Last week some would have spotted that some maintenance was carried out on the greens. Scott and his team took the opportunity of a favourable forecast for the week to carry out the maintenance.
The first operation is to verticut, the above image shows the mower unit which has small blades on each tip in which to rip out the dead grass (thatch)
The above image shows what is left after the verticutter has passed over, notice the difference to the green which hasn't yet been done.
This image shows the material which has been taken out from the surface of the greens. This build up of dead material encourages water retention and is one of the reason why greens start lose their putting speed.
The next operation is to overseed the greens with grass seed. The machine has two spiked rollers, one on the front and one at the rear, grass seed falls onto the greens surface where it falls into the holes made by the machine. The operation is done in two directions to increase the coverage of the grass seed which when it germinates will give a more even surface.
This is what the surface looks like once the seeder has passed over it twice. The seed is there, it is just so tiny it is hard to see with the naked eye.
This image shows the grass seed. This is Bent grass seed which is considered by some as the Rolls Royce of grass seeds and gives a tight surface which gives fast and true surfaces. The grass seed because of its size is difficult to germinate and needs ideal conditions like which we saw last week in which to give it the best chance.
The next operation is to give the greens a light dusting of a topdress sand. The sand gives the newly spread grass seed coverage by filling in the holes and levels out the surface of the greens.
The last operation is to roll the surface of the greens in an effort to work the topdress sand in to the bottom of the grass sward. The roller was used for 5 days continuous without any cutting. Sand on the green surfaces isn't good for the mower blades as it makes them blunt very quickly!!!
The greens were watered every night to help with dispersion of the sand.
The greens are now being cut daily, however this will probably drop in frequency due to the colder weather which is coming to a golf course near you soon. 😁
Keep an eye on the greens and see if you can see the new grass coming through.
Just a wee word of encouragement on the care and maintenance of your greens, please repair your pitchmarks. If you repair your own pitchmark and one other, then there shouldn't be any.