With cooler temperatures and some moisture in the soil we are able to do some moderately aggressive cultural practices such as grooming (vertical mowing). Monday we groomed the greens on the north with Poa Busters (descibed in previous post) and groomed the tees on the north with our Fairway groomer shown below. This will help reduce some of the “puffiness” or softness of the greens and tees. It also promotes lateral growth in the plant and has the potential to remove thatch if set deep enough. This process is followed up by a standard mower to clean up the surface for play. As stated, this should only be done during time periods where the turf is under minimal stress.

Groomer on 18 North ladies tee

The groves that appear after the groomer.