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Top Dressing
Periodically during the year Alex and his crew will "top dress" the
greens. You've probably played at least once when you noticed
sand on the greens, or heard someone say they'd be top dressed that
day.
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Why do we top dress?
Without regular top dressing greens will develop a thick thatch layer,
and become "puffy" at the surface. This will not allow for adequate
water penetration to the root zone and can promote disease level as
well as poor plant health. By going through the process of
verticutting (or aerifying) the green surface and then sanding it we
can prevent/reduce any thatch build up and keep the greens as healthy
as possible. The sanding process also help to smooth and heal
any imperfections in the green's surface.
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The Process |
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1. Verticut. The first step is to
verticut the greens. This involves replacing the standard mowing
blades on the greens mower with a set of verticutting blades. These
blades actually cut a series of very thin slices in the green from 1/16" to
1/4" deep. This removes thatch and allows for sand to infiltrate the
thatch layer. (no photo available yet)
USGA Video - Why do we topdress? |
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2. Sanding: The next step is to
apply a thin layer of sand across the top of the entire green.
video of sanding process |
3 Sweeping. To the right you see
Roger sweeping the sand into the practice putting green. A series of
brooms is pulled across the green, sweeping the sand into the verticut
grooves and any other imperfections in the green..
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4. Rock picking. After all of the verticutting is
completed, the verticut blades are taken off of the mower and replaced
with a set of fine "sweeper brushes". Glen is "mowing" the top
dressed green to pick up any pea gravel or other "large" bits of rock
that might have been spread on the green. |
5. Clean up. After the sweeping
is completed, Alex has returned with a blower and is cleaning up any
accumulations of sand that were not smoothed out by one of the previous
brushing passes. |
6. Set the cup. The next step is
to set the cup in the new location. Here, Alex has just plunged the
cutter into the green to cut the new hole out. The plug he pulls will
be used to replace the hole from the prior day. |
7. "Pick It"! After using
the plug to fill the old hole, Alex uses a screwdriver to poke a few holes
in the plug. These holes will promote new root growth and speed up the
healing process.
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8. A Little Drink. After
poking the plug to provide some aerification Alex gives the old plug a
little drink of water. This helps keep the plug from going into shock
and promotes its quick growth and lets it blend into the existing green. |
9. Tap It. A little tap
down with his worker's boot and the old plug is nearly invisible.
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10. Water. The last step in the top dressing process is to
water the entire green. This helps settle the sand in, but also
is necessary to help cool the green after having had the sand exposed
to the sun while the process was being undertaken. |
