Scheduled Aeration Completed Today

Greens 3/8" solid tine aeration punching sand into the holes

As normally scheduled the week after the Men's Invitational each year, the greens and tees were aerated back 9 yesterday and front 9 today.  Tomorrow, (Wed) the course will be fully open again for your golfing enjoyment.

The greens received only a solid tyne aeration using smaller 3/8" tynes.  This type of aeration will help relieve any compaction and get air and moisture down into the rootzone while minimizing the disturbance to golfers caused by using excessively large tines. No thatch was removed during this operation due to the fact that enough has been done previously to warrant taking a less aggressive approach.  September has become a busy month for golf at the Club, so we would like to try and maintain the course as playable as possible and avoid any unnecessary disruption during this great time of year for golf. After a roll and a topdress, the greens should be reasonably smooth once more, especially by this Friday afternoon's Directors' Day Event.

Smaller 3/8" tine holes less disruptive to golf ball roll

On the flip side with the tees, we needed to take a more aggressive approach. The tees haven't received the same amount of intense aeration as the greens have over the years, so they require a little "catch up" and will benefit from a core aeration to remove excessive thatch.  Coring does wonders to physically remove the unwanted organic matter in the upper soil profile that restricts water flow.

Larger core holes and tighter spacing used on tees to remove thatch

Removing the cores off the tees is a labourous process.  You might think things are getting quiet around here now that Labour Day and the Men's Invitational is done with?  However, we count on our dedicated crew to continue hard work on the many necessary cultural processes carried out in the fall to help guarantee optimum conditions next season.

The cores were wind-rowed and then picked up with shovels.  The tees were then heavily topdressed to fill the holes with channels of fresh sand that contain no thatch.

Tee core aeration and cleanup on No. 10 tee

Thanks for your patience during this important necessary processes.  Sometimes a little pain is needed for long term gain!