The greens aeration has not been going as smoothly as I had hoped. Wouldn't you know it, during one of the driest summers on record, the day before I aerify the greens we almost 2" of rain, with more forecast for the first half of the week. Thankfully the weather men got it wrong again, but that is little comfort considering the problems we have been encountering.
There have been two main problems with the aeration thus far. First, the rain on Sunday soaked my topdressing pile and added just enough moisture to the greens to make it very difficult to clean up the cores following the aeration. Thankfully the rain that was forecast for Monday and Tuesday never arrived and we were able to get the holes punched, the cores cleaned up, and the greens top dressed. Unfortunately it has been a challenge to get the holes filled as the sand is very difficult to move across the surface and into the holes unless it is perfectly dry. Eventually we will get the holes filled in and before long they will be smooth and firm and ready for fall golf.
The second issue that we have faced is the equipment that we rely on to complete the process. Last week we took the aerifier out to make sure it was running properly. It was not. In fact it blew a gear and was leaking oil. After some not so quick repairs we had the machine running again, but the spacing cable was not working. We examined the situation and realized that an adjustment we had made last winter rendered the spacing cable useless and we would have to adjust the hole spacing with the foot pedal. Never again. Most of the greens turned out fairly well, but after a routine breakdown, the machine did not operate as smoothly. The last few greens that were aerified suffered some damage due to improper hole spacing. Instead of creating nice round holes, the machine tore the turf leaving oblong holes that are very difficult to fill. The worst greens are 3, 8 and the practice green. It will take some extra attention and a lot of TLC, but I am confident that in time we will not be able to tell the difference.
The holes that were top dressed on Monday (1, 2, 6, 9) received a heavy layer of damp sand that was very slow to dry. The forecast for that night was for scattered showers which forced me to brush the greens a bit too early. The sand at the surface seemed dry enough to work, but the soil was moist enough to prevent the topdressing from pouring into the holes. The sand bridged across the holes and now, it will be very difficult to get them filled. We will continue working on this until we are confident that the sand has filled the holes and not just covered them.
The remaining holes have been filling nicely, but it is very difficult to get the sand in between the holes to move which makes the rest of the process very challenging. We will continue to brush and verticut the greens until the holes are filled, which works best with bright sun and dry winds. Thankfully they should arrive later in the week. I will be applying a variety of fertilizers tomorrow that will speed up the recovery, and I hope to have the greens mowed sometime over the weekend. If all goes well, and I have no reason to believe it will, the greens should make significant progress over the next week to ten days and be ready for the Labor Day weekend.
I apologize for the inconvenience, but I assure you that no one at Suffield C.C. is more frustrated with this process right now than I am, and I promise that we will do everything in our power to get the greens back in pristine condition as soon as possible.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Why ruin a good thing?
A few members have been commenting that the greens are almost good enough for us to fill them full of holes. While I can appreciate their humor I can also sense their frustration with this process. It has been a long time since we have had to “ruin” the greens, and after a very difficult summer I think we will all agree that they deserve a break. There also seems to be a bit of confusion about the process this year so I thought I would take a few minutes to outline what we will be doing and why.
We will be returning to our regular core aeration program that has been completed each spring and fall since 2007, with the exception of last year when we modified our aeration program for a variety of reasons. Last fall we chose to delay the aeration until November in an effort to maximize the value of your membership during a very wet year (for a thorough explanation of this decision visit the November 10th entry of the blog archives).
Next monday we will be aerating the greens. The process involves removing ½” by 4" cores of turf and soil from the green and filling the holes with sand topdressing. While these holes may seem "big" compared to the 3/8” tines that had been used prior to 2007, the benefits are significantly greater with the larger tines. I will remind you that we used ¾” by 7" tines last fall. Now those were “BIG" holes.
The benefits of aeration are difficult to recognize because they lie beneath the surface of the green and are only truly realized when the greens survive difficult conditions, such as the last two summers. The process involves removing cores of soil and organic matter from the top 4” of the playing surface and filling the holes with sand topdressing. In the short term this enhances the exchange of gases between the soil and atmosphere, improves the infiltration rate of water into the root zone, and encourages root growth which will support the turf next summer. Over time, the sand content of the root zone increases producing firm playing surfaces that resist compaction. The sand topdressing also builds up between the holes providing a smooth, firm putting surface for the rest of the season.
Assuming the weather and equipment cooperate we should be able to complete the process in just over one day. I will be trying a slightly different approach this year which should speed the recovery, which I expect will take approximately ten days, but I am hoping for less. I am confident they will be back in fine playing condition by Labor Day.
Let’s go back to the idea that the greens are almost good enough for us to fill them full of holes. You may wonder why we choose to ruin the greens when they are in such good shape. The warm days and cool nights that have the greens in such great shape are also ideal for recovering from aeration. By scheduling in late August we are able to maximize the benefits while minimizing the recovery time. If we chose a late fall or early spring date the recovery could take two or three times as long and the benefits would be significantly diminished.
I will leave you with a few thoughts to keep in mind with respect to the process. First, I enjoy having the greens in pristine condition as much as you do. Second, this is an extremely labor intensive process that I would gladly skip, except my reputation as a superintendent is based solely on the condition of the greens. Finally, we spend countless hours second guessing each step of the process in search of an easier, less intrusive method that still achieves our goals. Over the years we have tried different dates, fertilizers, and even methods of filling the holes. After it is all said and done, you are still left with holes, sand, and frustrated golfers.
The USGA has published an excellent article that explains the benefits of aeration, and how they are realized. For more information on the subject read “Core Aeration By The Numbers”.
We will be returning to our regular core aeration program that has been completed each spring and fall since 2007, with the exception of last year when we modified our aeration program for a variety of reasons. Last fall we chose to delay the aeration until November in an effort to maximize the value of your membership during a very wet year (for a thorough explanation of this decision visit the November 10th entry of the blog archives).
Next monday we will be aerating the greens. The process involves removing ½” by 4" cores of turf and soil from the green and filling the holes with sand topdressing. While these holes may seem "big" compared to the 3/8” tines that had been used prior to 2007, the benefits are significantly greater with the larger tines. I will remind you that we used ¾” by 7" tines last fall. Now those were “BIG" holes.
The benefits of aeration are difficult to recognize because they lie beneath the surface of the green and are only truly realized when the greens survive difficult conditions, such as the last two summers. The process involves removing cores of soil and organic matter from the top 4” of the playing surface and filling the holes with sand topdressing. In the short term this enhances the exchange of gases between the soil and atmosphere, improves the infiltration rate of water into the root zone, and encourages root growth which will support the turf next summer. Over time, the sand content of the root zone increases producing firm playing surfaces that resist compaction. The sand topdressing also builds up between the holes providing a smooth, firm putting surface for the rest of the season.
Assuming the weather and equipment cooperate we should be able to complete the process in just over one day. I will be trying a slightly different approach this year which should speed the recovery, which I expect will take approximately ten days, but I am hoping for less. I am confident they will be back in fine playing condition by Labor Day.
Let’s go back to the idea that the greens are almost good enough for us to fill them full of holes. You may wonder why we choose to ruin the greens when they are in such good shape. The warm days and cool nights that have the greens in such great shape are also ideal for recovering from aeration. By scheduling in late August we are able to maximize the benefits while minimizing the recovery time. If we chose a late fall or early spring date the recovery could take two or three times as long and the benefits would be significantly diminished.
I will leave you with a few thoughts to keep in mind with respect to the process. First, I enjoy having the greens in pristine condition as much as you do. Second, this is an extremely labor intensive process that I would gladly skip, except my reputation as a superintendent is based solely on the condition of the greens. Finally, we spend countless hours second guessing each step of the process in search of an easier, less intrusive method that still achieves our goals. Over the years we have tried different dates, fertilizers, and even methods of filling the holes. After it is all said and done, you are still left with holes, sand, and frustrated golfers.
The USGA has published an excellent article that explains the benefits of aeration, and how they are realized. For more information on the subject read “Core Aeration By The Numbers”.
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