"Mind-blowing results"

I was pleasantly surprised a few months ago when I returned home from a long trip, had some Greenkeeper International magazines waiting for me, and flipping through them found discussion of clipping volume and the turf GvX.

In the October 2025 issue, Simon Olver from Ganton Golf Club wrote Data-driven greenkeeping–how Ganton is raising the bar.

Here are some quotes from that article:

If you are yet to embrace your own data-based management journey, there has never been a better time to jump on board.

Trust me, it will be worth it … Greenkeeping experience will always remain pivotal, but combined with quantifiable data, the results can be simply mind-blowing.

Measuring clippings daily provides us with the most decisive real-time data, both across the entire course and highlighting differences between individual greens … This information is used to decide on factors such as the application of growth regulators, or nutrition, along with irrigation.

It is amazing how many different areas of data are linked and all contribute. If one area is out of the desired target range, this can significantly impact performance characteristics. Only by collecting clipping data can we achieve this.

In the very next issue, James Bledge from Royal Liverpool GC shared clipping volume data in relation to brushing, green speed, and GS3 ball measurements in his article Brushing for performance.

From that article:

[After changing to a new brushing unit], The difference was immediate and striking, and with daily clip volume readings we could see the data clearly. Our clipping volume data, which we use to guide nutrition and growth management, showed a near doubling … after brushing was introduced.

what stood out was the improvement in speed after brushing was paused and the rollers lay the sward down again .

Clipping volume plays a central role in our fertiliser strategy … When clip volumes fall below our target range, we use that as an indication that a nutritional input may be needed.