Aeration Recap

It has been 6 days since the greens were punched and I am quite pleased with the recovery so far.  Our fertilizer applications prior to aeration were crucial as they provided a nice kick of nitrogen to jump start the greens and get them actively growing to ensure the recovery time is as short as possible.  

Aeration week didn't look promising to start with over an inch of rainfall on Monday, but the hardworking Turf Care Team continued to carry on in the miserable conditions and accomplished many of the tasks that we had planned for later in the week.  We were able to go at the greens full speed on Tuesday morning and never looked back!  I've got to admit, the crew was operating like a well-oiled machine and made incredible progress.  Many of them worked between 10-14 hours that day to help us get back on track following the wet Monday.

Our aeration contractor, Farm-Tek, was also on hand to begin topdressing the fairways and rough and completed 11 holes during the wet weather.  It's amazing how efficiently their crew applies what seemed like endless truckloads of sand to the property.  Expect to find some "sandy lies" in the rough over the next couple weeks as it settles into the turf canopy.  Afterall, Farm-Tek did apply over 1200 tonnes of sand and the majority of it was designated for the rough.

Rather than bore you with technical explanations of each step of the aeration process, here are some photos that illustrate just how much goes into our most important cultural practice:

core aerating the green

shoveling the cores into rows to be harvested

harvesting the cores

cores piled into low areas to be leveled and seeded

resulting holes ready for gypsum and topdressing

applying gypsum to help improve clay soils

heavy topdressing applied

topdressed and drying for matting

matting topdressing into open aeration holes

blowing sand across green to help fill open holes

smoothing out any aeration ruts with rollers

receiving a well deserved drink after a long day

finished product

6 days after aeration...recovering nicely

So, as you can see this is a long and tedious process that relies much on nice dry weather and the right equipment.  Inclement weather and/or equipment failure can result in significant delays and really effect the overall success of the aeration process.  Luckily, other than the wet Monday, the weather the rest of the week cooperated and we were able to reopen as scheduled first thing Friday morning.

Do you want to know what's the best part about the late-August aeration?  WE DON'T HAVE TO DO IT AGAIN UNTIL NEXT SPRING!!!

Why aerate?

Yes, it's that time of year to use the "A word"....aerate.  Aeration week kicks off for us next Monday morning when we will begin aerating greens, tees, approaches and high-traffic areas.  We are well aware that this necessary evil is not popular with golfers; how could it be?  We often hear, "The greens are rolling so well right now, why are we going to ruin them by punching holes everywhere?"  Ruin them?  Quite the contrary actually.  Without core aerating our greens at least twice a season, they would be an absolute disaster.  It wouldn't take long for the thatch build up to soar to detrimental levels.  Excessive thatch build up retains water at the surface causing the greens to become soft and spongy.  It also creates a virtually impenetrable layer that makes it extremely difficult for oxygen, water, nutrients and control products to the reach the target area - the roots.  Before long, our greens would be overcome with disease and there would be large voids of turf as the disease spreads and kills the grass.  Let's just say, it wouldn't be pretty.

Here is a short video clip put together by the USGA Green Section Record that further explains why aeration is necessary:

click on image for video