GOLF COURSE MAINTENANCE

Anyone who plays golf is familiar with the beauty of a well-kept golf course. The grass is even and green, and trees and bushes are perfectly pruned. In some cases, it’s like playing in a beautiful garden, surrounded by the scent of grass and far from the hustle and bustle of the city. But all this comes at a price.

A golf course requires continuous and intensive maintenance throughout the year.

1. Golf course grass: types and how to keep it perfect

Just like football pitches, golf courses have special requirements. One of the most important daily tasks on a golf course is watering, especially in summer and on hot days. The grass also needs to be cut almost daily in spring and summer, especially on tees and greens. Fairways, however, require a little less attention. But they should not be neglected. The same applies to golf ball marks, which need to be removed every day.

This is the daily maintenance of a golf course, the one that could be described as a bit more obvious. But there is much more to golf course maintenance than this. A golf course is subject to a wide range of potential problems, from dry grass to the accumulation of dead stems. The following operations are therefore included in its maintenance:

• Aerating. The turf is scored to prevent the accumulation of dead leaves and stems (thatch).
• Grooming. Part of the grass is pulled up to thin it. This makes the golf ball roll more evenly.
• Coring. Tiny cores of grass are removed to allow the ground to breathe. This prevents it from becoming too compacted, which would have a negative effect on ball rolling and the growth of grass.
• Sanding. A layer of soil and sand is spread over the grass to fill in holes and reduce the formation of thatch.

2. Spring rake or scarifier?

The scarifier is used to remove mulch that builds up on a lawn during the year, thereby preparing the soil to better absorb oxygen and grow healthier grass. A spring rake for the lawn is not used to remove mulch, but thatch.

A spring rake can be electric-powered or petrol-powered. For working on very large areas, a petrol-powered model is recommended. This ensures that you don’t need to depend on the length of the power cable and the availability of power sockets. On the other hand, if you have a smaller lawn or a simple garden, then an electric spring rake will also produce good results.
If you are wondering which of these two machines to buy in order to achieve a flawless garden, then the answer is not easy. In theory, experts recommend using both. Not only do you need to mow your lawn regularly but also keep it healthy and tidy, without mulch or thatch. In short, the actions of these two machines are not mutually exclusive, but complementary. Only by using both a spring rake and a scarifier can the soil always be ready to absorb oxygen and sunlight.

3. When and how to scarify a lawn

As scarifying damages not only moss and weeds but also healthy grass and plants, the vegetation needs to be fairly robust. Late spring is certainly the best time for scarifying, as this is when grass grows faster and soil regenerates well due to good weather conditions. A lawn can also be scarified in autumn, but by the end of October at the latest, so that the grass can regenerate again afterwards.
When scarifying, everything that grows on top of the turf is removed. The turf, and therefore part of the healthy grass, is lightly scratched by an electric scarifier. With its rotating blades, it removes moss and dead parts of plants and weeds, while cleaning the turf. However, be careful not to set the scarifier blades too low in order to prevent damage to the healthy parts of the turf. A lawn should be scarified with the utmost care 2-3 times a year rather than aggressively scarified once.