Have you ever played a course where you felt like you needed a hammer to get your tee in the ground? Why does this happen? The answer is found in what lies beneath the grass you are playing on.

Golf course superintendents are masters at growing grass on just about any kind of soil you can think of, but they would prefer to grow their turf on a combination of sand and loam that drains easily and provides an ideal growing environment for grass roots. Unfortunately, most do not have a choice. In many parts of the world, clay soils are most prevalent and that is what courses are built on.

While predominantly clay soils can sustain turfgrass growth, they do get very hard when they begin to dry out. Clay soils are also more susceptible to compaction from the heavy traffic that most tees experience, which can lead to excessively firm conditions.

Predominantly clay soils are a challenge for superintendents to manage. There is a fine line between keeping the soil too wet or too dry during warm weather. Too much water may produce exceptional turfgrass growth but soft and wet tee surfaces prone to disease. Too little water and the surface will be firm underfoot but turfgrass growth may suffer and you might break a few tees trying to get them in the ground. 

So, how can superintendents find a happy medium between soggy tee surfaces and ones that are rock hard?

It is common in most modern golf course construction projects to use a sandy soil mixture in high-traffic areas like greens and tees. This makes for better playability and healthier grass. It is also a common maintenance practice to add sand topdressing to those same areas during aeration and throughout the growing season. Introducing sand into the soil profile will dilute the clay portion of the soil and decrease the risk of excessively firm surfaces. Aeration and topdressing also help to create smooth, level teeing grounds with better grass cover. The end result is a surface that allows you to easily get a tee in the ground, take a good solid stance and give it your best shot.