Greens Aerification Update

Monday (3/24) we were able to get holes 1-4 aerified.  With the night time temperatures dropping well below freezing, the greens were frozen and we were not able to get started until 1:00pm.

The aerification process on the greens is called the Graden.  This machine creates slits in the green and then fills the slit with sand.

As you can see, the machine pulls out a lot of organic material which will be recycled and used as divot mix on the range tee throughout the year.

After the piles are picked up the green is brushed and blown off.  This process should not affect playability as much as typical core aerification.

Up close picture of the sand-filled slits.

The night time temperatures on Monday night dropped to 18 degrees.  As I write this, we are patiently waiting for the greens to thaw so we can get out there again.  Lets hope the snow holds off!
  

Aerification Update 3/25/14

Does anyone else think Mother Nature is being a tease?  It seems as if the weather we had over the weekend is behind us and we are back to being stuck in the cold.  With the couple of nice days we had last week, we were able to get a jump on the aerification process.  Tees and approaches were both core aerified, plugs picked up, and blown off.  The approaches were then topdressed and the sand was brushed into the holes.  Here are a couple pictures from the process:

The idea of aerifing is to remove the "bad stuff" (thatch) and to replace is with new sand.  This will increase root growth, gas exchange, and water movement through the profile.

The crew blowing the plugs off of #16 approach. 

The plugs were blown into piles then picked up and removed.

We will begin aerifing fairways this week.  A solid tine will be used making the clean up process much faster.  Lets hope Mother Nature decides to cooperate so we can all get out and finally play some golf. 

Starting to get spring fever?

 

This winter has been a brutal one and with the snow finally melting off after a few warm days we've had a chance to continue on 15 creek. 

     Here is an update to the previous post. We have been working on the stream bed in front of 15 green and it's coming along nicely despite the weather set backs. We have added a rock wall to the drainage outlet which will improve the look of the hole.

  

 Once the weather allows us to lay sod we will do so throughout the whole stream bed down to the first hazard stakes. This will give golfers a better chance to find their golf balls without any tripping hazards and make the creek more aesthetically pleasing. Once the sod is laid we will add a few clumps of broomsedge along the bottom to complete the natural look.

I’m sure most of you are ready to get out and play some golf, and as for us we are ready to get outside and get the ball rolling for 2014.