Soil is a highly complex system of many interacting components, each of which influences plant health and productivity. On a golf course rooting depth and turfgrass colour are significant components in determining player perception of course quality. Research has shown that there is a multifaceted relationship between soil compaction, bulk density, soil strength, water content, pore space and plant growth (Unger and Kaspar, 1994). In sportsturf the principal focus has been with regards to decompaction and aeration, with watering regime and soil compaction being neglected (Hannaford and Baker, 2000). A glasshouse scale experiment was designed to test the hypothesis that increasing soil compaction and reduced availability of water would increase turfgrass plant stress, thus decreasing the root biomass. It was also hypothesised that these below ground effects would be manifest in the above ground parts of the plant: at higher levels of soil compaction and reduced availability of water there will be a reduction in chlorophyll content of the plant due to the increased root stress.