Fairway verticutting

The weather over the last few weeks has been hot and dry. Our cool-season turf- the grass on the greens, collars, and rough- has had a difficult time surviving. However, these are prime conditions for the Bermuda grass. Stretched out over several days, we completed a full verticut of the fairways and approaches that wrapped up last week.

The verticut machine starting on #1 fairway

At this time of year, the Bermuda grass is reaching its maximum growth for the season. We are at the hottest part of the year, the humidity is high, and the overnight temperatures are elevated as well. Those are the conditions in which the Bermuda grass thrives, and this year has been even better than most.

Taking advantage of the excellent growing conditions, we dusted off our fairway verticut machine and started removing excess material from the fairways. It has been several years since we last verticut the fairways. First, much of the Bermuda grass was new sod laid during construction and was too new to aggressively remove material. Then, in the ensuing years, we struggled to get the maturing Bermuda grass to be thick and healthy enough to endure the verticut. We also dealt with turf loss after winter from spring dead spot and winter kill, especially after the winter of 2017-18, when we had to replace many acres of turf. That replacement turf then set us back to square one with working to get new grass to mature enough for verticutting.

By the end of last year, the Bermuda grass was ready for vertical mowing, but only by the end of the summer, which would have been too late. However, seeing the health of the turf, we were primed and ready to verticut this year if the fairways had a strong season. When the Bermuda grass came out of winter as strong as it did, and then so quickly progressed through spring, we planned the verticut.

From the middle of the picture to the left is healing after 1 week.
The right side is after 2 weeks.

Vertical mowing- verticutting- uses vertical blades that slice down into the turf canopy and soil. It is the exact same thing we do to greens in the spring and fall. Cutting down into the turf rips out stems and old, decaying material called thatch. It also cuts the new growth structures of the Bermuda grass- called stolons and rhizomes- and this leads to new growth. Opening the canopy allows air and water to penetrate the turf more easily. Removing some of the stems allows more space for the turf to grow and creates a tighter, denser playing surface. But most importantly, the verticutting removes thatch from the Bermuda grass. We manage thatch for several reasons, but the biggest reason is that too much thatch can increase the likelihood and severity of spring dead spot.

This shows recovery after 3 weeks

Verticutting the fairways is a slow process, with an average sized par-4 hole taking 45 minutes to an hour to complete. Once the machine is finished, we come back through and blow the fairway, moving the material out into the rough. Lastly, we will mow the fairway to trim down all the grass that is standing up. Over the next few days, we will continually mow and blow the fairway until it is back in shape. Healing from the verticut takes about 7-10 days.

Visually, verticutting the fairways can seem too aggressive. Plant material is flying out and the grass is being ripped apart. But the overall benefits far outweigh the downside to the work, and we had the perfect weather to complete the job this July.

 

 

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

Please do not apply any spray sunscreen or insect repellent while standing on the grass, especially the greens. The chemicals kill the turf.

Also, as part of a Golf Committee initiative to improve course etiquette, we have included links to videos teaching proper on course etiquette. Please take a moment to watch:

Ball Marks - How to properly repair

Golf Cart tips

 

 

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org