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| Venting and rolling |
Having 27 holes can be difficult for a maintenance department, but most of the time the flexibility 27 holes provides is fantastic. The greatest flexibility it provides is the ability to core and sand 9 holes without having to worry about being ready for play at 8am. Another advantage we have is that we have the opportunity to close 9 holes once per week for important maintenance practices.
One of those important maintenance practices took place this week with the maintenance department venting the greens with an 1/8" solid tine, followed by sand and gypsum. Just prior to that we also brushed the greens and cut perpendicular to remove excessive leaf growth. You may wonder why we need to put a hole in the ground just 6 weeks after coring the greens? Primarily to keep water moving through the profile. Right now the surfaces are so tight from new growth and some compaction that water infiltration has decreased some. We put the calcium down because every time we water we are putting salt down and it accumulates in the soil. The calcium helps flush out the unwanted salts.
If you look back at your calendar going back to February, you'll have noticed that we put holes in the ground approximately every 6 weeks; year round. And you guessed it...we will deep tine aerate the greens Halloween week in preparation for the winter rains and relieve the compaction from tournament season.
