Thatch, Thatch and more Thatch

The bentgrass cultivars make for excellent golfing surfaces especially greens but have a drawback with being prolific thatch producers. Managing this layer is extremely important as bentgrass can create a .5" of thatch every season. This will lead to serious problems such as poor oxygen and water infiltration, frequent wilt from shortened root systems, and eventually black layer. Black layer is a mass of decomposing thatch and organic material that is completely oxygen deprived and will quickly lead to surface death if not corrected.  The dense thatch holds moisture at the surface causing the roots to shrink as there is no need dive in search of water. With excess rainfall this year punching the greens and tees more often was necessary to allow a path for roots to follow but more importantly, introducing oxygen below.

The tees have been cored twice this fall to aggressively attack this layer. To keep the tees looking healthy and improve recovery throughout the season increased amounts of nitrogen are applied but with the downside of producing more thatch. We will attack this layer early next year as well with two aerifications in the spring.