Spring Aerification

Some nice weather is finally upon us. The turf department has been taking full advantage of the sunshine and warm temperatures. On April 15/16 the greens were aerified with 1/2 inch, hollow tines at a depth of 1 inch. The spring time is a good opportunity to complete an aerification process because it can be done without interrupting play. In conjunction with pulling cores from the greens, a verticut was also done. Verticutting is a procedure in which the blades of the machine spin vertically to "slice" into the putting surface. This encourages new growth, removes excess organic matter (thatch) that lies beneath the turf. The final step in this process will be to topdress the greens with sand to fill in our aeration holes and to smooth out and any winter blemishes.

Intern Jake Martin, aerating #3 green