The aeration of greens, tees, approaches, fairways and cart path ends is very close to completion. The greens and tees were aerated 2 weeks ago and have fully recovered from the process. We have 3 fairways left to aerate and we will be done with this important spring cultural practice. The weather over the last few weeks has been challenging in getting the fairways completed as we lost numerous days to rain but we will wrap up fairway aeration this week.
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| #5 fairway being aerated |
Aerating these areas is a huge task and one that is vitally important in promoting healthy turf. It allows gas and water exchange to the root zone, relieves soil compaction and removes thatch. Thatch is the dead and dying organic matter that if allowed to accumulate can cause many issues. Thatch can tie up water, nutrient and chemical applications preventing them from getting down into the root zone of the plant. Excessive thatch can also "cap" or seal off the gas exchange between the root zone and the atmosphere allowing toxic levels of gases to build up in the root zone and potentially reduce plant health.
The benefits of aeration are numerous and it is one practice that allows us to nurse the turf through the summer stress period. We understand that it is disruptive to play but the short term inconvenience provides long term benefits in providing good playing conditions throughout the season.
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| #4 green 13 days after aeration. Hard to tell it had been done! |
So the next time you see that holes have been punched in a playing surface, please consider the below ground benefits it is providing to the turf. A few weeks of inconvenience now provides 3-4 months of solid playing conditions during the season. That is not such a bad deal, is it?
Get out and enjoy the course as conditions are very good currently and the weather has been fantastic, except for the rain days!
