Wednesday, October 12, 2011

AERATION






We are aerating greens this week. We appreciate your cooperation as we carry out this vital cultural practice.

Without bogging you down with the details, greens aeration is one of the most important things we do to provide excellent playing conditions throughout the season.  We take many steps to customize our aeration practices to best benefit our greens and our guests.  We test the physical properties of our greens prior to aeration.  This information tells us how compacted the greens are, how much organic material has built up from root development and thatch accumulation, percolation rates, and many other physical variables that determine the health of our putting greens.

This season we determined that we could use a 1/4" aeration tine on very close spacing and pull a core.  This allows us to displace organic material, reduce thatch, as well as reducing the compaction.  This practice fits our current situation and also has the least amount of impact on the playability of the putting surface.