Fall Aerification

We have completed the aerification of the greens at both golf courses. Leslie Park was done during the week of September 8th. We just finished Huron Hills yesterday (September 24th.) Completing the process this early will really allow the greens to recover and go into the winter at full strength.

Here is a video about why we aerate.

To review the process, first we use a mechanical aerator, a Toro Procore 648.  It is self-propelled, 48 inches wide and has 30 1/2 inch tines.  The speed we use puts the tines down every 2 inches.  Here is the machine in action.

The plugs of soil, grass and thatch removed from a green.

The playing surface after removing the plugs.

After these plugs are shoveled off the green, we use a mower attachment called a verti-cutter to break up any remaining plugs, as well as groom the playing surface of the green.

The verti-cutting units mounted on a tri-plex mower.

The verti-cuts in action

This is how the green looks after the verti-cutting.

At this point, we need to replace all of the material that we just removed. We do this with sand. Sand is a great medium to grow grass because it drains well and resists compaction. The sand is spread on the greens and then drug into the holes.

The top-dresser putting sand on #12 at Leslie Park a couple of years ago. The willow behind the green fell over during a windstorm in 2012.

Leslie Park's #18 green covered with sand.

A video of #10 green being drug in.

The finished product. Notice how all of the holes are filled with sand. This is the objective.