Aeration preview

Aeration starts today. It is very common to hear the comment “just when the course was getting good, it is time to aerate and ruin it.” Well, we aren’t running the course by aerating, in fact, a large part of why the course looks good is because we aerate.

We are trying a new process this year, though, during aeration of the greens. In the past we have pulled cores- material- out of the greens during this summer aeration using a combination of solid and hollow tines. We would follow that up with a layer of sand and then drag the sand into the holes.

You can see the new brush attachment down low
behind the machine.

This year we are switching up the order, and not removing any material at all. First, we will mow the green ahead of any aeration work. Next will come the sand- prior to making any holes. Over the winter at our national turf conference, we came across a new tool that attaches to our aerating machine and brushes the sand into the holes for you as the operator aerates the green and we bought it to try at Bretton Woods. So, after the sand is applied, the aerator works the green making holes and brushing the sand into them immediately. Finally, we roll the green and cut a new cup and the process is done.

In the foreground is following the aeration and brushing
and the background is prior to the machine. One of our issues
is the sand being a little too wet to fully brush into the holes. 

So why the change? First, this is far less stressful on the turf. Solid tines do not pull on the grass and cause any upheaval, and the process is faster, so we are done before the afternoon heat sets in. Second, it is much less labor intensive. Instead of 6-8 guys working behind the aerator shoveling material into a cart, we can now work on some other aspects of our aeration program.

We tested the process on the chipping green last week and saw positive results. We have a few things still to figure out and a couple of factors that make it difficult for us, but overall, it went smoothly. Healing after summer aeration is always quite fast, and the chipping green is on, or ahead of the normal healing pace. We expect the course greens to be on par with what we have seen from the practice green.

We are also aerating fairways and tees this week. Both of those surfaces will also get solid tines only, and both will get compost as well.

Many courses have been topdressing with sand before aerating for several years, so we are not inventing the process, but after seeing the positive results that those facilities are having, we decided to give it a try. Changing the process after many successful years is hard, but we expect that this could lead to even better results.

 

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

When parking your cart at a tee or green, please keep all 4 tires on the path. See pictures below for a visual aid:

 

Also, as part of a Golf Committee initiative to improve course etiquette, we have included links to videos teaching proper on course etiquette. Please take a moment to watch:

Ball Marks - How to properly repair

Golf Cart tips

 

 

 

 

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org