Verticutting Really Starting to Pay Off

I know the main complaint out of our membership over the last few years has been tight lies in the fairways. I also know that this year I have heard many positive comments on the fairways providing the lies that everyone has been looking for. This has mainly been due to the aggressive verticutting program we have implemented over the last few years. 

When I took over four years ago, our height of cut in the fairways was .450". Today our height of cut is .600".  That is just a shade over an 1/8 of an inch. Not to much change really, right?  The real game changer in the lies in our fairways has been the verticutting. 

Previously we had not changed mowing directions as we should have. This got the Bermuda grass to grow in one direction and "run" along the ground as opposed to grow upright. With the use of the discs of the verticutting machine, that stops that growth habit of the Bermuda.   

Now with changing the mowing direction and our vertical mowing we are changing the way our balls lie in our Bermuda fairways. This is a process we will not be backing off of either. We are seeing the positive results so now it becomes part of our maintenance routine.  We have on the calendar to complete another aggressive verticutting in the second week of July. Please be prepared for the fairways to again react very favorably to this process.