Aeration Update

We had a busy week with greens aeration and for the most part things went very smoothly.  It took two full days for us to get the sand down, the holes punched, the sand brushed, and then the greens rolled.  Then we had the Soil Relievers arrive on Wednesday to punch the deep holes.  Ideally that would have happened on Monday and we would have followed it, but we couldn't make that work with the contractor's schedule and our golf calendar.  In any case all went well and the healing process has begun.  Rain Thursday and today have kept us from doing any follow up topdressing, but we've rolled a few more times and things should bounce back soon.  Below are some pictures of the process and aftermath...

Monday and Tuesday sand was applied and then Tim aerated with our machine to a depth of about 3".  The holes were 1/2" in diameter and they are about 2" apart.   We then brush the sand into the holes, roll the green, and water

Wednesday the Soil Reliever puts a much deeper hole in the ground to alleviate any compaction below the reach of our machines.  The 1/2" holes are about 9" deep and 3" apart.  Roots grow much better and deeper following this step.  

We brush and roll more following the Soil Reliever and the end result looks like this.  It's tough to fill the deep holes with sand as they are so far apart and very deep.  They should close up fairly soon with the wet and warm weather.