Green Aeration Update

This year we performed the spring core aeration on April 16th and 17th which at the time looked like a great slot on the calendar for a speedy recovery.  While it has been cooler than normal for much of the time since we aerated (until today), I can't honestly say that it caused us any trouble.  However, as I write this update I am extremely frustrated by the fact that we are still struggling to get the turf to heal completely and have the ball roll perfectly.  We are getting great vertical growth (too much actually).   Root growth is excellent as well.  However, lateral growth has been very slow and stubborn thus leaving many holes still visible.  We made an extra push this spring to get every hole completely full of sand following aeration.  I was pleased with our result and was confident that would lead to a quick recovery.  We used a coarser sand than we typically use based on results from last year's lab reports on our soil.  I believe that this switch, while better for the green, has been somewhat responsible for the less than ideal ball roll.  We will continue to do all that we can do to get the "pool table"-type smoothness.  It WILL happen I promise and we will continue to find ways to perfect the process of aeration to get the most benefit for our greens with the least amount of disruption to you.     

Aerate Great - GCI - Golf Course Industry