Greens maintenance part 1

MONDAY 10TH OF MARCH

Greens maintenance week!

Due to the gaffer wanting to get deeper in to the soil profile we hired in a high spec verti drain machine and tractor which allowed us to spike the greens at approximately 13inches (down to the gravel layer)

The normal comments we get from some golfers include... 'You've just got the greens good and then you go and bang holes into them' haha.. Below are the main reasons why this sort of maintenance has to be done -

Verti draining/spiking helps to aerate the soil and to relieve it of any compaction and a number of the benefits from the process include the following:

• Improves and helps maintain a better playing surface

• Improves and helps promote good soil structure

• Promotes quicker drying of turf

• Better absorption of water from the surface to the drainage system helping prevent surface water problems

More

This process is followed by spreading seed and then sand/top dressing on the green and this is brushed into the holes created by the vertidrain machinery to give the green better drainage, another advantage to this type of procedure. This process helps the green grow as well as thickening the grass.  The next stage is then to fertilise the grass for recovery and growth.

Verti draining can alleviate problems that golf greens sometimes face such as compacted surfaces after long periods of continuous use or mud interfering with the draining system maybe. Verti draining can be carried out at various times of the year conditions permitting and is very effective for improving drainage and deep aeration on all turf surfaces and helps prevent surfaces becoming water logged leading to course closures.

Our verti drain below -