Tee Aerification

       Over the past two weeks we have taken the opportunity given the dry weather to aerify the tee boxes.  Aerification is an important process in all turf management because it helps to add pore space to the soil profile, reduce the thatch build up which accumulates all year long, and even out the surface of the grass to make it smooth.  When we do this tee box aerification we punch half inch diameter holes in the turf and remove a plug.  Once the plugs are cleaned off the tee we topdress heavily with sand to fill the holes and improve uneven areas on the tee box surface.  The sand will be brushed into the holes to ensure the even distribution.  The last step in the aerification process is to add amendments and fertilizer to the tee boxes to enhance the nutrient levels of the soil profile.  This fertilizer also helps to speed up the recovery process by encouraging rapid growth.  Here are a few pictures to help illustrate exactly how we do the aerification:

Here is a picture showing the before and after of the aerification.  On the right side of the picture is the tee surface before being punched with holes.  The left side of the picture shows all the plugs removed sitting on top of the surface.

This close up picture shows the plugs a little better as they come out of the machine.  We will blow the plugs off the tees and pick them up behind the aerifier before topdressing with sand.  This helps to ensure the holes are open and ready for the sand to fill them up!

Here is an up close look at the"aerification tines" as they are called.  These tines are hollow at the bottom and have one side missing because the are "side-eject" tines, or shoot the little plugs of grass out the sides.  Each time the machine punches them into the grounds, the new plug pushes the rest of the material left in the tine out and onto the ground. 

Here is the view of the tee surface looking straight down after a week of recovery.  The bermuda grass is growing very rapidly right now and makes for a very short recovery.  Within 3 weeks it will be hard to see we did anything to the tees, but the benefit to the soil profile will be felt for a long time by the turf!

Looking at the tees overall it is easy to see some sand that still remains, but for only 1 week after punching holes we have seen a very quick recovery!

Removing Dead Trees

As the trees are now fully leafed out and green for the summer one thing has been easy to spot around the golf course and that is dead trees!  We have had a few large trees not green up or grow any leaves this year for some reason, so we cut them down to ensure they do not fall down unwanted and injure anyone.  This past Monday we took advantage of the golf course being closed to take down these dead trees.  I will show you in pictures some of the trees and what happened when we cut them down:

Large Red Oak on #1 was dead

Here is a look at the tree on #1 once we got it on the ground, there is not a leaf on the entire tree.  It was alive last year, but did not survive the wet winter.

Maple on hole #16 with leaves had just turned brown

Large Black Tupelo tree on #8 left side of fairway.  This was a beautiful tree in the fall, but unfortunately it is no longer with us.

This tree on #5 was a large hickory tree that died behind the green.  It looks like the bottom of the tree is still alive, but that is just a smaller tree growing directly behind it.

Here is a closer look at the bottom of the dead tree.  The large trunk is the dead tree, and the little one growing out of the bottom is still alive.  The tree company also had to be careful to not damage the storm shelter directly beneath the dead tree!

Here is what the tree looked like behind #5 green after we dropped it on the ground.  The top of the tree was so rotten that it just exploded into a million pieces once it fell.  It made it a little easier to clean up that way, but also shows the danger of how unstable those branches are when suspended in the air on a dead tree.  

Venting the Greens!

This Tuesday our staff did a process to the bentgrass putting greens which helps greatly to survive the summer stress.  We use a 1/4 inch solid tine to punch holes in the greens surface about 4 inches deep.  This process is called venting, and it greatly improves the availability of oxygen and water to infiltrate the root zone.  We typically try to vent the greens every 3-4 weeks in the summer depending on the weather.  After the holes are punched, we use our roller to smooth the green and restore a smooth putting surface.  The putting quality is minimally affected and after a few days the holes are hardly noticeable.  Venting, water management, and disease control are all critical during the hot summer months.