Last night I read an article about USGA greens and the recommendation of sand required to keep them draining well. A USGA green that isn't topdressed and aerified on a routine basis will fail and eventually the grass will die because water won't move through the system resulting in spongy surfaces that will ultimately succumb to wet wilt or other excess moisture issues. A professor from Ohio State recommended 25 cubic feet per 1000 square feet be incorporated over the course of a year. I always love these recommendations because I like to see how we, at Highlands CC, match up. Of course, it is just that, a guideline to base a program off of and not set in stone. Every golf course is different and every green is different. Growth rates differ green to green based on the micro environment and this affects everything from thatch accumulation to fungicide needs.
At HCC we use about 7.5 loads of sand over the course of topdressing, and aerification, Dryject and Graden.
7.5 loads x 22 tons (per load) is 165 tons.
there is 1.1 cubic yards (estimate) in a ton, so we use 181.5 cubic yards.
181.5 cubic yards x 27 (cubic ft in a cubic yard)= 4,900.5 cubic ft per 120,000 square feet (that is the square footage of our greens)
This means we incorporate 40.84 cubic feet of sand per 1,000ft2. Again, Ohio State says at least 25 cubic feet per 1000ft. This ensures our greens will maintain the necessary physical properties to last a long time.
