Why We Aerify

 We Aerify Because... Saturday, March 15, 2014       We are getting close to Spring, and the overwhelming urge to crush a little white ball is boiling in our veins. Great drive, unreal second shot onto the green, and then SHOOT!!! “They have punched the greens!”  Hopefully that is not how you discover aerification every year, but consider this; aerification is merely a short-term disruption that has long-term benefits for golf courses. When you see them, remember that without those little holes, the greens would eventually die. Preventative maintenance is an integral part of successful golf course management. Golfers view aerification as an inconvenience that takes the greens out of play for a day, pulling cores from the greens and leaving holes that can affect putting for many days before healing. To add insult to injury, aerification is best done in many parts of the country, at the height greens conditions. A golfer needs to understand how important aerification is to producing healthy turf. Aerification (also known as aeration, not ”Air E Ation”) achieves three important objectives. It relieves soil compaction, it provides a method to improve the soil mixture around the highest part of a green's roots and it reduces or prevents the accumulation of excess thatch (organic material). Like so many things, the quality of a good putting green is more than skin deep. In fact, the condition of a green has a lot to do with what goes on below the surface. In order for grass to grow at 2/16-inch, it must have deep, healthy roots. Good roots demand oxygen. In good soil, they get the oxygen from tiny pockets of air trapped between soil and sand particles. Over time, the traffic from golfers’ feet (as well as mowing equipment) tends to compact the soil under the putting green. When soil becomes compacted, the air pockets on which the roots depend are crushed, and the roots are essentially left gasping for air. Without oxygen, the grass plants become weaker and will eventually wither and die. Aerification is a mechanical process that creates more air space in the soil and promotes deeper rooting, thus helping the grass plants stay healthy. In most cases, it's done by removing half-inch cores (those plugs you sometimes see near a green or in fairways) from the compacted soil, allowing for an infusion of air and water that brings a resurgence of growth. The spaces are then filled with sand "topdressing" that helps the soil retain air space and makes it easier for roots to grow downward. Maintaining or even improving the rate water moves into the soils is an important part of aeration.  The procedure creates channels in the upper portion of the soil profile that allow water to move in and through the soil profile more rapidly.  This process also increases the amount of space available for oxygen to penetrate the soil, which is critical for root growth, and ultimately plant growth. The bottom line is, aeration is performed for the health of the grass and, ultimately, the playability of the putting greens.  Greens with less organic and a better air/water exchange will be better greens on a season-long basis.  Try not to get caught up in the short-term loss of playability, and focus on the long-term benefits to the turf, as well as, YOUR ROUND.