| It improves the gas exchange ability of the soil. |
| It improves water infiltration. |
| It relieves compaction of the soil. |
| It stimulates root growth into holes. |
| It controls thatch. |
| It smoothes the putting surface. |
This is the process we use to aerify greens at Skyland. We have been using this same process 1 to 2 times a year for at least 30 years.
The weather needs to be just exactly perfect for us to aerify greens. The problem is that it is perfect golfing weather. When we aerify, we usually can do 9 holes per day. That 9 holes will be closed for roughly 8 hours so golfers are not inconvenienced by our work.
The first step is to remove thousands of 1/2 inch in diameter plugs from the green. These soil, thatch, & turf plugs need to completely dry before we can continue. This is why we need sunshine and if possible, a nice breeze, not to mention no chance of rain! Click here to see #9 green covered with plugs.
This is how a green looks after the holes have been punched into it.
After the plugs have dried, they are ground up. This separates the thatch and grass from the soil.
Sand is then applied to the surface of the green. We try to apply enough sand to fill all of the holes that we have made.
The greens are verticut (ground) once again to mix the sand and the soil together.
The next thing that we need to do is fill all the holes back up with this mixture of sand and soil. We do this by pulling a metal drag mat over the green. Don't try this at home!
If every thing has gone as planned, the majority of the debris remaining on top of the green is the thatch and grass from the plugs. This debris needs to be blown off of the green.
The greens are dragged one more time to make sure the holes are filled.
The greens are now ready to be mowed to remove any debris that is remaining on their surface.
Our greens are very smooth after we aerify. The sand and soil that is evenly distributed over the top of the green helps fill in any unevenness caused by disease, old cup setting scuff marks and improperly repaired ball marks.
This is how a green looks after the holes have been punched into it.
