what does sand topdressing do to help a golf green

^{The benefits of topdressing include:}

• Improved Smoothness – Voids exist within the turf canopy between turfgrass leaves and stems, causing inconsistent ball roll. Sand topdressing helps fill these voids to provide smoother and truer putts.
• Thatch Dilution – The layer of organic debris, stems, crowns and roots in the upper rootzone – i.e., thatch – can become concentrated and encourage mower scalping and localized dry ...
• Improved Turf Recovery – Occasional turf thinning can occur on putting greens. Sand helps cushion leaf tips and crowns and reduces algae.
• Increased Firmness – Turf produces organic matter in the upper rootzone that creates soft, spongy playing conditions. Regular sand topdressing, along with core aeration, improves surface firmness and resiliency.
• Improved Rootzone – Sand drains well and resists soil compaction. The accumulation of sand from multiple topdressings over many years can improve soil physical properties.

What are the benefits of sand topdressing on a putting green?

Improved Turf Recovery – Occasional turf thinning can occur on putting greens. Sand helps cushion leaf tips and crowns and reduces algae. Increased Firmness – Turf produces organic matter in the upper rootzone that creates soft, spongy playing conditions. Regular sand topdressing, along with core aeration, improves surface firmness and resiliency.

What is sand topdressing on a golf course?

There are a variety of maintenance practices used to provide desirable playing conditions on golf course putting greens, with sand topdressing being one of the more common practices. Sand topdressing also is one of the more misunderstood practices among golfers, who feel that sanded greens play poorly.

Should I add topdressing sand to my lawn?

The incorporation of topdressing sand is more difficult on turf maintained at lower mowing heights and with plant growth regulation that increases shoot density, calculated as the number of turfgrass shoots per square inch. Additionally, newer cultivars developed for putting greens have much greater shoot density compared to older cultivars.

Does sand topdressing affect surface firmness and water content?

• Sand topdressing, regardless of sand size, has yet to provide consistent effects on surface firmness or volumetric water content in either trial. More differences may emerge as cumulative amounts of sand topdressing increase throughout subsequent years of these trials.

What is the purpose of topdressing?

Topdressing improves putting greens smoothness, increases firmness and dilutes thatch. Thatch is a layer of dead and living plant material just below the turf surface.

Why do they put sand on aerated greens?

However, filling aeration holes with sand actually helps create a smoother surface. Sand also creates channels for water and air movement, dilutes thatch and helps putting greens recover from aeration more quickly.

What is topdressing sand?

Image by CreativeFire. It is a common practice on golf courses to add a thin layer of sand over the green. This practice is called top dressing, and it is a routine part of golf course maintenance to control thatch build up. Sand is also used to level low spots in turf areas.

Why do golf courses have sand traps?

Sand bunkers provide a psychological landmark. They accentuate the hole and provide targets for directing the golfer to a defined landing area whether it is the fairway or green. Sand bunkers provide safety buffers for adjacent fairways, tees or greens, both physically and visually.

How long does it take greens to heal after aeration?

two weeksIt usually takes a golf course two weeks to recovery from properly done golf course aeration. Once the grass grows back through the aeration holes to a healthy level, the mowers and rollers come back, typically with greens as good as new.

How often should greens be aerated?

one to three times a yearIt can take up to a couple of weeks for the greens to recover, but these procedures are critical for the long-term health of the greens. This is typically done one to three times a year, depending on the course, the type of greens, and in what part of the country they are located.

How does topdressing reduce thatch?

Thatch is broken down by microbial activity. For microbes to work on thatch, there has to be enough moisture and oxygen in the layer. Topdressing opens the layer up to moisture and air movement and contributes microbes to the process. It is one of the most effective ways of controlling thatch.

How does sand help grass grow?

A layer of sand on the lawn improves the firmness of the soil. Too much organic material makes the soil a little spongy due to the fermentation and abundance of insects in the topsoil. Use sand to make the soil firm and healthy. Sand improves the drainage of the soil and aeration.

Does sand help soggy grass?

Both compost and sand work their way into the voids created by aeration to help maintain an open soil structure. Beneficial microbes in the compost, and the earthworms they attract, continue to loosen the soil particles, improving drainage and promoting healthy plant growth.

What is the difference between a sand trap and a bunker?

The most significant difference between a sand trap and a bunker is in its design. A sand trap is a man-made pit on the course that is then filled with sand. A bunker is also a depression on the course (either natural or man made), but it doesn't always have to be filled with sand.

Is a sand trap considered a hazard?

When weighing up the options a player has out of a bunker, they must first realise a sand trap is classed as a hazard. Like water hazards, bunkers have a different set of rules when compared to normal shots from the fairway or rough. This means you have options and don't always have to play the ball as it lies.

How do golf courses aerate greens?

To aerify a golf green a piece of machinery built for the task cores the ground (punches holes and removes the dirt) in a certain pattern. (The small cores of dirt that are removed are called "plugs.") Air and water are thus infused into the ground at root level, and space opened up for new root growth.

Why is sanding greens important?

The green might get spongy, or develop brown spots, or become vulnerable to scalping during mowing. Sanding helps protect against all that. That’s not all, Kidd says. Sanding also improves drainage and helps level out the green, creating smooth, consistent putting surfaces, and firm, fast conditions year round.

What is golf sand made of?

Golf course sands are different. They are made of round particles “resembling a bucket of balls with large pore spaces between each ball ,” Kidd says. They promote good drainage, and healthy air and water circulation.

Why do you aerate greens?

Aeration comes in when soils are heavily compacted or the turf is thick with thatch. The greens get punched and sanded, and the sand is worked into each aeration hole to improve air and water flow, giving the roots a better chance to drink and breathe. There is, of course, plenty more to the science of sanding.

Do superintendents sand putting surfaces?

Superintendents don’t sand putting surfaces simply to annoy you. They do it for the long-term health of the greens. That’s the gist. But since you’ve been inconvenienced, you deserve to know precisely why.

Is sanding a science?

As you can probably see, there’s a science to sanding, and on golf courses today, Kidd says, that science is “very precise.”. When you sand and how much sand you use is critically important. Sand too heavily at the wrong time of year, and you risk a range of problems. It’s best to do the work in good weather, Kidd says.

Do you need to aerate your turf?

If the soil is heavy, you might need to aerate to keep your turf healthy. The staff at a respected lawn care store should be able to help you make smart choices. You might not wind up with a patch of grass as pure as a putting green, but you’ll have a pretty sweet place to chip and pitch.

Do you need to sand your lawn?

Depending on how you use your own yard, you might never want or need to sand it. But if you do, be sure to use the right sand, in the right amounts, at the right time.

How much topdressing sand is on old greens?

As a result, Moore says it’s not uncommon for members of the Green Section staff to see as much as six inches of topdressing sand built up during a 20-year period on top of older greens.

What is the issue with topdressing sand?

Size matters. Another issue with topdressing is the size of sand particles. When buying topdressing sand, superintendents need to know which size to buy, Moore says. Some superintendents buy sand that’s finer than the sand used to build the green.

What is topdressing in golf?

Topdressing is no exception. It’s a given a topdressing program should be tailored to meet the needs of a particular golf course. Most superintendents topdress with straight sand, but others topdress with a mix of sand and organic matter, be it mushroom soil or peat. Some even topdress with 100 percent peat.

What is Anderson's topdressing mix?

He avoids pure sand topdressing. The topdressing Anderson uses is a mix of sand (80 percent) and mushroom soil (20 percent), which has been screened and baked. (These mushrooms grow on horse manure, and after the mushrooms pull all of the nutrients out of the manure, they’re ground, baked and screened.)

How often does Anderson topdress?

Anderson topdresses the greens at Huntingdon Valley four times a year . The first thing he does in the spring is topdress with purchased material to protect the crowns going into the summer heat.

How deep should sand be aerated?

To avoid building such a layer, it’s important to combine sand topdressing with core aeration. Moore suggests removing cores at least 2 to 3 inches deep when aerating and backfilling the holes with sand.

How much does Anderson pay for topdressing?

Anderson pays about $60 a ton for the topdressing – compared to $40 a ton for straight sand. Because of the topdressing Anderson uses, he is also able to use less water than other superintendents in the area, he says. He uses 7 million gallons of water between April and October on 27 holes.

Will topdressing with two different sand materials cause poor water infiltration or increase soil moisture retention?

Researchers at Rutgers University are experimenting with topdressing sand much finer than described in this article to investigate whether there would be any negative impact on a creeping bentgrass green (Murphy et al., 2019).

Why remove the larger sand particles?

Large sand particles create playability and mower problems. A Rutgers University study on creeping bentgrass putting greens revealed that the particle size of the topdressing sand significantly impacted the size of the sand harvested in mower baskets when mowing the day after topdressing (Murphy et al., 2019).

Application rate and frequency

There are two important rates to consider in a topdressing program: the sand application rate for each top dressing event and the annual rate achieved from the sum of all topdressing events, including sand applied to backfill aeration holes.

Annual targets

Planning to reach a predetermined amount of sand for the season is a good place to start with rate and frequency considerations. The goal is to match the growth rate of turf to dilute organic matter that accumulates throughout the season. In search of a benchmark, researchers from the University of Nebraska surveyed 308 annually.

The importance of frequency

Around the turn of the 21st century, a standard topdressing strategy was to apply 2 to 4 cubic feet of sand per 1,000 square feet every three to four weeks during the growing season (Rieke, 1999). Lower rates and higher frequency were recommended for high-density cultivars or stressed areas.

Conclusion

Sand topdressing is the most important cultural practice for managing the organic matter. Recent research confirms the benefits of light and frequent sand topdressing programs that provide less immediate disruption, better playing conditions and better rootzone characteristics over time.

Research takeaways

Sand topdressing is the most important cultural practice for managing organic matter.

Why do I need topdressing sand for putting greens?

Topdressing sand increases the firmness of a putting green surface due to the “bridging” of sand particles within the turf canopy and layer of mat or thatch.

How to improve topdressing sand?

Techniques to improve the incorporation of topdressing sand include: Using dry sand. Drying the putting surface before applying the topdressing. Verticutting or grooming the putting surface before applying the topdressing. Applying the topdressing more frequently at lower application rates.

What do we know about sands?

Moreover, what we know about the behavior of sands is typically drawn from studies of sand-based rootzones rather than topdressing sand applied to an accumulating mat (thatch) layer . In an attempt to offset any potential negative impacts of finer topdressing sand, some superintendents are using two sand sizes.

What is topdressing sand?

The incorporation of topdressing sand into a turfgrass canopy is one of those practices where a gain in efficiency is beneficial. Significant time and other resources can be spent on managing the sand particles left on the putting surface after most of the topdressing is incorporated. These remnant particles are typically large (fine gravel, ...

Why is uniformly graded sand more susceptible to instability problems?

Uniformly graded sands are more susceptible to instability problems, meaning that the sand particles may shift under traffic. Additionally, finer sand can retain more water and slow its movement. The extent to which these concerns are actually a problem in the context of topdressing is not fully understood.

What size sand should I use for topdressing?

Many have adopted the strategy of selecting sand that contains no fine gravel (2 to 3.4 mm particle size diameter) or very coarse sand (1 to 2 mm) to improve incorporation of topdressing. More recently, some are selecting sands that do not contain coarse sand (0.5 to 1 mm), which further improves the ability to incorporate the topdressing, ...

Does water stick to sand?

Movement of sand particles into the turf canopy and mat of a putting surface is inhibited by moisture, regardless of whether the water is within the sand or turf itself. Water acts like glue causing the sand particles to stick to each other (bridge) and to the leaves (and other parts) of the grass plants as well .

Why Remove The Larger Sand particles?

Application Rate and Frequency

Annual Targets

The Importance of Frequency

Conclusion

Research Takeaways