It’s that time of year again! Aerification is underway at Penfield Country Club. The video above is a quick example of the process. The Greens, Fairways, and Tees will be aerified over the next two weeks. This occurs in the Spring and Fall months to assist in the management of thatch. Thatch is a layer of unwanted matter just beneath the turf. The thatch is removed by pulling plugs which can vary in size and spacing. The video above shows half-inch tines pulling plugs at two inch spacing. It takes about two 10-12 hour days to aerify all the greens. The same amount of time for tees. Fairways take a little longer…usually 4-5 days depending on weather. Not bad for 26 acres!

All golf courses have different budgets and techniques but have the same goal. Remove unwanted material and replace with desired.

The next couple weeks will be busy! Below I have included some pictures of the process. In short, the turf is aerified… then plugs are removed and new desired material (sand) is implemented. Soil amendments are applied to help boost Turfgrass health. Seed is applied in fall aerificaiton.

The image below shows the plugs dragged to the edge of the green. On our aerifier there is the turf-pride attachment which drags the pulled plugs for easy clean up. This has been great to compensate for our crew size.

Here the crew is cleaning up excess plugs and material that did not get dragged to the edge.

Topdressing occurs soon after.

Sand is brushed into the holes.

Amendments are then applied.

 

I will include the Fairway aeration in a separate blog when that day arrives!

Any questions feel free to contact me or comment below.

Thanks again! Enjoy your week!