Stonebridge Ranch Country Club-Hills Course: March 2013

Greens aerification took place this past Tuesday. Aerification achieves three important objectives. It relieves soil compaction, it provides a method to improve the soil mixture around the highest part of a green's roots and it reduces or prevents the accumulation of excess thatch. Aerification is a mechanical process that creates more air space in the soil and promotes deeper rooting, thus helping the grass plants stay healthy. In most cases, it's done by removing ½-inch cores from the compacted soil, allowing for an infusion of air and water that brings a resurgence of growth. The spaces are then filled with sand "topdressing" that helps the soil retain air space and makes it easier for roots to grow downward. Like so many things, the quality of a good putting green is more than skin deep. In fact, the condition of a green has a lot to do with what goes on below the surface. In order for grass to grow at 1/8-inch, it must have deep, healthy roots. Good roots demand oxygen. In good soil, they get the oxygen from tiny pockets of air trapped between soil and sand particles. Over time, traffic from golfers' feet (as well as mowing equipment) will compact the soil under the putting green. When soil becomes compacted, the air pockets on which the roots depend are crushed, and the roots are essentially left gasping for air. Without oxygen, the grass plants become weaker and will eventually wither and die. Finally, growing of turf adds to a layer of organic matter on the surface. This layer, called thatch, is an accumulation of dead stems, leaves and roots. A little organic matters makes for a resilient green, but too much invites diseases and insects. Aerification is one of the best ways to reduce an existing layer and prevent an excess of thatch from becoming established. It is important to remember that aerification is merely a short-term disruption that has long-term benefits for the course.

The most frequently asked question is "Why do we choose to aerify greens when the are looking and playing the best?" Well the answer to that is, we want to aerify at this time because we want the greens in there ideal condition and as healthy as possible to be able to not only handle the mechanical and personnel traffic but to also be able to recover at a much faster rate so the greens are back to a 100% as soon as possible.

With the pictures I have attached you can see the process and steps we went threw on this aerification. We start by aerifying and all the cores are pulled to the edge of the greens and then picked up and hauled away. We then blow off the surface as well as try and open all the holes in the process. We do this so that we are removing as much old matter and also be able to add as much new material back into the profile as possible. We then put down our soil ammendmants top dress with USGA spec sand and brush it all in together and down into the holes. We then apply our nitrogen source and water it all into the profile.

We got some well needed rain Saturday evening into Sunday morning, 2.5 inches to be exact. It is good to get these rains but when it's hard and fast we have to do some cleanup. As seen in photos the hard rains bring the thatch to the surface and it begins to move across the fairways and roughs. As the rain slows and stops this thatch will dry in these rows. We will break this thatch and old clippings up with the fairway mowers then we will blow them off. It's a slow process but when you get these rains in the winter and the grass is dormant there is a much worse thatch build up on the surface and its a lot more noticeable.

We will be clearing the drains as well. The thatch will collect and stop the water from draining properly on these drain tiles. (As seen in photos)