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Figure 20
Operation
Introduction
Grooming is performed in the turf canopy above the
soil level. Grooming promotes vertical growth of grass
plants, reduces grain, and severs stolons producing
a denser turf. Grooming produces a more uniform
and tighter playing surface for faster and truer action
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of the golf ball.
Verticutting is a more aggressive cultivation technique
designed to remove thatch by cutting through
the turf canopy and into the thatch/mat layer.
Grooming should not be considered a replacement for
verticutting. Verticutting is generally a more rigorous
and periodic treatment that can temporarily damage
the playing surface, while grooming is a routine and
gentler treatment designed to manicure the turf.
1. Grass runners (stolons)
Grooming brushes are a more recent development
which are designed to be less intrusive than
conventional grooming blades when adjusted to
lightly contact the turf canopy. Brushing may be more
benefical for the ultra-dwarf cultivars, since these
grass types have more of a upright growth pattern
and do not fill in that well through horizontal growth.
Brushes, however, can injure leaf tissue if they are set
to penetrate too deeply into the canopy.
Grooming is similar to verticutting in its runner cutting
action. Grooming blades however, should never
penetrate the soil like verticutting or dethatching.
Groomer blades are spaced closer together and are
used more often than verticutters so that they are
more effective in cutting runners and removing thatch.
Because grooming injures leaf tissue to some degree
it should be avoided during periods of high stress.
Cool season species such as creeping bent grass
and annual blue grass should not be groomed during
high temperature (and high humidity) periods in
midsummer.
It is difficult to make precise recommendations on use
of grooming reels because so many variables affect
the performance of grooming, including:
•
The time of the year (i.e., the growing season) and
weather pattern
7
Figure 21
2. Thatch
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