Course Closed Today Book Tee Times
Greens Maintenance 19th April
Thursday 19th April 2018
Please be advised that today we have top dressed the greens with a light covering and brushed this into the greens.The reasoning behind this is to improve the quality of our putting surfaces and this is a vital part of ensuring that we maintain the course to the highest standards.
There are many reasons why you would apply topdressing.
- To increase surface levels.
- To stimulate new root and shoot growth.
- To cover seed allowing it to make contact with soil and therefore providing insulation and maximising the germination rate.
- To increase the water holding capacity of the soil and reducing the amount of water stress during the summer months.
- To increase soil structure by adding a medium that will improve infiltration rates, soil strength, saturated hydraulic conductivity, aeration capacity, nutrient retention, and fertility levels within the soil.
- To allow a soil exchange to take place working in conjunction with hollow-coring to remove a lower quality soil and replace with a fresh, active medium.
- Topdressing with a soil/compost mix has been found to reduce disease instances. Topdressing with an organic substance will increase the microbial populations that attack pathogenic fungi.
- Topdressing also raises the quality of growing medium for grass roots, which increases plant visual and functional qualities such as density, uniformity, colour, texture and so on.
- Topdressing also provides a habitat for micro-organisms within the thatch layer and helps to maximise the thatch layer's decomposition rates.
- Finally topdressing also helps to reduce dry patch from forming within turf. Diluting the sticky mucilaginous residues within the thatch layer improves the water absorbency properties and reduces the hydrophobic nature of thatch.