Aerification

Greens aerifcation was finished this week. Due to starting later than normal in the year, the busy golfing schedule became an obstacle and we needed three days to complete the process. The crew hustled and knocked off the last 5 greens before 9:00 on Wednesday morning.

Everything went smoothly after a little hiccup first thing Monday. The drive belt decided to let loose on the first green slowing our start but after that was fixed it was off to the races.

The great thing about the graden machine is the amount of material removed from the green and the sand immediately filling the slits which keeps the greens dramatically firmer than hollow tine treatments. This eliminates having to drive heavy topdressing machines over open holes, creating ruts and closing many of holes before they are filled.  Compared to typical hollow tine aerification the Graden pulls about 30 tons of sand and thatch from the green to 10 tons.

Bentgrass is a prolific thatch producer and if not properly managed can lead to many issues including puffy soft greens, weak shortened roots, waterlogged greens which can lead to scalping, disease, and black algae.

Aerification is a NECESSARY evil.

With the weather cooperating, the later start may have a positive result towards healing. Compared to last years cold start, the soil 2" under the greens is already at 65 degrees. This was taken Friday with a pogo monitor on 4 different greens. Enormous change from last year when I had low 50's temps the week before Memorial Day.

Even Tim was giving us a helping hand to finish quickly! Thanks Tim

Long lines of thatch and sand - buckets of dry sand to fill the machine

OOPS

From time to time the material can get caught up under the machine and rip out a 2-3 row section. This has happened every year we have used the Graden. With all the material piling up behind the machine it usually takes a few feet before noticing. To fix this damage, we used strips from the practice greens to replace the  missing pieces. Just like a small piece of sod, in a few weeks it will be rooting and heal right up.

The Graden uses 2mm wide star shaped blades to slice through the thatch. Kiln dried sand is loaded in the machine and drops down into v-shaped tubes that fill the slit.