Fall 2013 Greens Aerification in the Books!

It has been exactly twenty-one days since we core aerified and sanded our greens.  I wanted to share the following sequence of photos, showing the healing process.  Each photo was taken at 10 day intervals, beginning on the day that we aerified the greens.  Notice the progression of the holes getting smaller and the sand working itself into the turf canopy as time passes.

September 24th- day of aerification

October 4th- 10 days later.

October 14th- 20 days later.

One of the most important things that we do during the aerification process is add sand to the putting surface.  This accomplishes a few fundamental things:

• Dillutes thatch buildup.  If left unchecked, thatch can cause the green to become spongy and prone to disease and weeds.
• Firms up putting surface.  This enhances ball roll and reduces pitting from balls landing on the green.
• Smooths out the putting surface.  The addition of sand smooths out the low spots for a truer ball roll.

Last winter on a hunch, we took a hard look at our sand source and found through professional lab testing, that the quality control on our existing sand source had declined below our standards and had ratios of silt and clay that were much too high.  Silt and clay are not ideal additions to a greens profile as these are tiny particles that can clog up pore space, reducing water infiltration rates and gas exchange capabilities (oxygen).  After a lot of testing and research, we were fortunate enough to find another pit in the area that produced a exemplary sand that was compatible with the existing sand in our greens profile.  

This fall was the first time we had used the new sand source in the aerification process and we immediately noticed a significant difference with how easy the sand fell into the holes and worked itself into the profile.  There was not as much "bridging" of sand across the holes which meant we were able to add more sand than ever before to the greens profile.  The sand was not as sticky (less silt and clay), so it was much easier to work it into the canopy which promoted faster healing time and less wear and tear on our mower blades.  

To summarize, the new sand made everyone happy.  The agronomy crew did not have to work as hard to get the sand into the profile, our mechanic did not have to work as hard to keep the mower reels sharp and our membership got to putt on grass rather than sand sooner than past aerifications!