Re: What affect does ice play on the growth of grass roots?

Dustin, thanks for the question.  Golf courses do alot of seemingly 
strange things to ensure the highest quality turf.  

There is a direct relationship between the amount of top growth of a grass 
plant and root growth of the same plant.  The higher the leaves are 
allowed to grow, meaning the height of mowing, the deeper the roots will 
grow.  More top growth, more root growth.  Consider a grass that is cut at 
2" tall, then the roots are probable 2" deep.

Now think about the average putting green. How long is that grass?  
Usually anywhere from 3/32" or less (Augusta) to as much 3/16".  How deep 
do the roots go?  Not very deep.  

Putting greens are subject to extreme conditions during the summer months, 
the most damaging is heat.  Because of their shallow root system, the 
grass plant can not take up enough water to cool down.  That is why you 
see golf courses "syringing" their greens.  This is applying a light 
misting to the green surface and cooling down the grass plants.  This is a 
task that must be done about every 30 minutes to be effective.

Now your question about ice.  Ice is used as a method of cooling down the 
grass plants.  The greens would not be covered in ice so it would look 
like it had snowed becouse the turf would be damaged from the cold.  But 
ice could be spread out thinly and have a cooling effect on the green 
surface.