Explore every episode of the podcast The Doublecut with Micah Woods
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
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| Measuring green speed, sloped greens, flat spots, and the Brede equation | 26 Oct 2026 | 00:13:37 | |
The Brede equation takes the harmonic mean of the uphill and downhill directions to give the precise stimpmeter measurement with no overestimation.
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| El Niño, GvX, stress, percentage change, and weather anomalies | 20 Oct 2026 | 00:27:16 | |
I answer a question from a listener and describe resources I use when assessing likely effects from an El Niño weather pattern,
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| More about green firmness, 3 principles, and topdressing once a year | 24 Sep 2026 | 00:26:10 | |
I go back five years to another video showing ball reaction on greens topdressed once that year.
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| Following the water: how calcium gets to the root and stays there | 18 Sep 2026 | 00:34:15 | |
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.
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| No rain, one boar, and 40 years of summer precipitation | 21 Aug 2026 | 00:20:35 | |
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).
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| Phosphorus, rootzone volume, and algae | 11 Aug 2026 | 00:27:39 | |
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:
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| When the soil report is not really about extractable vs. available nutrients | 03 Aug 2026 | 00:28:07 | |
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/
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| Stressed turf and nutrient supply | 29 Jul 2026 | 00:14:09 | |
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.
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| What happens to sand particle sizes after topdressing | 20 Jul 2026 | 00:19:16 | |
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.
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| Wet air, summer, and dew point depression | 13 Jul 2026 | 00:28:09 | |
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
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| Putting green firmness and surface organic material (OM246) | 06 Jul 2026 | 00:26:08 | |
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.
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| Sand topdressing matched to clipping volume, with Bjarni Hannesson | 01 Jun 2026 | 00:47:25 | |
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.
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| Post-rain growth flush: 12 mL from water, 8 from mineralized soil N, & 2.5 from N in the rain | 25 May 2026 | 00:28:37 | |
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.
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| More air in the soil with frequent irrigation | 13 May 2026 | 00:32:11 | |
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.
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| Why you should know standard sand amounts but not necessarily copy them, with Brian Whitlark | 08 May 2026 | 00:42:34 | |
Brian Whitlark joined me to talk about sand topdressing of putting greens and especially about sand amounts.
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| Competition, stress, disturbance, species, strategies, and Grime | 30 Apr 2026 | 00:31:39 | |
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/
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| Downward trend in OM2 and varying sand and N rates by green with T-Jay Creamer | 05 Mar 2026 | 01:03:01 | |
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.
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| Averages, river crossings, fescue, nutrients, spot spraying, and snow mold with Jason Haines | 03 Mar 2026 | 01:03:23 | |
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.
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| Firmness, sand, and zoysiagrass with Stewart Naugler | 20 Feb 2026 | 00:54:33 | |
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/ | |||
| Total organic material, soil organic matter, and screens | 16 Feb 2026 | 00:20:06 | |
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/ | |||
| GCSAA seminar overview, condition-based maintenance, and PAR | 09 Feb 2026 | 00:28:51 | |
This gives an overview of the seminars I presented at the GCSAA Conference in 2026 and discusses updated PACE Turf site analyses of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR).
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| Research words, a new Turf Twitter analysis, and tropical grasses with Maggie Reiter | 15 Jan 2026 | 01:02:34 | |
Maggie Reiter joined me to discuss her "Finding Turf Twitter" analysis, her analysis of current turf research topics at the ASA-CSSA-SSSA meetings, tropical grasses, and irrigation water requirements. We discussed:
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| A blunt conclusion about coring | 12 Jan 2026 | 00:12:37 | |
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 aeration "might not be worth doing."
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| Flights & turf photos with Dr. John Kaminski | 07 Jan 2026 | 00:44:09 | |
Dr. Kaminski joined me from his sabbatical in Australia to discuss flights, turf photos, and what he's been doing on his sabbatical.
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| If soil is above #MLSN, add only N? | 05 Jan 2026 | 00:15:43 | |
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, we can predict how much the grass will use, and I make fertilizer recommendations looking into the future, rather than waiting to test again before making a decision to apply.
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| Top 10 posts of 2025 holiday extravaganza with Joe Gulotti | 24 Dec 2025 | 01:32:32 | |
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.
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| Nutrient recommendations when clippings are removed vs. returned | 22 Dec 2025 | 00:18:07 | |
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 the clippings returned situation.
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| Soil nutrient values in units of "years of use" rather than units of ppm | 10 Dec 2025 | 00:20:24 | |
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 converted from the usual units of ppm (mg/kg) to how many years it would take grass to use that much of the element?
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| How to make greens soft, and the opposite, making soft greens harder | 28 Nov 2025 | 00:16:52 | |
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. It follows that the opposite steps could be taken to move greens from too soft to just right. The blog post discussed is https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/to-keep-green-soft/ Read more about all kinds of turfgrass topics at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/ | |||
| Sand quantity as depth, and a suggestion to measure sand application rates | 24 Nov 2025 | 00:22:51 | |
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've been surprised at how many turf managers don't know the exact amount applied. This short episode explains why I think you should measure sand amounts.
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| The right rate for N and sand topdressing: how I do it | 07 Nov 2025 | 00:20:08 | |
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 based on #ClipVol and sand based on #OM246. Blog post discussed: https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/sand-nitrogen-measuring-guessing/ Read more about all kinds of turfgrass topics at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/ | |||
| Usage rates for #ClipVol and #MLSN on golf courses in New York | 03 Nov 2025 | 00:25:19 | |
The New York Golf Economic & Environmental Impact Report has interesting results for MLSN and ClipVol usage in New York. 58% of golf courses measure clipping volume and 47% interpret soil tests using MLSN. Blog post: https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/survey-says-mlsn-clipping-volume-golf-courses-new-york/ Read more about all kinds of turfgrass topics at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/ | |||
| Fertilizer quotes from Piper, Oakley, and Arthur, and #MLSN | 07 Oct 2025 | 00:33:04 | |
Piper and Oakley wrote that "there is nothing mysteriously beneficial in their formulas" and that mixed fertilizers are "extensively advertised" but "are not to be recommended." Arthur wrote that soil testing is a "commercial gimmick" and that fine turf with clippings collected needs only "a little nitrogen in spring, no phosphates, and very little potash." I recommend an article I wrote that attempts to explain this in the context of #MLSN. Blog posts discussed are: - https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/very-generally-used-not-to-be-recommended/
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| Turfgrass soil sample depth, and what a pesticide-free golf course looks like (photo gallery) | 01 Oct 2025 | 00:40:34 | |
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 to check the change in test results over time. I look at a photo gallery from the 2025 Danish Golf Championship. Posts discussed include:
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| The Short Grammar book and summer internships with Jim Huntoon | 21 Aug 2025 | 01:02:00 | |
My Short Grammar of Greenkeeping book is one of the required books for turf class at Horry-Georgetown Technical College in South Carolina. Professor Jim Huntoon joined me to discuss the book, why he uses it for teaching, and how the internship (or summer cooperative work experience) program works.
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| Humidity, heat, mid-round lunches, saunas, and the ITRC with Janne Lehto | 13 Aug 2025 | 00:39:09 | |
Janne Lehto from Hirsala Golf in Finland attended the 15th International Turfgrass Research Conference (ITRC) in Japan. We discussed the heat and humidity in Japan during summer, saunas, his golfing experiences in Japan, and the ITRC. The blog post with information about heat and humidity is: https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/japan-hot-humid-latitude/ | |||
| Layers in the rootzone and turf performance with John Forrest and Jeff Austen | 10 Aug 2025 | 00:58:54 | |
John Forrest and Jeff Austen joined me from Western Australia to discuss layers in the rootzone, the educational system and apprenticeships, and sand.
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| Gradation, particle size distribution, sand, and more sand with Adam Moeller | 05 Aug 2025 | 00:58:14 | |
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 with comparison to reference materials. Adam Moeller joined me to discuss sands, Ksat, the coefficient of uniformity, particle sizes, and more.
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| Regional MLSN and the soil nutrient levels producing good turf with John Emerson | 05 Aug 2025 | 01:04:52 | |
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 state. We talked about this project, and about nutrient management of turfgrass more generally, in this episode.
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| The median particle size of sand used for putting green rootzones and topdressing | 31 Jul 2025 | 00:18:04 | |
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 are finer than the limit defined by the USGA Recommendations for a Method of Putting Green Construction. Read about this at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/d50-median-sand-diameter/
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| How to find the photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) anywhere | 23 Jun 2025 | 00:35:21 | |
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, that will allow you to find both PPFD and DLI no matter where you are located. I discussed these links: Read more about all kinds of turfgrass topics at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/ | |||
| The GvX, #OM246, and #MLSN with John Petrovsky | 18 Jun 2025 | 01:13:49 | |
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 GvX that had an especially insightful quote from Chris Tritabaugh. Also, the U.S. Open, championship golf, clipping volume, and even a bit about MLSN. Links for topics we discussed include:
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| GP and ClipVol in the UK with Geoff Fenn | 09 Jun 2025 | 00:51:22 | |
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 episode that started with a look at this blog post: https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/number-between-1-0-using-the-turfgrass-growth-potential/
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| Green speed went down by 0.6 inches per hour | 28 May 2025 | 00:38:46 | |
I discussed some green speed and green firmness data from measurements made at the Sky RKB Ladies Classic tournament, and I explained why the geometric mean rather than the arithmetic mean can be especially useful (and safe) when dealing with soil nutrient data. Green speed change from morning to afternoon: https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/speed-drop-morning-to-afternoon/
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| Learning & remembering from a year of turf photos | 11 May 2025 | 00:41:51 | |
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, and drought, to loupes, turf farms, compost, and bermudagrass.
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| Surface firmness and soil water content | 01 May 2025 | 00:13:49 | |
There have been a lot of conversations about soil water content and surface hardness (firmness). I discuss some measurements that I have made, and suggest some of the old posts on the ATC website that discuss this topic. Specific posts discussed include:
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| The turf GvX for checking grass growth with Jason Haines | 25 Apr 2025 | 00:31:39 | |
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 growth of the grass, and it has surprising practical implications. We discussed the development and use of the #TurfGvX in this episode.
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| Living plant material (and thatch) are part of #OM246 too | 23 Apr 2025 | 00:15:23 | |
Achieving the lowest possible #OM246 total organic material value is not desirable, because the living plant material is part of the OM measured with this method.
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| Calculation of the average daily temperature | 17 Apr 2025 | 00:16:17 | |
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 better statistical approximation of the average temperature is to take measurements made every hour and then to find the mean value of those continuous measurements. This blog post shows a comparison of the three methods for 2024 data at three locations: https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/calculating-average-daily-temperature/
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| The ATC blog post bombs of 2024 with Joe Gulotti | 30 Mar 2025 | 01:31:26 | |
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.
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