Venting greens

#5 green

Today the agronomy staff completed the last spring aeration on greens.  I like to refer to this modified version of the aeration process as a venting.  We are still pulling a core, but the holes are very, very small and will have little to no impact on play.  This process allows for the roots to get much needed oxygen.
Normally we would pull a larger core and fill the holes with topdressing sand, but we felt that the abrasive nature of the brushing would be too much stress this close to summer.  By not brushing the sand into the holes, we are able to get the benefit of the aeration (better rooting), without much of the stress on the turf.  For those of you that have never seen the aeration process first hand, below is a video showing how we pull the cores out of the green.  If you would like to know more about the process or have any other questions, please feel free to contact me.

#3 finished