“To roll” or “not to roll”
Coming into spring we’ve had every type of weather condition imaginable. The great weather in January permitted heavy play on the fields – then the cold snap and wet weather hit and the fields were not only rough from play but could not be mowed which in itself has a smoothing effect. Thus came the need for smoothing to make them safe and playable. From a good field management stand point rolling is “frowned on”. If you feel rolling is mandatory for safety reasons and that logic is good – then be sure to relieve the compaction within several weeks if at all possible. Relieving the compaction is done by aeration both surface top 3” and deeper 4-12” particularly if a heavy roller is used. Soil based fields that have been sanded regularly or sand based fields will rarely need rolling. (The vibrating feature which some rollers are equipped with should not be used in this case)