Collar/Apron Management

The collars around a green, or perimeters / aprons, are a very tough area to manage.  You have so much traffic on the immediate surrounding area of a green with the collar mower that mows the turf, the greens mower is turning in that area on every turn, rollers are unloaded and loaded and they may also roll a portion of the collar, the approach mower could be turning on the collar edge, and then the golfer traffic and push carts that target the green surround area.

Every pass a walking greens mower makes across the green includes a turn on the collar

Every superintendent has their own philosophy to manage this traffic and maintain the collar area from getting stressed and thin after a hot summer.  Some guys use sheets of plywood or lattice to turn on with their mowers, others try to keep as much traffic off the collar as possible and route push carts or golfers different directions, and you sometimes see that occasional rope line right on the edge of a green

Along with doing many of these techniques, one of my strategies is to fertilize that area extra and keep them healthier.  We use a drop spreader to fertilize only the collar 3 times a year during the growing season.  Since we have started this process, I have had no thin areas or weak areas on the collars.

Actively growing turf can recover from that extra traffic and stress a lot quicker, healthier turf will stand up to the extra traffic, and because of all the wear and tear we are not concerned with the organic matter buildup, or thatch, because that is taken acre of with the abuse they receive.  That is why you see that darker green ring around the putting surface, extra nutrition and growth to stand up to all the abuse.