We are back to our routine mowing schedule now that all of the turf has started to grow on a more consistent level although Wednesday's morning temperature was 38 degrees. Last week we started to dry mow the greens as a second mowing in the afternoons with good results. Wednesday morning we lightly verticut the greens before mowing to help stand up the turf and reduce the amount of long runners in the turf canopy. The verticutting process will also increase our turf density on greens providing a healthier and more consistent playing surface. Verticutting aides in preventing the scalping and puffy turf issue we had during last season as well provide small channels for the sand topdressing to settle into the canopy. The forecast is calling for frequent showers over the next few days with a break on mother's day followed by more rain middle of next week prompting us to treat the playing surface with a wetting agent which helps maintain consistent moisture levels throughout the greens, tees, and fairways while at the same time moving water through the soil profile providing firmer and healthier soil conditions.
Although we have had cooler temperatures especially at night the roots are growing, the picture below shows a soil profile. The sand channels that we create during aerification are noticeable but the amount of native soil and organic matter still remaining in the soil profile show our need to continue our aggressive core aerification process.
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| Verticut unit on Triplex |
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| 4 Green after verticut before Mow |
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| Soil Profile Practice Green |
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