GREENS

GREENS AERIFICATION

I can't tell you how many times I have heard a golfer say, "Just when the greens were good, you go and wreck them by punching them full of holes and cover them in sand"!
Aerification (or coring) is a very long and hard task that I for one would be happy if it was never required. But there are many reasons why aerification must be done. I can simply say it is for the health of the turf. But more specifically it does many things. It removes thatch which naturally builds up over time and if left to increase will eventually be thick enough the roots will be growing completely in the thatch and not in soil. This would result in the death of the turf when any weather extremes such as heat, drought or ice build up happened. Thatch will also harbour insects and increases the greens susceptibility to diseases. Aerification also helps to increase the oxygen levels in the soil. The roots of the grass need oxygen just as much as you or I. In addition to these, aerification also allows for better infiltration of water and fertilizer to the roots, it reduces compaction caused by equipment and foot traffic, and it helps to level out the playing surface from ball marks and hole changing. It will also remove layering in the soil, improve the grain on the surface, and it even firms the green which will help to improve the putting and the greens ability to better stand up to ball marks.

The first step in this process is not actually punching holes! The first thing we do is send a person out to use a squeegy knocking the dew off the turf. This help reduce the time it takes for the plugs to dry. Wet plugs tend to act like mud and are messy and hard to work with. This person also removes the flag and cup, then marks all irrigation heads for the tractor operator to easily see. Then we start punching holes. We have the option of using anywhere from 1/4 inch tines up to 5/8th inch. Small tines tend to heal quicker, but do not remove as much thatch. We have used 1/2 inch tines this time out. The forward speed of the tractor dictates the spacing of the holes. Once again it would be quicker for the process and for healing if we went with further spacing, but again, that would not remove as much thatch, So, spacing is set at 1 and a half inches.

Cores are shoveled off the green surface by hand. There are core harvester machines that would save this back breaking process, but every time I have used them they dig into the putting surface leaving mechanical damage that is slow to heal. So, plastic snow shovels it is!
(By the way, a special thank you to my staff for not telling me where to go when you were asked to do this task!!)


Once the cores are off the green surface, crews shovel them up into utility vehicles and haul them away. This material is stock piled for use in other projects as the soil itself is very usable.

Both fertilizer and Bent grass seed is applied to the green.

A layer of sand, or "top dressing" is put down. If too little sand is applied, we end up with open holes, requiring us to go back and add more sand. Too much sand requires manual removal and is obviously wasteful, so having a keen eye as it is being applied is critical. The sand is left to dry so it can be worked into the holes. On the days we punched clouds slowed this process. Having too much sun and high temperatures can cause the turf to go into heat stress and die. Thus, having the adequate balance between warm and dry but not too warm and sunny is always a concern. The application of sand is the single slowest process of this day. The hopper usually empties between two to three passes, then has to be driven back to the parking lot to fill up with sand again.

Once the sand has had a chance to dry a brush is pulled over the sand knocking it into the open holes. Usually three times over in slightly different directions will fill most holes.

We then send a triplex over the green with special brushes which will pick up debris left behind from the process.

A roller is now sent out to settle out any high spots caused from the tines being pulled up and out of the ground. This also firms up the entire surface.

Now we use a tool called a Level Lawn to push any excess sand around to fill any left over holes or to remove extra sand completely off the surface.

A new hole is cut.

Water is applied to reduce the stress to the grass by adding moisture to the dry warm sand and to bring the temperature down. And finally the course is back in play. As always we struggle with course maintenance procedures and access to the course for our members. Although aeration is a painfull process I hope the vast majority of members understand it is a neccesity.