Aerification. Fall Edition

You can see the growing pile of sand in the parking lot. That can only mean one thing; aerification is next week.

700 tons of sand will be worked into tees, approaches and fairways, and 100 tons of sand will be worked into greens and surrounds. It will take us all 3 days, sun up to sun down, to complete. If all goes well, by the time we open the golf course Thursday, we will have everything worked into the canopies, cleaned up and ready for play. The biggest hurdle we usually face is weather. The forecast as of now looks ideal, so we expect to be efficient. Last Fall, the heat index was well over 100 degrees, putting serious strain on the staff, the turf and equipment. We do not expect that next week.

Recovery will then be dictated by weather. Ideally, we get a rain event, once completed with aerification, to speed recovery and get the sand worked in properly. That will also dictate how quickly we can begin to safely mow surfaces again. The end of next week will be spent playing catch up with mowing rough areas, refilling thousands of divots that get swept out dragging in sand, and getting details of the property back in order.

One aspect of aerification that will not be standard is how we will treat the putting green. It’s been discussed all year that the putting green has been struggling with the excessive rain. The Greens Committee was hopeful to install internal drainage into the putting green this Fall, but because of financial decisions, it will not happen. Because of the unusually wet season, the turf on the putting green is not healthy. Living in saturated soils since mid-May, there has been a lack of gas exchange, there is very little rooting, and we’ve lost a serious amount of Bentgrass, that has been infested with Poa Annua. The health of the putting green was better last year than it was this year, strictly based on the record rainfalls we’ve experienced this summer. This is the opposite trend we want to be on. The best alternative for the short-term health of the putting green is to aerify it as many times as is physically possible this Fall. This will give it its best chances of surviving winter so we have grass to practice on next season.

It typically takes ~ 2 weeks to fully recover from our Fall aerification on the surface. We will need to wait another 1-2 weeks after that so that structurally, it can handle another aerification. We will do this as many times as possible until the ground freezes. However, this will not solve the lack of drainage in the green. It’s simply the second best option we have to promote plant health, and to survive the harsh winter season.

Again, our cultural practices provide the playing conditions we strive to provide. We’ve made great strides in all surfaces, especially the playability of our fairways. We continue to push forward with the goal of continued gains.

On another note, if you are here tonight, through Sunday night, we have set up a lighting demo on the back of the clubhouse. This will give a great ambiance to our back patios. So stop on out for a bite to eat and a cocktail, and enjoy the lights, the weather, and time with friends and family.

Mike Manthey