Royal Aberdeen Golf Club – Golf Course Blog

Month: April 2025

  • Indigenous Dune Sand – Analysis

    In order to establish to particle size distribution of our indigenous dune sand topdressing, we had a sample tested to establish the uniformity and amount of coarse sand, medium sand, fine sand, very fine sand and silts within the sample send from our new borrow pit site to the right of hole 7 on Balgownie Links.

    The benefits of sand topdressing are:

    Improved Smoothness – Voids exist within the turf canopy between turfgrass leaves and stems, causing inconsistent ball roll. Sand topdressing helps fill these voids to provide smoother and truer putts.

    Thatch Dilution – The layer of organic debris, stems, crowns and roots in the upper rootzone – i.e., thatch – can become concentrated and encourage mower scalping and localized dry spots. Thatch should be diluted with sand through practices like verticutting and sand topdressing to maintain good turf quality.

    Increased Firmness – Turf produces organic matter in the upper rootzone that creates soft, spongy playing conditions. Regular sand topdressing, along with core aeration, improves surface firmness and resiliency.

    Improved Rootzone – Sand drains well and resists soil compaction. The accumulation of sand from multiple topdressings over many years can improve soil physical properties.

  • Balgownie – ETL Soil Samples

    Soil samples have been taken from 6 of our indicator greens to establish a detailed analysis of our soil profile and provide us with information to plan the management and development of our surfaces. We carried out the same process in early 2024 to identify a benchmark or ‘starting point’ and will continue on a regular basis to help us understand year on year why surfaces are performing as they are.

    The year-round performance of our golf greens is pivotal to the success of our golf club.

    The soil testing service ETL provides will cover aspects such as;

    Organic Matter Content – organic matter levels are highly influential in determining the quality of our soil structure, water infiltration rates, nutrient and water holding capacities of our turf. The organic matter content in our soil profile will be measured from these core samples we are providing them with. This will give a percentage of organic matter concentration at four depths within our soil’s profile. This information gives us the levels present in our playing surface and whether there is a need to reduce organic matter to enhance the playing qualities of our greens.

    Nutrient Testing – this will Provide us with an additional insight into the condition of our sports turf and will identify the probable causes of any turf stress. These tests will indicate problem areas that are not yet apparent in the turf and can help save us time and money by identifying and dealing with these before they cause any damage to our surfaces.

    This advanced service will provide the Agronomy team with detailed data and analysis of the performance of our surfaces, which feeds directly into our management and maintenance strategies and plans⛳️🧪🌡🌱