Green Aerification

As I usually say, our green aerification is one of the most important days of the year.  This is one of few opportunities to open up the surface, remove some thatch, and add some important nutrients to the soil.  The drainage is improved, the roots are given some room to travel downward, and oxygen is delivered to the plant and microbes in the soil.

 Our process uses a smaller size tine, 3/8 of an inch with very close spacing, meaning many small holes instead of a few big ones.  The greens can sometimes lift up during using this technique when the root structure is not very good.  Our first go around with this setup was October 2012 and the greens heaved up nearly 4 inches.  The crew thought I had ruined the greens, but they can be rolled and pressed back down.  This year, there was no heaving at all, indicating better soil structure and increased rooting.


For an early start, Izzo and I came in on Sunday night to get a couple of greens punched before a grueling Monday.  In the photo to the left, you can see some very long shadows and Izzo enjoying the cool comfort of freshly pulled plugs.  This saved a few hours of labor and allowed us to finish the entire course by 3:30 PM, our earliest finish ever with next to zero overtime.  The crew would have liked the overtime, but they seemed happy to put the shovels away at the same time.

The key to the sanding process is to make sure that all the holes are "capped" with sand.  Many players feel that we put too much sand on the greens, but the cardinal sin is applying too little sand.  If we leave the surface clean and green, the dimples that are here this week will last for well over a month.  Be patient and the turf will grow through the sand and return to a smooth and firm surface.

You can expect healing to take just under two weeks.  The greens are being watered nightly at this time to help the sand work into the holes and to encourage the healing process.  The softness makes them susceptible to big ballmarks, which are YOUR responsibility to repair.  We always have trouble with players ignoring this task because, "the greens are all torn up anyway."  They will heal faster if you fix the damage caused by your ball.  Please help me help you.