Graden Greens

Today we were able to start our greens graden program.  This one of the larger cultural practices we perform on the greens themselves.  Overall this process is very similar to grooming, just much more aggressive.  With the majority of thatch build up taking place in the top of the rootzone this machine is extremely beneficial and helpful in removing it.

 The machine will actually cut and remove the top 1" of thatch and organic matter that have built up with 3mm blades.  After removal it will drop fresh clean sand directly into the green as you can see in the picture below.  What you are left with is a fresh "trough" of new clean sand incorporated into the rootzone.  Adding sand to the rootzone on a routine basis has many benefits like improved drainage and increased firmness of the surface just to name a few.  Its great to have the support of the membership with these important cultural practices we perform!  Without it, the life of a USGA spec green would be compromised.