Rate times area, surface by surface

Most turf inputs are given as a rate per area: kilograms or litres per 100 square metres, or per hectare. The quantity for a job is that rate multiplied by the area it is applied to. The hard part is usually the area, because a green, a tee complex or a fairway is an irregular shape that nobody has measured since the course was built.

A Course Map measures every surface on every hole and gives you the areas as a spreadsheet, by hole and by surface, with totals. So the area for “all greens”, “fairways on the back nine” or “the tees on holes 3 to 7” is a sum, not a guess.

A worked example

Example Course, the illustrated course on our examples page, has invented figures, but the arithmetic is the same for a real course. Its nine greens add up to 5,150 m².

Step	Figure
Greens, every hole	5,150 m²
Rate, made up for this example	2 kg per 100 m²
Quantity: 5,150 ÷ 100 × 2	103 kg

The same course has fairways on 7 holes, 70,600 m² or 7.06 ha in all. A fairway programme priced per hectare starts from that figure.

Which surfaces for which job

Job	The area to use
Greens fertiliser, topdressing or a fungicide on greens	Greens, plus collars if the programme includes them
Fairway fertiliser or a fairway weed spray	Fairways
Tee renovation or seed	Tees
Bunker sand	Bunkers, with the depth your supplier asks for
Mowing time or a contract priced by area	The surfaces in that mowing zone
A whole-course comparison year to year	Every surface, from the totals row

The surfaces in the spreadsheet are tees, greens, fairways, bunkers and rough, hole by hole, plus the ground outside the holes, such as practice and service areas. Each piece of ground is in one surface only, so nothing is counted twice when you add them up.

Mowing zones

Every Course Map includes your management and mowing zones on their own sheet. A zone is often not the same as a surface: collars and surrounds may be mown with the greens or separately, and rough may be split into cut and uncut. Tell us how your staff actually divide the course, and check the zone boundaries when you review the draft, so the areas match the way the work is done.

Three things to watch

Plan area, not ground area. Areas are measured on the flat map. A steep bank or a raised green has a little more ground than its mapped area, which matters most for anything applied by the square metre on slopes.
Approximate, not surveyed. Areas depend on the imagery and your corrections. Unless your order states a tolerance, we do not promise one. For a contract where a small difference costs a lot, check the figure in a way that suits the decision.
The rate is not ours. We map and measure. The product label, the law on agrichemical use and your agronomist or supplier decide what goes on and at what rate. The map does not replace agronomy advice.

When the course changes

A new tee or a reshaped green changes the totals. Within six months of your first draft, a correction within the agreed scope is a revision and part of the job. After that, see keeping a course map current.

How do you use surface areas for mowing, fertiliser and chemical budgets?