Aggresive greens verticutting

Each year, we do an aggressive verticutting on greens that removes organic matter in the upper inch of the soil profile. This machine also deposits sand in the trench which dilutes the existing organic matter. The USGA recommends impacting roughly 20% of the green surface each year in order to keep up with organic matter production. This single process with 3mm blades roughly impacts 11%. At Highlands CC, we do about 25% disruption each year which will ensure the life of these USGA spec greens for years to come. Every year, I will send several sample green samples to ISTRC (International Sports Turf Research Center)that measures the percent organic matter in our greens and also checks the infiltration rate. This verifies that we are making progress with our core cultivation and topdressing programs.