The Innovative Way
All superintendents know the feeling. It’s a lot like smashing your head against a brick wall and then sticking your hand in a fairway mower just for good measure.
We're talking repairing pitch marks. It seems no matter how many times golfers are told to repair them they either don’t or do it in such a way that they leave a bigger mark than what already existed. It's a never-ending battle.
Now, however, a group of NSW boffins have devised a rather crafty device called the Lobz Machine that will no doubt find gainful employment at a number of golf courses.
Over the past six years the syndicate, headed by NSW superintendent Robert Ashes, has designed and constructed the device.
"We wanted to look for better ways to repair pitch marks and create a device that was the turf manager's preferred method of repairing them," says Ashes.
"Existing repairers lift the turf and provide a good level putting surface, but they don't do much for actual turf repair."
The Lobz Machine works by aerating a neglected or fresh pitch mark in one swift downward thrust. The resulting core is closed by blades slicing the surrounding turf while filling the void with living grass and viable root material. The action is completed in seconds.
"It took a bit of money and we had a few prototypes, but now it is ready to hit the market," says Ashes.
"It’s not the cheapest gadget in town but it's cost effective, quick and easy to use and helps keeps greens in pristine condition."
The Lobz Machine, patented in Australia, has been extensively trailed in a controlled test lasting 28 days on a putting surface of Penncross bentgrass contaminated with 30 per cent Poa annua.
Six comparative test areas were set up. Areas 1 and 4 were set as control areas with all pitch marks left alone to recover naturally, while in Areas 2 and 5 the Lobz Machine was used to repair pitch marks. In Area 3 course staff repaired pitch marks using conventional methods, and in Area 6 pitch marks were repaired with the American-made Greenskeeper tool.
A scale of one to five was used where a scar on the line of a putt obviously in need of repair scored one, and a mark that the most critical professional would not hesitate to putt over scored five.
After 28 days, 97 per cent of the original pitch marks repaired by the Lobz Machine were no longer visible, compared with 90 per cent of those repaired by the course staff, a 42 per cent recovery rate for the untouched control sections and a 31 per cent recovery rate for repairs made with the Greenskeeper tool.
Syngenta recognises our innovative superintendents and is proud to present Robert Ashes with a $150 AGCSA book voucher.
If you have, through necessity, devised or created a tool/piece of machinery/gadget or made alterations to an existing piece of machinery or workplace tool to make the job easier, then we want to know about it! Call or email Brett Robinson at the AGCSA (03) 9548 8600 or brett@agcsa.com.au