Time to verticut and sand the approaches!

Every other Monday we verticut and lightly sand our greens to prevent excessive thatch build up and keep the putting surface smooth and firm. Today we are doing the same process on the green approaches. The approach is the area just short of the green and it's mowed at the same height of cut as the tees. The approaches need to be firm so when a shot is hit short of a green the ball will bounce up on to the green.

These are the verticut units mounted to a triplex greens mower. There are vertical blades that are set about 1/4" below the surface of the turf that dig up excessive grass and thatch. It's kind of like thinning out a big bushy head of hair.
This is what the turf looks like after the verticutter has gone over the surface. We mow up as much as we can, then blow off the excess.

Once the area is blown off, the sand is applied and then drug in with our new brush, the Sweep -N-Fill III. Today it's pouring rain and the surface is wet so we have to blow off some sand and grass left behind. With dry conditions, the brush works like a champ and we're done.

We are making an extra effort this year to stay on top of verticutting and sanding the approaches. The firmer we keep the approaches, the better chance you'll have of landing short of the green and bouncing your shot up close to that front hole location.