Top-Class Topdressing Equipment for Golf Turf Maintenance

Let’s face it, topdressing can be a controversial subject when it comes to golf course maintenance. We know that for greenkeepers, it can sometimes feel like you can’t do right for doing wrong!

Your players all want the greens and fairways to be kept in the best possible condition, with a fast, even surface that’s free of deviations. Yet at the same time, they’re the first to complain when you topdress the greens, temporarily changing the playing conditions and affecting their putts.

Yet topdressing is crucial to turf health, improving drainage and water infiltration while reducing thatch, disease and insect issues. So how do you balance the demands of your players and the needs of your turf?

How to make topdressing less intrusive

There are lots of different ways to go about your topdressing to try and stay on the right side of your players, as the British and International Golf Greenkeepers Association found out from four greenkeepers that were interviewed.

• The twice a year blast – both Paul Oliver, from Mid Sussex Golf Club and Nigel Thompson, from Lilley Brook Golf Club, take the full-on, twice a year approach. They spread significant amounts of topdressing during breaks in the spring and autumn, focusing any disruption into two small windows and leaving the rest of the season free from complaints – about sand at least!
• The little and often sneak – Colin Hopper from Elsham Golf Club, chooses the little and often approach, sneaking his topdressing onto the course bit by bit throughout the year. This way, there is never a large amount of sand added to his course.
• The steady spring build – Bob Mackay of Murcar Links, builds up his topdressing steadily through the spring, when there are fewer players around to take issue. He starts with light fortnightly dressings from the end of January and continues through until early June, when he stops for the year. He can then relax for the rest of the season, knowing he will have a healthy surface and happy players.

As any greenkeeper will know, you can never please all of the players, all of the time, when it comes to topdressing. It’s up to you to decide on the timetable that best matches your own golf turf maintenance schedule, the diary at your club and the demands of your players.

GreenTek are here to help

Whichever topdressing schedule you opt for as part of your golf turf maintenance, you want to make sure that it causes minimum disruption to play (so the players will cause minimum disruption to you!). That’s where the Thatch-Away topdressing brushes can make all the difference.

One of many different topdressing brushes in the GreenTek range, the Thatch-Away topdressing brushes are particularly good for undulating greens, or tight greens where manoeuvrability is key. Check out our topdressing video online and you’ll see how the greens triple mounted Thatch-Away topdressing brush incorporates the sand, following the contours of the surface and evenly dispersing the dressing. Your players will hardly know it’s happened, let alone have cause to complain.

If you’re having a nightmare balancing the benefits of topdressing as part of your greens maintenance, get in touch with GreenTek today. With the Thatch-Away topdressing brushes, you can quickly get your topdressing done with the minimum fuss and bother.