For nearly four decades, PACE Turf has been at the forefront of turfgrass science, providing critical, research-backed information for golf course superintendents and turfgrass managers worldwide to help them make informed decisions about the grass, soil and water at their facilities.
PACE recently launched a redesigned website that places that extensive research and practical guidance at the fingertips of turfgrass managers around the world. Modern, mobile-optimized and built for professionals who need answers in the field, the newly redesigned website is the work of Maggie Reiter, PACE’s chief technology officer since April.
Under the leadership of chief executive officer Micah Woods, Ph.D., PACE Turf serves as the bridge between academic turfgrass research and the field realities golf course superintendents face — a mission that began with founders Larry Stowell, Ph.D., and Wendy Gelernter, Ph.D. The service delivers member-exclusive reports and weekly newsletters written by scientists with deep experience in all aspects of turfgrass management, including turfgrass nutrition, disease management, species selection, surface performance, and irrigation.
The redesigned site includes improvements such as:
- A modern, mobile-optimized interface accessible from anywhere on the course
- Weather page and site-specific climate appraisals updated, enhanced, and simplified
- Enhanced search functionality for faster access to the full resource archive
- A rebuilt field imagery library with 1,792 searchable images from anthracnose to zoysia
- Intuitive navigation that reflects the caliber of science behind it
“I’ve been using PACE Turf for more than 20 years myself — long before I was running it — so I know firsthand how valuable the research insights and management frameworks are,” Woods said. “We now have the site on a platform that makes these tools far easier for our members to find and use, while allowing us to build and share the science that will help our members solve problems on a daily basis.”
PACE Turf is an independent source for turfgrass research, field observations and practical management advice — published continuously and archived for more than three decades. The organization has developed several of the industry’s most widely adopted frameworks and tools, including:
- MLSN — Minimum Levels for Sustainable Nutrition guidelines for turfgrass soil test interpretation, now used across the industry
- Growth Potential — A temperature-based model of turfgrass growth, used for overseeding, scheduling, nitrogen application, sand topdressing, and more, used daily by turf managers worldwide
- OM246 — A total organic material test by depth for guiding sand topdressing and cultivation decisions
- Climate Appraisal — A site-specific planning tool for anticipating turf growth, stress, and nutrient demand throughout the year
- ClipVol — Rapid assessment of aboveground growth rate with wide-reaching impacts on playability and maintenance requirements
With members across North America, Europe, Australia, Asia, and beyond, PACE Turf serves one of the most specialized and globally distributed professional communities in golf course management. The new site launched August 12, 2026, with additional features planned for rollout this fall.
PACE Turf launches redesigned website to expand access to turfgrass research
PACE Turf is a membership-based turfgrass science resource delivering peer-reviewed research, field observations, and practical management guidance to golf course superintendents and turf managers worldwide. PACE Turf is the origin of industry-defining frameworks including the Minimum Levels for Sustainable Nutrition (MLSN) soil guidelines and the growth potential model — tools now used by turf professionals across the globe. Independent and ad-free since its founding, PACE Turf delivers member-exclusive weekly updates, weather reports, and a searchable archive of more than three decades of turfgrass science, with regional guidance to support each member’s location and growing conditions.
Woods earned a bachelor’s degree from Oregon State University in 1998, and worked as a golf course superintendent in China and Japan before completing a Ph.D. in horticulture at Cornell University in 2006.
His research on turfgrass nutrition and soil nutrient analysis across four continents led to the development of the MLSN guidelines, which apply to “any grass, anywhere,” he says.
An adjunct professor in the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of Tennessee since 2009, he has given keynote presentations at conferences around the world and has authored more than 200 articles on turfgrass science and greenkeeping. He also is the host of three podcasts: The Doublecut with Micah Woods, Turf Without Borders and Office Hours with Micah Woods.
Reiter, PACE’s CTO, builds the tools and data products that make turfgrass science actionable for turfgrass managers. With a bachelor’s degree in horticulture and a master’s in applied plant science, both from the University of Minnesota, Reiter has held extension positions both with her alma mater as well as the University of California-Riverside. She also has expertise in turfgrass science, technology, software and product, and AI. She also is the lead scientist at Sunday, a website dedicated to home lawn care.
