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“Every millimetre counts, especially on a golf course.”
Golfers judge a course by the quality of its greens. A bump, a spongy or uneven green, or dead turf? They will spot any issues right away. At the Brasschaat Open Golf & Country Club, four greenskeepers work tirelessly day in day out to keep the turf on the 30-hectare golf course in pristine condition. Head greenskeeper Stigg Eynatten relies on Vredo’s overseeder for this.
“The condition of the turf is the most important aspect of a golf course,” Stigg Eynatten explains. “Ultimately, that is what matters most to our members. The greens in particular have to be impeccable. When the turf is uneven, the ball doesn’t roll as it should. And at the end of the day, that is what golf is all about.”
During the season, his team mows the greens of the award-winning 9-hole course daily. The mowing height changes depending on the area: 3.5 mm for the greens, 13 mm for the fairways and higher for the roughs. Precision is everything. “The ball has to roll on the green like a marble on a flat stone”, Stigg says with a laugh.
But there is more to perfect turf than mowing. “By overseeding, you create dense, healthy turf. We do this three to four times a year on the greens, especially after winter. But we also refresh the turf during the season.”
“Most machines simply spread the seeds on the turf”, Stigg says. “But Vredo’s machines employ a different method. The sharp double-discs cut a slit into the turf, depositing the seeds into the soil. This promotes germination and requires fewer seeds. We do one pass with our grass roller and then play can continue. This is really important. You want to minimise any disruptions to play as much as possible.”
Vredo’s overseeders are not just used on the greens. The tees, fairways and roughs are also regularly seeded. “We use this machine everywhere”, Stigg explains. “We want to maintain a dense stand of turf on the entire course. The stronger and denser the grass, the more resilient it will be in variable weather conditions and under intensive use.”
Overseeding is not just interesting for golf courses. Football pitches, campsites, city parks and gardens also benefit from more resilient grass which remains greener for longer.
Dutch company Vredo has been building overseeders for professional lawn maintenance in a wide range of sizes for more than 50 years. Design, production and testing are done in-house. The compact Turf Buddy is ideally suited to smaller areas, whereas the Compact series, with working widths of up to 2.5 metres, is designed for deployment on larger pitches by professional users.
