Greens Maintenance – The Necessary Evil
We just entering that period of the year when the courses hollow tine the greens causing a disruption to golf and producing a poor putting surface for a few weeks but just why do they have to do this to us?
The surface of a green, colour, density and speed is a combination of the maintenance of the surface but also, about the maintenance of the root-zone. A healthy grass starts from healthy roots. Soil compaction can be a severe problem resulting in restricted root growth, lack of water infiltration into the soil, loss of resilience, weed invasion, disease problems and decline in turf quality. Hollow Tining is used to prevent damage from an excessive soil compaction. It is also very important to provide the needed drainage, for water infiltration and aeration at the root-zone and is done during the warm season when temperatures favour rapid shoot growth and coverage of the turf openings. The use of sand on greens is essential because it helps to digest the organic matter, enhancing the aeration of the root-zone, speed on greens and better recovery from pitch marks. In order to minimize the disruption to golfers, hollow tinning is usually carried out in 2 consecutive journeys so that the 18 greens are aerated in the same week. The surface smoothness restoration process includes top dressing, drag matting and rolling and greens are normally puttable after 3 days with rolling putting surface within 10 days.
There you have it…so when you next question the parentage of the green keepers you will understand the just a little more