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”.