Yesterday marked the start of rough aerification. Once all of the roughs are aerified, we will knock out the fairways. Once fairways are complete, the verticutter will go on this tractor and we will aggressively verticut fairways followed by sand topdressing. 250-300 tons of sand will be applied to our fairways this offseason! Our fairways get better every year and I attribute it to the following:
1. Increased sun through tree removal
2. enhanced drainage
3. cultural practices like aerification and verticutting
4. sand topdressing
5. grooming through the season 3-4x per week
6. enhanced fungicide programs
We aerify fairways to reduce soil compaction and also reduce thatch accumulation. Thatch will impede water and nutrients from moving downward. It is important to stay on top of it. We aerify greens for a different reason and that is to remove organic matter. Sand does not compact as a clay particle will. Therefore, soil compaction isn't an issue in a sand based green. After looking at the long range forecast, we will be aerifying greens (using 5/8" tines on 1.5" centers) this Monday. Sand topdressing however, will wait until next Monday when the course is closed for the season. The greens will remain somewhat puttable through the holiday weekend. The weather is going to remain on the cool side with high temperatures not getting out of the 40's.
