Magazine: It's Time to Inject a Little Sand
By Graden in Industry News on 8th Jul 2008 17:10
Thatch is responsible directly or indirectly for the majority of problems experienced by golf courses. With increased popularity of some of the new
varieties of Creeping Bent grass and Bermuda grasses and changing legislation throughout Europe on the use of chemical usage, many greenkeepers are having to go back to basics and carry out more cultural practices.
In order to promote a stronger and healthier plant and try and reduce the risk of disease and poor playing surfaces, the priority must be to reduce the
thatch levels. This will increase soil oxygen levels and improve water penetration. This may be essential for the turf but unfortunately it is not seen the same way in the eyes of most golfers.
The range of pedestrian and tractor mounted Graden’s have been of huge benefit to clubs due to the fact that there is minimal disruption to play whilst hitting large areas of the surface. With different blade widths each cutting an exceptionally clean, continuous groove in the turf, this can impact up to 250% more surface area for material removal and aeration compared with conventional coring.
Limitations – The Graden has proved very popular worldwide, the only limitation with the machine was that it sometimes proved difficult to get sand
worked back into the grooves. This varied with ground conditions, method of clearing and also depth of operation due to the stability of the surface as so much material is removed. This led to a few agronomists and users reverting back to Coring as they felt it was easier to work sand back into the profile, i practice it is often difficult to get core holes filled up. This has inspired the evolution of the Graden Sand Injection which eliminates these issues giving even better results regardless of depth of operation.
The introduction of the new Graden Sand Injection moves the Graden process to a whole new level due to the immediate introduction of sand into the thatch profile, this will instantly help firm the surface, improve healing times provide an ideal environment for seed and with accurately filling the grooves this ensures the top dressing is situated exactly where it needs to be. Disruption to ball roll will be reduced even further which is hugely beneficial for today’s golfers looking for year round play.
The Graden Sand Injection is specifically for targeting the top 1&1/2% and is sure to prove another valuable management tool in the greenkeepers armoury. Used as part of a program it compliments existing widely practiced operations such as verti cutting, solid tining, venting, water injection, deep
tine aeration, etc.
Surface drainage is extremely important to every green, including those that drain well internally. Even the best constructed rootzone will gradually drain more slowly. This is due to the production of organic matter by the plant i.e. thatch and the introduction of soil fines into the rootzone.
Good drainage is without doubt very influential to the overall performance of the green particularly in adverse weather conditions and in areas where the
water quality is less than ideal. If the rootzone becomes saturated it can remain so for long periods of time, this results in anaerobic conditions (without oxygen) which will lead to increased risk of disease and poor playing surface.
Many clubs spend substantial amounts of money improving drainage such as sand/gravel banding. Drill and Fill, etc. The top will seal with organic matter or fines and the efficiency of any drainage is massively reduced.
The Graden provides an ideal tool for penetrating through the upper surface and connecting to the next level, largely due to the creation of a continuous groove and therefore impacting more of the surface. This will help with water and nutrient penetration and also allows for increased air exchange.
Want to know more?
Head to Graden: www.graden.com.au
Post your own comment on this article
varieties of Creeping Bent grass and Bermuda grasses and changing legislation throughout Europe on the use of chemical usage, many greenkeepers are having to go back to basics and carry out more cultural practices.
worked back into the grooves. This varied with ground conditions, method of clearing and also depth of operation due to the stability of the surface as so much material is removed. This led to a few agronomists and users reverting back to Coring as they felt it was easier to work sand back into the profile, i practice it is often difficult to get core holes filled up. This has inspired the evolution of the Graden Sand Injection which eliminates these issues giving even better results regardless of depth of operation.
tine aeration, etc.
