What is a "USGA Specification" Green?
Published January 4, 2004
As traffic increased on the golf courses, putting greens began to show an inability to handle this wear and compaction that inhibited drainage. In the 1940s, the United States Golf Association (USGA) began studying "good" and "bad" greens. In 1960, the USGA Green Section introduced a green construction that introduced sand as the principal component of root zone mix to provide adequate drainage and resistance to compaction. The USGA green also incorporated a perched water table to provide a reservoir of moisture for use by turf. It was found that this construction principle provided good results for courses in most regions of the United States and the world.
A cross section of this construction would show stratified layers of soil, sand, gravel and organic matter. The base of the green includes a network of pipes to facilitate drainage. The USGA and GCSAA has continued to study green construction as new methods of maintenance have been introduced and mowing heights have gone down even more.
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"If a hole does not possess a striking individuality through some gift of nature, it must be given as much as possible artifically and the artifice must be introduced in so subtle a manner as to make it seem natural."
A. W. Tillinghast
