Verticutting Putting Greens

At the start of every season, we outfit one of our greens mowers with a set of blades called verticutters.

The reel and bedknife system that mows the greens everyday during the season mows horizontally sheering off the grass blades with precision. Verticutting blades work the opposite and cut through the turf canopy vertically. The term is cutting but it is really more of a cutting and pulling action.
This process helps thin out the turf canopy. This is advantageous for a few reasons. This time of year the Poa Annua (bright green spots) in the putting greens, outgrows the bentgrass (duller more pale grayish green). This helps smooth out the surface and helps with a consistent ball roll. The process also takes some of the dead leaves out of the canopy. This in turn leads to more air movement within the canopy and grass that does not stay wet as long. These together help reduce disease pressure.
The process takes a few days and takes an amazing amount of plant material out of the putting greens.

What comes out of two greens