Today we measured green speed, surface firmness and soil moisture (at 3 inch depth) on a soil fairway (mowed at 1/2 inch), soil green (0.125 inches), and sand green (0.170 inches) As background the previous night we received close to 3 inches of rain from the thunderstorm that passed through. Additionally, the fairway had been mowed today (Friday) but not the greens. For green speed, a stimpmeter was used except where designated (1 Pelzmeter), and firmness was made with the FieldScout TruFirm except where designated (2 USGA TruFirm).
As you look at the data, feel free to comment below on why you might think that firmness on the sand green was less (softer, higher number) than the soil green. Or what might account for differences in soil moisture as measured by the groups.
Below is a summary of the results that the 6 groups of students found.
Fairway Height
| Group | Green Speed | Firmness | Soil Moisture |
| Martin, Folck, Strout | 6 feet | .6272 | 46.2 |
| Smith, Grove, Laux, Slonaker | 4 feet 2 inches | 650 | 37.6 |
| Averman, Turner, Zagar | 4 feet | 650 | 37.2 |
| Belzer, Spridgeon, Brawn | 3 feet 10 inches | 723 | 47.2 |
| Stanton, Smith, Schroeder | 4 feet 2 inches1 | 723 | 47.2 |
| Bok, Kifer, Gerardi, Haynes | 4 feet | 690 | 37.6 |
Soil Green
| Group | Green Speed | Firmness | Soil Moisture |
| Martin, Folck, Strout | 11 feet 6 inches | .453 | 48.0 |
| Smith, Grove, Laux, Slonaker | 8 feet 5 inches | 447 | 32.2 |
| Averman, Turner, Zagar | 8 feet 5 inches | 447 | 32.3 |
| Belzer, Spridgeon, Brawn | 7 feet 8 inches | 477 | 39.7 |
| Stanton, Smith, Schroeder | 7 feet 3 inches1 | 477 | 39.7 |
| Bok, Kifer, Gerardi, Haynes | 8 feet 5 inches | 407 | 32.2 |
Sand Green
| Group | Green Speed | Firmness | Soil Moisture |
| Martin, Folck, Strout | 11 feet 5 inches | 0.564 | 21.8 |
| Smith, Grove, Laux, Slonaker | 10 feet 9 inches | 606 | 39.1 |
| Averman, Turner, Zagar | 9 feet 9 inches | 606 | 38.9 |
| Belzer, Spridgeon, Brawn | 7 feet 10 inches | 569 | 28.5 |
| Stanton, Smith, Schroeder | 7 feet 2 inches1 | 569 | 28.5 |
| Bok, Kifer, Gerardi, Haynes | 9 feet 9 inches | 606 | 39.1 |
1 PelzMeter
2 USGA TruFirm,
Seems like the first group had generally higher green speeds than the rest of the groups. Wonder if they lifted the Pelzmeter to fast.