Work has started this week to Graden, which is essentially thatch removal from the putting surface. Below is some information on what Graden work:

Graden Contour:

Some golf courses have out of control organic matter, as bad as 12%. At that level they have no option than to mechanically remove it and put sand in instead to get the greens back to a healthier state – enter the Graden Sand Injector. Even if they have an acceptable level of organic matter a Graden fits into the maintenance scheme as prevention is always better than cure.

The Graden Contour Sand Injection machine is a scarifier/aerator with the ability to scarify to any depth from 1mm to 40mm, whilst simultaneously backfilling the grooves with either sand or a combination of sand and seed to improve drainage and rooting.

It works to remove thatch and organic matter that might impede water movement.  It sinks it into the ground incredibly deeply compared to a conventional scarifier using 2mm wide or 3mm wide blades spaced at 25mm centres to remove such matter and offer stability to the surface of the green.

The result is a lovely, true level surface with very little sign of any damage with only the parallel grooves visible. The green is playable virtually immediately, certainly playable within an hour or two. 18 greens would take between about 2 days to treat.

Full recovery can take upto 10 days dependant upon the climate and/or weather condition