 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Andrew McDaniel joined me from the Keya GC maintenance office to discuss firmness measurements of putting greens, using a 4 ton roller on the greens, ...
Tournament golf and zoysia greens are a fascinating combination
19 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
I recorded this from Keya Golf Club, which will host the 50th KBC Augusta golf tournament on korai (Zoysia matrella) putting greens this week. I expla...