All Episodes

December 7, 2012 2 mins

The greens on a golf course are famously smooth and perfect-looking, but how do they get that way? Discover how careful planning, the right ingredients and a whole lot of maintenance yield a flawless green in this episode of BrainStuff.

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mark as Played
Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Jack Threads is the online shopping destination for dudes. Everything
on the side is up to eight off. All styles
are curated, so buyer's remorse just doesn't happen. What's more
is if you were brain stuff, you can skip the
membership wait list and get instant access at jack threads
dot com, slash Stuff Welcome to Brainstuff front House, stuff
works dot Com where smart happens. I am Marshall Brain

(00:28):
with today's question, how can the grass on the greens
at a golf course be so absolutely perfect? If you
have ever really looked at the grass on a well
maintained golf green, it is absolutely amazing. It is a
flawless surface made out of plants. To make it this
perfect takes a lot of work. The work starts by

(00:49):
creating what is practically a hydroponic growing system for the grass.
When constructing the green, a bulldozer creates a twelve inch
to sixteen inch deep hole this side of the green.
In the most advanced systems, this whole is completely lined
with plastic, and then gravel and drainage pipes are added
top by sand. The green's grass grows in a sterile

(01:12):
sand medium with perfect drainage The surface is contoured to
allow perfect runoff as well, so there's no puddling when
it rains. Where you put the green is also important.
It needs plenty of sunlight, preferably full sunlight with no
surrounding trees, and good airflow over the green. Sometimes you'll
see fans placed around a green to keep that air

(01:34):
flow going. Then you choose perfect grass. Grass that's ideally
suited to your climate. A sterile sand medium, and a
good location controls for a huge number of variables. But
now the grass is totally dependent on its keepers for
life support. That means the grass needs a steady diet
of water and nutrients to keep it alive. To this

(01:56):
mix is added a variety of herbicides to kill weeds
that try to move in, pesticides to control inchect damage,
and fungicides to control disease and help keep the grass perfect.
Once the green is established, you started on maintenance. This
includes daily mowing with a precision greens mower, watering, fertilizing,

(02:16):
applying chemicals, aerating, and general coddling. If you were willing
to do all of this, you too could have a
golf green in your front yard. For more on this
and thousands of other topics because it how staff works
dot com. Jack threads is the online shopping destination for dudes.

(02:37):
Everything on the side is up to off, all styles
are curated, so buyer's remorse just doesn't happen. What's more
is if you were brain stuff, you can skip the
membership weait list and get instant access at jack threads
dot com slash stuff

BrainStuff News

Advertise With Us

Follow Us On

Hosts And Creators

Josh Clark

Josh Clark

Jonathan Strickland

Jonathan Strickland

Ben Bowlin

Ben Bowlin

Lauren Vogelbaum

Lauren Vogelbaum

Cristen Conger

Cristen Conger

Christian Sager

Christian Sager

Show Links

AboutStore

Popular Podcasts

Stuff You Should Know

Stuff You Should Know

If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.

Dateline NBC

Dateline NBC

Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.