“You can always tell people who work in the turf industry, because once they get on grass, they don’t look up.”

The NY Times' Greg Bishop filed an enjoyable look at all that has gone into the improved surfaces at Wimbledon over the last decade and how agronomists will be dealing with this year's Olympic play just three weeks after the championships. The story includes several revelations that will sound familiar to golfers.

Besides getting away from Poa as the primary grass to gain a truer surface under the drought conditions of the two-week major, the All England Club's aid in the cause, Sports Turf Research Institute, also consults for the Open Championship and has used several golf instruments to better the Wimbledon courts.

There probably isn't anything new here for turf experts, but still an interesting read to see what's going on in another sport where the turf care plays such a key role in the championship. Besides a device similar to the TruFirm, there was also this pricey machine which mercifully hasn't made its way to the States as far as I know.

Hence the Trueness Meter, a device designed to read the smoothness of a golf green. For years, greenskeepers could measure the speed of the green based on how far and fast the ball rolled. The Trueness Meter, which costs around 12,000 pounds (or $18,700) and took four years to develop, goes one step further, showing how much the ball moved laterally, how it bounced or snaked or deviated.

Underneath the rigid metal frame, there are two joysticks, and in the center of those joysticks, there is a mounted aluminum wheel weighted the same as a golf ball. As the Trueness Meter is pushed across a green, the wheel moves up and down, and side to side. The joysticks record how much the ball moved, horizontally and vertically. Armed with those numbers, greenskeepers can adjust accordingly, with more water or a closer shave. They can intervene before weeds and dead spots become major problems.

“When you have the readings, you want to tell golfers who complain, ‘The greens are just fine. It’s you!’ ” said Penrose, the development manager.