Verticutting the Greens

Some of you may notice in the next few days that our greens and collars have lines on them, no there isn't a problem with our cutting units and we didn't decide to cut funny patterns in our greens just to mess with your heads.  We're verticutting!  

Trails left by the verticutter

The easiest way to explain verticutting is that we are simply "pruning" our grass the same way you would prune a tree or a flower.  Normally our cutting blades cut horizontally which lowers the vertical height of our grass, keeping it at the desired length.  However the grass eventually wises up and stops growing in a vertical direction and starts "laying over" horizontally.  This is detrimental for several reasons, first off we aren't getting a clean cut which makes the green bumpier, and secondly laid over grass is a breeding area for many turf grass diseases that can harm our greens.  So on a regular schedule during the early and late season we swap our regular reels for blades that cut vertically.

When we verticut the greens we are trimming the horizontal growth of the plant to encourage healthier growth due to better airflow between the grass shoots above the ground and more efficient transport of water and nutrients to the root structure below the ground.  As you can see from the photo below some of the horizontal growth was QUITE a bit longer then the 13/64 of an inch we're currently cutting at with our regular reels.

 

One of the horizontal grass shoots that was clipped off

This year we've also extended our verticutting efforts to the collars near the greens which as you can see from the video REALLY needed a trim as we cut a MASSIVE amount of horizontal growth.  Our efforts will provide the golfer with a much smoother transition from collar to green surface.

The results of our verticut can be seen in the photo below, you'll note that the grass is standing up nice and straight and we're able to go out and mow it much more efficiently.  While the lines on the greens are the most obvious signs of our verticutting.  If you're looking closely you will notice a few subtle changes in the greens  in the next few days first the greens may seem a bit more light green then normal.  This is a normal due to the higher stress level, when we verticut and follow with a double cut on the greens we're removing a large amount of the mass of the plant.  If not done properly this can make our greens susceptible to disease and pest problems.  We will mitigate these effects by giving the greens extra water, and a shot of fertilizer and fungicide later in the week.  

  

Result after verticutting is grass that stands up

So as golfers what can you look forward to in the next few days and weeks.  The most important thing from a golf perspective is that the greens will be tighter, smoother, and faster for daily play while remaining stronger and healthier from a maintenance standpoint.  In this case verticutting is a winner for everyone involved!!

-Andrew