7/11/2011 6:07 PM
From my experience (on bentgrass greens ) they are great!! The best way I have found to clean up the thatch removed is to simply make " winnrows" with lutes as the machine(s) work, later having a cart drive on the green with a couple of guys shoveling the rows into the back. They must have kiln dried sand to inject the sand properly without clogging. It is a bit of a hassle keeping the machine(s) full of sand but well worth the results. We also demoed a PTO driven version which would eliminate 5 or 6 men from our operation. It would make one or two passes then dump into the back of a cart. You must fill the sand every one or two passes as well. Much wider than the walk behind models and much more efficient. I was told it would only cost $.01/sq ft extra. No brainer but our greens didn't have a good root structure being that we 5/8 inch cored them just before these machines were used so the machine was ripping up turf. We had to stop the operation and continue with the walk behinds. The contractor had never used the machine either which had a lot to do with the destruction of turf. He said he needed more time on the new tractor and implement. I told him to get it dialed in and we would definitely use that route the next time. I have pics somewhere if I can find them... The contractors brought two machines by the way.
The lines formed will take more time to heal than a core aerification, but the ball roll and firmness is good almost immediately.
I think Graden's website has a formula to figure out the amount of surface area effected if you need it.