EUSTONDALE GOLF COURSE GREENS RENOVATION

 The work was planned to support recovery and improved turf performance across the Eustondale Golf Course greens ahead of the stronger Spring and Summer growing period.

Our team aerated all ten greens using 6 mm solid tines. The process created channels through the turf surface to support the movement of air and water without extracting soil cores.

The project required specialist aeration equipment fitted with 6 mm solid tines, our Eco250 topdresser and a coordinated team capable of working efficiently across multiple greens.

Before our team arrived, greenskeeper Ron completed deep dethatching and low mowing across the greens. This prepared the turf surface for the aeration and topdressing work that followed.

Following aeration, topdressing material was applied across every green. The material was distributed over the turf surface to support recovery and assist the course’s ongoing surface-management program.

The project combined Ron’s knowledge of the course and its greens with our specialist lawn-renovation equipment and team. Working together allowed the preparation, aeration and topdressing stages to form one coordinated renovation process.

In 2026, 1st Class Lawn Care completed specialist golf-green aeration and topdressing across all ten established couch greens at Eustondale Golf Course near Toowoomba. The project was coordinated with Eustondale greenskeeper Ron as a staged turf-renovation process. Ron first completed a deep dethatch and low mow across the greens to reduce accumulated turf material and prepare the couch surfaces for the following aeration and topdressing work.

Our team then aerated each of the ten golf greens using a Ryan Lawnaire 28 fitted with 6 mm solid tines. Every green received one complete aeration pass, with the solid tines penetrating approximately 2.5 inches or 64 mm into the profile. The Ryan Lawnaire 28’s published aeration pattern is approximately 3.5 inches by 5 inches and can create up to 12 aeration holes per square foot in a single pass. Using the machine across all ten greens created a consistent network of deep, narrow openings while avoiding the extraction of soil cores.

Following aeration, approximately four cubic metres of USGA-grade sand were applied across the ten couch greens using our Eco250 topdresser. The sand was distributed using drag mats and then worked manually with levelling rakes to move material through the turf canopy and into the aeration holes. Fertiliser was applied immediately after the aeration and topdressing work, followed by irrigation to begin the recovery process. This project combined dethatching, low mowing, solid-tine aeration, USGA sand topdressing, fertilising and irrigation as one coordinated sporting-turf renovation program.

The Ryan Lawnaire 28 was fitted with 6 mm solid aeration tines for the Eustondale Golf Course project because the ten couch greens required deep soil penetration with minimal disruption to their playing surfaces. Each green received one complete pass at an approximate penetration depth of 2.5 inches or 64 mm. The machine’s published aeration pattern is approximately 3.5 inches by 5 inches, with the capacity to produce up to 12 holes per square foot during a single pass.

Unlike hollow-core aeration, the 6 mm solid tines did not extract plugs of soil from the golf greens. Instead, they entered and withdrew from the profile to form narrow aeration channels. This avoided leaving large quantities of cores across the surfaces and reduced the amount of cleanup and surface disturbance associated with hollow-tine coring. Solid-tine aeration was selected to provide minimal surface disruption and a faster healing period while still reaching deeply into the couch-green profile.

The choice between solid and hollow aeration tines should reflect the turf condition, soil profile, playing requirements and intended renovation outcome. For the Eustondale Golf Course greens, the objective was to create deep aeration openings while protecting surface presentation and allowing the greens to return to use sooner. This is why our team used the Ryan Lawnaire 28 with narrow 6 mm solid tines rather than performing a conventional hollow-core aeration treatment.

After solid-tine aeration was completed across all ten couch greens at Eustondale Golf Course, approximately four cubic metres of USGA-grade sand were applied using the 1st Class Lawn Care Eco250 topdresser. The Eco250 allowed the sand to be mechanically distributed across the greens rather than relying entirely on manual placement. Consistent distribution was important because the objective was not simply to leave sand on the turf surface, but to move it through the couch canopy and into the network of 6 mm aeration holes created by the Ryan Lawnaire 28.

Drag mats were used after topdressing to spread and level the sand across each green. Our team then used levelling rakes manually to refine the distribution, break up heavier accumulations and work the USGA sand further into the turf canopy and aeration openings. The hand-raking stage allowed greater control around the contours and individual surface variations of each golf green that could not be addressed by mechanical spreading and drag matting alone.

Once the USGA sand had been distributed and worked into the surfaces, fertiliser was applied immediately across the renovated greens. Irrigation then commenced to water the treatment into the couch turf and begin the recovery process. The complete Eustondale Golf Course program therefore combined greenskeeper preparation, deep dethatching, low mowing, 6 mm solid-tine aeration, Eco250 topdressing, drag matting, manual levelling, fertilising and irrigation across all ten greens.