Thursday, March 24, 2011

Side Benefit

Last week we went out and heavily topdressed some of the lower lying bowled fairway areas on the fourth fairway. The sand was applied to help us with improving the fairway firmness in these low areas that tend to get wet and stay wet.

Sand Topdressed In The low Fairway Areas

Close Up Of Sand Thickness

We applied the sand after aerifing in an attempt to get some of the material in the aerification holes to help allow moisture to move more quickly through the surface and down into the soil profile.  This process will be repeated two to three time a year in localized "problem" areas throughout the golf course. Over time the sand will also help with surface firmness which will in turn help with more ball roll off the tee shots.  

Perhaps the nicest immediate side effect of applying the topdressing sand this time of year was the acceleration of spring green up.  In five days  time after applying the sand to the fairway the Bentgrass color went from brown to green. This rapid green up can be attributed to the sand increasing the surface temperature and therefore aiding in the green up process.


Green Up Of Turf From Sand Cover

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