Plowing fairways

Aerification is often explained in terms of agricultural crops which are plowed between seasons. This brings essential nutrients up to the surface, tills in organic material, and loosens the soil to improve seeding, rooting, and drainage.  Obviously, greens cannot be plowed at any time, so aerification is the substitute.

Last week, we used our rototiller in some bare spots in the fairways, essentially plowing the surface.  This looks like an aggressive approach, but it is the fastest way to improve a perennial bare spot to good, playable turf.  The rototiller breaks up the dead thatch mat thats covers the surface and mixes the organic matter throughout a six inch deep seeding bed.  We mix in some ryegrass seed and six days later we have some seedlings popping up.

The locations we targeted for this work are mainly at the edge of fairways below the canopy of adjacent trees.  The bermuda population is low and always will be, so ryegrass is a decent substitute.  To give the new turf the best chance to survive, we rototill the soil, trim tree branches that block irrigation, and amend the soil with proper fertility.

You may notice some white flags lining these areas to encourage cart traffic to avoid the new seeds.  The flags are highly visible and save us time and money compared to using rope and stakes.  All the rototilled areas are marked ground under repair, so please take a free drop while the new surface matures.