Fairway aerification



Fairway aerification using a walking aerator.



We have been very fortunate to have the long stretch of dry weather the past few weeks.  This allowed us to complete fairway aerification before the remainder of our crew was done for the year.  It was very important for us to get that completed as we were not able to this past spring due to weather and the golf calendar.  Aeration is a practice that is done a number of reasons but for us the most important reason on our fairways is to remove organic matter.  This allows for gas exchange and for water to get into the soil.  Organic matter is the dead grass blades and roots that have not decomposed.  They can create a barrier to water and air movement.  Our Bentgrass also loves to grow horizontally and aeration helps decrease grain (the laying over of turf) by severing the leave/stem tissue.

Dragging the fairway to move the soil back into the turf canopy.

   This year our process started with aerifiying the fairway.  Most of this was done with a roller type aerifier (similar to the ones used on home lawns, only much larger) but we did use a walking unit for some smaller fairways.  After that was completed we vertical mowed the fairway.  This was done for two reasons: the first was to help break up the plug or break the soil off the thatch and second to again sever the leave/stem tissue.  Our plan is to ramp up this practice in spring and fall when the stress to the turf from heat and humidity are not present. We hope to see if we can impact the graininess of the playing surface.  We follow this with a dragging using a large piece of fence, which removes any remaining soil from the thatch.  We finish the process by blowing the thatch into the center of the fairway and cleaning it up.  









Greens recovery

The greens are recoverying and we have returned to walk mowing and are starting to lower our height of cut back down now that most of the sand is gone.  We have also fertilized greens which will help the greens to recover completely by the end of the weekend.  The down side of this is that with the rapid recover we will continue to have slower green speeds through the weekend.  We are very close to our normal height of cut but the fertilizer and hot, humid weather this weekend will really push growth especially in the afternoon.  This morning the speed was just bearly 10' after rolling.  We will continue to roll but I do not expect it to get our speeds back into our ideal speed of between 10' and 11' on the stimp until next week. 

What is that stuff?

This is Dollar Spot (turf fungus) that is been growing rapidly in rough areas.  This is the tee bank along the 16th tee box.

 

This is what Dollar Spot looks like on a fairway.  We have seen some severe disease pressure and fungicide efficacy has been shortened.

This is a picture of Brown Patch.  A number of these diseases we have seen very little of in the past few years.  This is primarily because of the quantity of pressure and the severity shortening our spraying windows/schedule.

Why are covering that green with soil?

That is a green that has been topdressed with a layer of sand and is in the process of being cored.  After the green is cored we drag the sand and cores to fill the holes in the greens back up.

These are pictures of #7 and #12 right after we received that 1.5" rainfall.

Enough with the Heat

   We have been able to complete greens aerification in spite of the 1.5" of rain we received Sunday night. We were delayed but finished up the remaining greens Monday. The 4th and 6th green were very saturated and have not cleaned up well.
   We have completed some of the tees but feel it is best if we wait to complete those until after this bad spell of weather ends. We are in the midst of a bad weather week. Temperatures are staying between 85-90 degrees, the humidity if very high and we have continued to receive additional rainfall all week.  So far the golf course is doing alright and we do have preventative fungicide applications down but with disease pressure this high the fungicides efficacy will be reduced. We have been scouting for signs of break through and have made spot applications to help us through this intense pressure.  The good news is there is a break in the weather pattern coming Sunday. 
  Unfortunately golf is played on a playing surface that is constantly changing and the weather plays a key role in that. We are going to do our best to keep it in the most playable condition we can.  That is why we have closed the course for cart use a couple of times this week.  We did not want to stress the turf out more and invite pathogens to infect the turf.  We are hopeful green speeds will return to normal next week as the greens dry out and begin to heal.

   The aerification of greens and tees was completed as scheduled and the golf course is now back to normal playing conditions.  The process that was used to aerify greens was not our usual technique.  We used solid tines that pierce a hole in the turf but do not remove any material.  This creates channels for the exchange of gases and allows air to get down to the roots.  In addition, it allows for rapid growth of roots into these spaces.  All of this helps the green to better withstand the stresses that the hot summer and traffic bring. 

   Once we had finished aerating we topdressed lightly and rolled the greens.  Normally, we would pull a core of material out a put a heavier topdressing down and brush the sand into the holes.  This helps with drainage and to dilute any buildup of organic material.  We were not able to use this method this spring due to the golf schedule but will return to this next aerification in August following the Club Championship. 

   This last week we have not done any fairway aerification due to the rainy weather.  We have received 3" of rain in the last 12 days with more on the way today.  This has also not allowed us to finish a number of projects including sodding or seeding stump removals.  It's tough working with soil when it's saturated.  Hopefully we will get a break in the weather this week so we can complete those.

  

   This rainfall has also impacted green speed and ball roll.  We typically use the greens roller to help compensate when speeds dip below our ideal range.  This is not prudent when the soils are saturated.  Damage can occur to the turf when the roller loses traction and spins causing damage to the surface.  Damage occurs to the roots when you put excessive pressure on an unstable soil.  The side pressure that happens when you roll can cause a shift in the soil that will shear roots and create a bumpy surface. This same thing happens when you drive a cart in the fairway or rough when it is overly saturated.

Green Speed and Condition

   Now that we are fully into Spring and the grass has started to grow we will be lowering the height of cut on our greens.  This should in turn start to increase our green speeds.  We like to see the greens begin to grow and have the ability to recover before we get too agressive with height.  We will also be treating the greens this week with fertilizer and bio-stimulants to stimulate growth and recovery, a wetting agent to improve water infiltration, and a plant protectant to stop fungus growth.
   Another update that I am sure will make everyone happy is we will not be performing a typical greens aerification this Spring.  Due to the late aerification last year and a large event we have scheduled the week after Memorial Day we will be solid tine aerifying the greens.  That is we will be using small tines that will simply pierce a hole in the surface and not remove any organic matter.  We will follow-up with a normal topdressing and roll the green surface.  There will be minimal impact to play.  This process will allow for the exchange of gases (aeration), stimulate root growth, and leave small channels for water to better penetrate the surface of the green.