Putting Green Maintenance

There are obviously many practices applied to putting greens to create a good putting surface.  One very important maintenance practice that we we implement every 3 weeks, is verticutting and light sand topdressing of the greens.

Verticutting is a process where a mower equipped with vertical blades, rather than cutting reels, goes over the entire green.  The vertical blades are set at a depth of 1/16" below the mowing height.  These blades help remove thatch and old leaf blades in the turf canopy.  They also assist in standing up the grass blades, allowing a good cut on the green.

Immediately following verticutting, a light topdress of sand is applied to the entire green.  The sand is then drug into the turf canopy.  The sand assists in keeping the greens smooth, uniform and maintaining a firm surface.  A consistent program including these two important practices ultimately results in a much smoother, truer putting surface.

Below you will see a green that has been verticut.  Notice all the material on the surface that has been removed through this practice.  The second photo shows the green lightly sanded, following verticutting.