It has
been a busy few weeks on the downland since my return from holiday and I have
enjoyed getting stuck in to the new role. We have managed to carry out some
vital maintenance to the greens which included an 8mm solid tine aeration and
light verti-cutting to a depth of 1mm. Verti cutting is the process in which
vertical blades on a greens mower penetrate the sward removing organic material
(thatch) and lateral shoot growth.
The
benefits from verti-cutting include Poa annua seed head management, bent grass
refinement, thatch removal, turf cultivation, increased speed and smoothness of
putting surface. Care must be taken however not to be too aggressive or to
frequent as this can stress out the favoured bent grass species allowing Poa
ingress.
We
have been keeping on top of the cutting as the grass has been growing like mad
with the recent wet and mild weather conditions and have made progress with
some detail work on the golf course. All greenside bunkers have been edged and
we have introduced hand cutting on the 1st and 12th tee
for presentation.
