You managed to get away on a summer day to tee it up, you’re in a good rhythm with your swing, when suddenly your round gets put on pause because a member of the maintenance team is watering the green in front of you with a hose. Frustration sets in. Not only are you delayed, now you’ll be playing on a wet green. Why didn’t they just run the sprinklers at night? How is this going to affect green speed and firmness? Is this going to happen again on the next hole? Read on to understand why and when courses hand water greens and how this practice will impact your round of golf.
Why do courses hand water greens?
As it turns out, hand watering greens is far more precise than using sprinklers and is an essential part of every good golf course maintenance routine. Only with the use of precision irrigation techniques – like good old hand watering – can courses overcome the limitations of the automated irrigation system. Golf course sprinklers often throw water more than 60 feet horizontally and 20 feet in the air, which means the spray will be impacted by wind and some water ends up where it is not needed. Watering with a hose allows the maintenance team to put water only where needed, leaving the rest of the green alone.
Courses also recognize that drier conditions are better than wet – both for the health of the grass and for playability. Consequently, superintendents will provide supplemental water to dry areas with a hose during the day rather than risk overwatering the night before. The maintenance team often uses hand-held soil moisture meters to make sure they only apply water where soil moisture is too low, ultimately delivering firm and consistent turfgrass conditions.
When do courses typically hand water greens?
Courses usually hand water greens in the morning and/or afternoon to deliver water only where it is needed. When water is applied in the morning, the goal is to give the green enough moisture to make it through the day – focusing mostly on the dry areas. Soil moisture meters are used to determine what areas need water and how much to apply. Staff also monitor soil moisture throughout the day and may need to add water to chronically dry areas such as mounds and south-facing slopes – especially during hot, windy conditions that rapidly dry out the turf.
How will hand watering affect my round of golf?
Before I discuss the short-term impact of hand watering on your golf round, I want to emphasize that the staff member in front of you is working hard to protect the health of the grass and to do it in a way that minimizes any disruption to play. Please try to be patient! Hand watering where soil moisture is too low will help keep the grass from wilting and eventually dying, which over the course of the summer will absolutely improve your golf experience!
In the short term, if you play on a green that has been hand watered within about the last 20 minutes it will be marginally slower, but this effect is only temporary. How much slower? The difference after hand watering is often only 4-8 inches of ball roll as measured by the USGA Stimpmeter. This change is within the range where even the most accomplished golfers are unlikely to detect any difference. The greens also may be slightly more receptive, but it is unlikely that you’ll notice much difference in how the ball reacts. If anything, it will help stop the ball on the green, which isn’t the worst thing!
In conclusion, the next time you see a staff member hand watering a green, be patient with them and know that they are only trying to protect the health of the turf and provide you the best playing conditions possible. If you would like to dive deeper into hand watering greens, check out the USGA Green Section video “Golf's Use of Water: Hand Watering.”
