Golf Courses -
Aerification
It’s a perfect, sunny
morning and you’ve just reached the first green in regulation. You feel
great and you know you’re within birdie range. Then, you see them, those
little holes in the green. Arrggh! They’ve just aerified the course, and
it’s going to ruin your round, right?
Well, maybe not. Consider the fact that PGA Tour legend Tom Watson shot
a sizzling record 58 at his then-home course, Kansas City Country Club,
just days after the greens had been aerified.
Consider also that aerification is merely a short-term disruption that
has long-term benefits for the course.
When you see them, remember that without those little holes, the greens
would eventually die.
Preventative maintenance is an integral part of successful golf course
management. Golfers view aerification as an inconvenience that takes the
greens out of play for a day, pulling cores from the greens and leaving
holes that can affect putting for many days before healing. To add
insult to injury, aerification is best done in many part of the country
during mid-summer, at the height of the playing season and when most
greens are in prime condition.
But a golfer needs to understand how important aerification is to
producing healthy turf.
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.
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 3/16-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, the traffic from golfers’ feet (as well as mowing equipment)
tends to compact the soil under the putting green – particularly when
the soil contains a lot of clay. 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.
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 (those plugs
you sometimes see near a green or in fairways) 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.
Older greens often are constructed of soils with significant amounts of
silt, clay and fine organic particles that are prone to compaction.
Filling aerification holes with sand improves drainage and resists
compaction. The periodic introduction of sand to a green’s top layer can
over time, avoid or postpone expensive rebuilding or renovation of
greens.
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. Topdressing with sand can
prevent thatch buildup, and aerification is one of the best ways to
reduce an existing layer and prevent an excess of thatch from becoming
established.
Other aerification techniques use machines with “tines” or knives that
simply poke holes through the soil profile. A new technique even uses
ultra high-pressure water that’s injected through the soil profile to
create small holes that relieve some compaction but heal quickly.
There are many types of aerifying machines with different attachments
that address different problems in the various stages of the life of a
green. So the next time you’re ready to scream when the aerifiers are
brought on the course, remember that a little preventative maintenance
produces the best greens over the long haul.
The bottom line is that aerification is a necessary practice. But before
you curse the superintendent for ruining your day, just think of Tom
Watson.
From:
http://golf.about.com/od/golfcourses/a/aerification.htm
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