Higher or lower?

True or false: The lower the height of cut, the higher the maintenance costs.

True, but it’s complicated.

When the HOC is .100”, how can that not be complicated? The machines, operators, inputs and growing conditions for that area of turf must be near perfect.

“There is a direct correlation between HOC and high-quality putting surfaces,” says Noy Sparks III, superintendent at Fossil Trace Golf Club, a municipal course in Golden, Colorado. “High-quality putting surfaces require more maintenance, which can increase costs. Lower heights reduce a plant’s ability to withstand stress. Whether it is heat, traffic, disease or a different challenge, more inputs are needed to help keep these playing surfaces healthy and strong.”

In Johnstown, Colorado, Mitch Bryden is the superintendent at Bella Ridge Golf Club, which opened in 2025. Leading the grow-in since 2023 after experience at several courses, including helping with the grow-in at TPC Colorado in Berthoud, he understands. “Lower heights cost more, and there are many reasons why,” Bryden says.

A lower HOC means the turf needs to be mowed more frequently, which translates to more fuel, inputs, labor and equipment maintenance. At Bella Ridge, the tees, fairways and rough are a 90/10 blend of Kentucky bluegrass and perennial ryegrass, the greens are 007XL bentgrass, approaches are Dominator Blend bentgrass, and native areas are sheep and hard fescues.

“Fertilizers, pesticides, wetting agents and watering all factor in,” Bryden says. “With blue/rye blends, I use less water on the fairways than I do on the rough. In Colorado, water is like gold, so being able to conserve water with lower heights can be a saving grace.” The bentgrass greens and approaches are very drought tolerant, and Bryden uses 30 to 50 percent less water on the bentgrass than he disperses on the rough.

“Bentgrass greens and approaches, however, take more regular sprays by spoon feeding fertilizers, growth regulator, pesticides and wetting agents,” Bryden says. “So, again, that causes more wear and tear on the equipment, and it takes more manpower. If someone is spraying, a task somewhere else isn’t getting done. The gamut of everything for greens and approaches is expensive.”

Mowing rough two or three times a week to maintain their HOC “means the crew is following the mowers to ensure clippings are blown,” Bryden says. “We don’t treat our roughs with nearly as many chemicals or as much fertilizer, though, nor mow them as much, so the lower heights are still more expensive.”

HOC is considered often at Sara Bay Country Club in Sarasota, Florida, where Carlyle Merring has been the superintendent since 2018. Sara Bay is a historic, charming Donald Ross design, with undulating greens and a lot of character. It’s very walkable, and renovations, including greens and bunkers, were completed under the guidance of Kris Spence in 2023. Sara Bay celebrates its centennial this year.

The greens at Sara Bay are TifEagle Bermudagrass, the collars are TifGrand, and the tees, fairways and approach areas were planted with Bimini Bermudagrass sprigs. The rough is a combination of Bimini, 419 and common Bermudagrass. In peak season the greens are at .120”, collars are .250” and tees are .450”. Fairways are .500” and the rough stays at 2”.

Though discussed regularly, “we try not to change heights as much as possible,” Merring says. “We tend to change the HOC and stick with it for a while, though we did change them a few times last year. Greens pretty much always stay between .110” and .130”, and tees and fairways will be between .400” and .500”.”

The rough is markedly denser during the growing season, and once or twice a year it is scalped down to an inch. “Scalping will improve the appearance of Bermudagrass,” Merring says. “You are removing old senescing leaves and extra material that is not needed, so you encourage fresh growth from a lower point in the plant.”

At Fossil Trace, the HOC is rarely discussed because it rarely changes, keeping the root-to-shoot ratio pretty consistent. The fairways, tees and roughs are Kentucky bluegrass and peak season is April to November. Tees and fairways are mowed at .500” and the roughs are mowed at 1.5”. Greens are a mixture of Dominant bentgrass and Poa annua, with the HOC in the growing season around .110”. The HOC will occasionally change during periods of high stress or intense disease pressure. Just some reasons to consider changing the HOC.

Considerations

It takes work, but there are great reasons to change the HOC, like going low to invigorate Bermudagrass, or keeping the grass a little longer to increase the potential for photosynthesis, withstand increased traffic, mitigate disease and pest pressure, or cool the turf. After a decision is made to change the HOC, machinery is adjusted accordingly.

“Yeah, we are removing the reels or the cutting units, and changing the bed knives to adjust the HOC,” Merring says. “That’s a big reason that we don’t mess with the HOC that much. It’s very labor intensive.” It also requires a lot of coordination and communication with the team, but changing the HOC can be helpful.

“We had an El Niño winter a few years ago and we raised heights on greens up to .130” for a month or two,” Merring says. “We raised the HOC in fairways after hurricanes, because we couldn’t get out there and mow for 10 days. Certain circumstances — heavy rains, high disease pressure, wet winters, or other environmental stresses cause us to deviate from our normal heights to maximize turf health.”

Fossil Trace, known for its incredible scenery, including dinosaur trace fossils visible from the 12th green and chimney incinerator from the 1940s in the first fairway, is a popular Jim Engh design. “We’re fortunate to have the resources and support necessary to deliver an exceptional golf experience,” Sparks says. That includes having the staff necessary to maintain the desired HOC.

The team consists of 12 full-time staff members: two assistant superintendents, an irrigation technician, horticulturist, mechanic, assistant mechanic and five senior maintenance workers. In the growing season, the team includes an additional 15 to 20 seasonal employees.

If the HOC needs to change — due to stress factors that could lead to a reduction in turf quality — Sparks makes the decision to raise the HOC. “Though ultimately I make these decisions,” he says, “I involve our agronomy staff to get their input and to help them develop their turf management skills.” Sparks acknowledges that it is not about the metrics, but the playability, and he checks greens performance by hitting a few putts every day.

How do you know your HOC? Prism gauges are a popular tool for measuring, but in general, the cutting settings are expected to be accurate. It’s good to double-check HOCs when switching machines, particularly if changing brands, though many leaders rely more on visual indicators.

“We take a bench height and set it to that, and then we make observations out on the course,” Merring says. “We can then make adjustments up or down once we see what it looks like on the actual playing surface. I’m not so concerned about the number, it’s really about how it looks and how it plays. We make small adjustments from there.”

Some superintendents track their HOC data. Others don’t. By all accounts, it’s more about what is working for the course and the turf. The same is true for HOC during cultural practices. Some courses cut low before aerifying, some don’t.

“Our aerifications happen in early April and early September,” Sparks says. “In April, we are at .125” on greens and start dropping once we are healed from aerification until we reach our normal in-season HOC. We start raising the HOC mid- to late October, and remain at .125” through the off-season.” Fossil Trace hosts 45,000 to 48,000 rounds annually. The crew only changes the HOC on greens. Roughs, tees and fairways remain steady year-round.

Sara Bay has heights that fluctuate to provide contrast, though the HOC for the rough is steady. “Bermudagrass at 2” in July and August is pretty thick, and at 2” in January and February is not so bad,” Merring says. “It can get beat up from traffic when it’s not growing as vigorously, but it gives us a really nice visual contrast. Bermudagrass, when it’s beat down, makes it hard to notice small changes in heights. Our HOC differences give us good definition between the rough and the short grass, and the greens and the collars.”

Principles for HOC can be learned through formal education, like not removing more than one-third of the leaf during a single mow, or by being introduced to cutting practices and terminology. Personal philosophies vary. “You really learn the fine details about it on the job,” Merring says. “You learn from experience and you can make your own changes.”

Another reason maintenance costs more at a lower HOC is that “your visual appearance threshold is higher — you notice more imperfections,” Merring says. “Mowers need to be sharper. You notice anything that is off a little bit and you notice it very quickly. If there is an issue with a greens mower that is not cutting right, you spot that immediately.”

The Sara Bay staff is very experienced, which helps. “We have one staff member who has been here for 26 years, and two who have been here for 30,” Merring says. “We have very little turnover. It’s a great club to work at, it’s a golfing club, and the membership is here for the course. They enjoy it, which is really nice for them and us, and we’re always striving to make it better.”

Like Sparks, Merring tries to get out there. “It’s not as much as I would like, but I do enjoy playing, especially here,” he says. “It’s important to be able to see the golf course from the members’ perspective and to experience the course conditions. It helps us put out a better product. The chef should taste the soup!”

Lee Carr is a northeast Ohio-based writer and senior Golf Course Industry contributor.