We've been back to Sittingbourne and Milton Regis Golf Club to rectify a pan layer caused by permafrost on nine of the eighteen greens.

Head Greenkeeper David Horne, who was one of the first turf managers to use the terralift machine when it arrived in the country in 1987, says that the frost affecting his older clay lined push-up greens was about 7 to 8 inches below the surface.

Speaking of the frost pan layer, David told us, “Once the thaw starts the surface softens but if you insert an 8 inch screwdriver into the turf it hits a frosted pan which isn’t going to let water permeate through. You’ve got to find something that will get through it.”

Looking out of the window now, there is little by the way of a reminder that only a couple of months ago, most of the United Kingdom has been brought to a standstill by severe winter conditions: a blanket of deep snow and ice covered the countryside and as a result, public parks and sports pitches became unplayable.

Turf professionals, despite now having the sun on their backs, will still be working their magic on the rootzone to repair the ravages of the big freeze.

Most turf compaction problems are caused by man or beast walking or playing on the grass. However, sometimes there are other recreation activities that lead to severely compacted surfaces.

"In 1987, for the first time in their lives [the greens], I put the Vertidrain through the greens this was after the October hurricane. I used 1” tines at full depth (14”) and the soil just smeared, there was no chance to ‘shatter and fracture’ to create some structure."

Golf Consultant, Kevin Munt was the course manager at the Wentworth Club in the late 1980s and is describing on his blog, the challenge of breaking through a deep pan layer on the greens on the famous West 'Burma Road' Course - these conditions existed for him, those who preceded him and those who subsequently took over until present day.

Today, using our technology, any putting green, football pitch, bowling rink or indeed any natural grass playing surface, can benefit from treatment at depths that conventional specialist equipment cannot achieve.

The heavy rain which followed the late summer dry spell has helped to highlight compacted ground and potential drainage problems on golf courses throughout the UK.

It has meant a bust time for us as we travel extensively throughout the United Kingdom as turf managers call in our services.

Back in the days before irrigation became commonplace on golf course, clay was used to provide an impermeable barrier to retain water for the grass roots.

We have the machinery and we will travel to most of mainland Europe to assist turf and tree care professionals with the aeration of compacted soil on sports surfaces, including rugby and football pitches, golf courses, tennis courts and bowling greens.

We can also treat the root-zone areas of fruit orchards and vineyards to a depth of one metre by injecting compressed air under high pressure to break up soil pans or to relieve poor drainage.

If you would like more details then please email us

The Met Office say that the UK is on course for a possible heatwave with a hot and dry summer saying that it will be "warmer than average temperatures and near or below-average rainfall."

The topic of climate change is constantly in the news as water becomes scarce. It is time for every gardener and lawn owner, groundsman or greenkeeper should start planning an alternative strategy than just pump unnecessary amounts of water into the ground.

We will be despatching a team into South Wales in the week beginning 4th May 2009.

If you have a need for our de-compaction service treating turf or tree roots with compressed air to a depth of one metre then please email us asap.

The winter is a difficult time for any business but it is especially difficult for any sports related business that utilises natural grass on which participants play.

Golf is a popular all year round pastime with all clubs becoming under increased pressure to maintain its greens to a high playable standard with many members showing little understanding of the challenges a greenkeeper and his staff face on a day to day basis, in order to achieve what are at times undeliverable targets.

Waterlogged green are a common problem, especially on older golf courses that were often constructed without any form of drainage systems to take water from saturated the soil structure.