Every off-season we aerify fairways and then verticut fairways (in that order) before topdressing them with sand. In a given year, the whole process takes about a month and the goal is to be finished by Christmas. This year, the weather has thrown a number of curve balls (starting with 15" of snow on December 8th) and changed the plan on us. On 12 fairway, the aerification plugs sat on the fairway for well over a month before we were able to clean them up today. The result was a polka-dotted fairway with dark green speckles where the turf was covered with an aerification plugs! While this will cause no harm, it is a bizarre look and shows what the benefits of using covers are on turf!
This is the turf vacuum we use to clean up the fairways.
Below, pink snow mold (a fungus) is working in some of our roughs. Tomorrow, we will make the 2nd preventative fungicide application to greens and will spot treat roughs where necessary. Apart from greens, turf is quick to grow out of this fungal damage in the spring. Greens, tees and fairways to a degree are treated on a preventative basis while roughs remain treated on a curative basis.
