Scarifying Greens

Scarifying Greens

 

 

Scarification lines

 

We have used a contractor to scarify the greens. The first was left alone due to the turf issue and the eighteenth wasn't able to be done due to the late afternoon heavy rain. However all the other greens were scarified, verticut and the remaining debris blown away. This is a necessary maintenance task in the fight to remove the thatch which is constantly building up. If we replace this sponge like material with a more free draining sandy topdressing the greens will eventually become firmer and therefore faster, and not so prone to waterlogging.

 

Close up of the thatchy material removed

Each green had approximately one ton of thatch removed via a conveyor belt and out onto the back of our gator utility vehicle. 

 

 

  Amount taken from a green

 

After the green was blown free of any debris, the hole was reinstated. The greens will now be topdressed and overseeded with bent grass so that we can introduce finer species. This procedure takes out double the amount of thatch than hollow coring, however coring will still take place as soon as conditions allow so that we can replace even more.

Ready for topdressing

 

 

Thatch Removal

 

 

The greens were then topdressed. We use a sandy soil mix with added composted material.

 



Topdressing

 

 

 

The topdressing was then dragged in using the rubber dragmat filling in the open grooves as much as possible. We then rolled the greens with the mower. Bent seed will be added as soon as possible.

Dragmat topdressing

Sand in lines

 

Greens rolled