Topdressing

Someone recently asked, "What is topdressing?"  When we use this term, we are referring to the application of sand to the surface of the turf. 

Following greens aerification, this will be done to fill the aerification holes.  Depending on the type of aerification that was performed, we may use as much as 100,000 to 150,000 pounds of sand on the greens.

However, we also do a very light topdressing in-season.  Typically, every two weeks, we will use a total of 5,000 pounds of sand on the greens.  This quantity is so small that after a couple of spins of the sprinkler, the sand has been moved into the turf canopy and can't be seen.

This light topdressing is done regularly for a couple of reasons.  First, the sand aids in the goal of continually diluting the organic matter that is being formed.  Secondly, the sand particles smooth the putting surface by filling in the tiny voids between the leaves on the surface.

A dusting of sand is applied to the greens every two weeks.