Groundskeeping Journal Issue 1 2019 | Page 45

TURF MANAGEMENT improve aeration and remove surface water. When doing the linear aerator causes very little disturbance, to the point that play can continue virtually straight away. For Chris this is an important factor when deciding when to deploy the machine because it can used close to fixture to provide maximum benefit without any risk of causing injury to players. He said: “People can use the pitches on the same day we’ve used the machine and that’s a mas-sive benefit because we don’t have to shut a pitch down for a week. It allows us to make a solid plan with the machine and work on the pitches when we want to and if an area needs to be worked on close to a fixture then we know that’s fine.” The ShockWave comes in five different models with the depth ranging from 120mm-380mm. Of-ten it is best to start at a shallower depth to relieve compaction before setting the machine to go deeper on a second run and alleviate any remaining problem areas. GroundskeepingJournal.co.uk | Sept/Oct 2019 45