Fairway aerating, 2010

Our fairway aeration started out on a promising note but ended with a thud a little after noon on Monday.  We were able to complete two fairways, #1 and #13 and got to the point of mowing #15 when the rain started.  We thought we had until afternoon before the rains came but a storm popped up in the south and delayed any further work for 2 hours after we had aerated #1.  Once the storm skirted by to the west, we began to aerate #13.  We completed #13 and was in the process of finishing the dragging of #15's cores when the rains came out of the north.  #15 still has some clean up remaining but is playable.  Rain on Tuesday and overnight has delayed any efforts at getting the fairway mowed and cleared of debris.

The aeration of our fairways has a number of benefits.

• Reduces compaction to our zoysia which do not thrive in compacted soil.
• Compacted soils do not allow water to penetrate into the soil which would require irrigation to be used on a more frequent basis.  The holes help water penetrate more deeply into the soil until the soil is to the saturation point.  The small reservoirs made by the aeration holes provide a quick inlet for water penetration.  
• Reduces surface moisture which allow carts to be off trails much more quickly after a rain event and provides for a better playing surface.
• Reduces thatch that can build up in areas encouraging disease, reducing water penetration and tying up nutrients.
• Improves zoysia rooting and allows for more oxygen to penetrate into the soil.

Excessive rain and an equipment malfunction will delay our aeration until Monday, July 26th.  I would expect that we will have a couple of additional fairways to complete on Tuesday, July 27th.

I've got a couple of pictures to share with you regarding our operation.  I did fail to take a picture of the actual aerator working but I do have a link to last years video that I made of the aerator in action.  

http://geccgcm.blogspot.com/2009/07/fairway-aeration.html

Cores are pulled by the aerator and then we take a metal drag with pallets laid on top of it for weight and drag the cores to break them up.  We then take our fairway unit and mow the fairway because the turf has been forced to stand up and there is still some cores that did not break completely.  This is a very dirty job as you can see Russ has a towel over his head and glasses on to protect his eyes.  When the material gets very dry, you usually have to wear a dust mask around your face as well.

Once the material is mowed, it looks like the picture below.  A lot of clipping and some dust and dirt from the cores that have been broken apart.

Skip and Tom are double teaming the 13th fairway with our blowers before the rain arrives.  Rain was beginning to fall when they completed the fairway.

The view of #1 after the fairway has been aerated, cores broken apart, mowed and blown free of debris.

#1 Fairway 2 days later.

The view looking down upon the newly completed #1 fairway.  The spacing is about 3" apart to a depth of about 3".  I would expect the holes to be completely covered by turf within this week.