Welcome to my blog!
It is my intention to give the readers a better understanding of what we do to maintain The Farms Country Club's 18 hole championship golf course and grounds.


Thursday, June 18, 2015

Demo Days!

No, I don't mean Callaway or Titleist. I'm referring to demonstrating golf course maintenance equipment. There is only one way to tell how a piece of maintenance equipment will perform on our course. Contact the equipment vendor and set up a demonstration here at The Farms.
Golf course maintenance equipment is not cheap and we must thoroughly investigate all aspects of its ability to perform the task required, how well it is built and the service record of the company that distributes it.
Last week we tested an air injection aerifyer which fractures the sub-soil at depths from five to twelve inches. The Air 2 G2 was used on the practice green at a depth of seven to eight inches. The concept of this machine is interesting because it is supposed to provide lateral fracturing of the sub-soil which improves oxygen, relieves compaction and improves drainage without any surface disruption. If you didn't see us operating the Air 2 G2 you wouldn't have known we were there. We even flooded a spot and you could see the air bubbles rising through the puddle. The puddle dissipated fairly quickly.


Today we tested the VC 60 verticutter made by First Products on #8 tee & fairway and #18 tee. We are constantly battling excessive thatch on many tees and fairways. Jim Skorulski, our USGA Northeast Regional Agronomist, recommended we give this a try. I was very impressed! It cut clean lines, removed a lot of thatch and made tight turns with ease without tearing. Even where we went in two directions. Did I mention it was FAST? After the demo we just blow off the material it generated and mow. We will also perform a light topdressing to further aid in thatch reduction.




THAT'S A LOT OF THATCH