![]() Whatever method used, it’s the Greenkeeper’s choice. Plus, I like it hot! Sand goes in easier and grass heals faster. This is followed the next day with a ½ inch core tine 2 by 2. ![]() First, with an 8-inch long solid spike, relieving compaction at a much deeper level, allowing my water to carry sodium out of the soil profile. You may think that’s only one time a year, but I have been known to aerify twice in 2 days. We capitalized on a slower time of the year and picked up other courses’ golfers from the typical spring and fall aerification seasons. This brings us to why when you look on the website, my course, Hidden Valley in Norco, is the only red flag the first week of July. The actual process of aerifying a green is not, on its own, very costly, but the closure of the course and loss of customers during the week following has a larger cost impact. Hollow core tine or a small solid spike or needle tine, this is not very disruptive to play and the putting green is returned to normalcy within a few days, this can be done as much as once a month. You will find most superintendents will also aerify the greens with a much smaller The Machine ![]() This would most commonly be done 2 times a year or 3 times per year as the greens mature. Another great benefit is the removal of thatch, that spongy feeling layer on the surface of the green that turns a birdie putt into a bogey. Like you, the healthier the green is the less prone to disease it is. One of the biggest benefits would be the reduction of compaction, allowing the roots to penetrate deeper, reducing the summer stress, and increasing the grass’ defense against disease. This sand filled hole allows water to flow freely carrying nutrients down to the roots as needed. This would be followed by a heavy application of sand. The most common technique used to aerify a golf green would be a ½ inch or 5/8 inch hollow core tine on a 2 by 2 pattern, meaning that every 2 inches you have a hole. If aerification is never performed, over time the roots will eventually be choked-out, unable to breathe, and will begin to thin out and die. Maintaining this proportion of soil/water/air allows the grass to be at it’s best, especially with the low height of cuts used when mowing the surface. Please remember we are maintaining a living, breathing thing. As every day goes by, through normal maintenance practices and foot traffic from golfers, the soil becomes more compacted leaving it harder for water and nutrients to reach the roots. A few days after aerification, when the green has healed returning to a normal surface, the green reaches this ideal proportion. An ideal soil profile should contain 50 % soil, 25% water, and 25% air. While heavily sanded, sometimes bumpy, slow greens after aerification are definitely not a golfers’ dream, but it probably is one of the most important things that my maintenance staff performs. ![]() With golf greens and other areas around the course, routine aerification is done more as a preventative measure to maintain the health of the greens and other areas. It is sound advice to anyone who has a lawn, sports field, or golf course with a wet spot, dry spot, compacted soil, just about any area that isn’t doing very well, to use aerification as the first and probably the best solution to fix the problem area. There are several ways to conduct the process, from using the smallest needle tines to iron spikes 16 inches long by 1-inch diameter. Like topdressing, Aerification is a necessary evil to maintain a healthy green. Perfect! Well, only if you are a golf green. (Thank Goodness for !)įor the Golf Course Superintendent or Greenkeeper it’s a good thing - relieving compaction, removing thatch, and amending the soil. It’s everyone’s favorite time of the golf season.įor the Golfer, it can be a nightmare paying good money only to find out no one told you the course was recently maintained. If you like this or any other article here on be sure to “share it” with the buttons below! I am Iain Sturge, golf course superintendent
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