U.S. Golf Association has tips for taking golf course turf samples

Golf course in Italy (Credit: Andrea Pacelli, via Wikimedia Commons)

Golf courses don’t have a very good reputation in the environmental community. They’re highly fertilized, largely flat patches of land that do little to inhibit nutrient runoff.

But a lot of work goes into making them perfect for play, including sampling efforts. Some are detailed in a video released by the U.S. Golf Association.

It shows useful techniques for clearing away snow and ice, protecting the earth below and taking soil cores of golf green turf. It also discusses what to do with the collected cores and how to monitor “green-up,” or turf growth – this is usually done indoors for assessing seed health.

Image: Golf course in Italy (Credit: Andrea Pacelli, via Wikimedia Commons)