Deep Tine Aeration

This week we are performing a deep aeration which utilizes tines that are 5/16" diameter by 10" long. The eventual hole is 8" deep and they are spaced in a 4"x2" pattern. This aeration will allow for better flushing of accumulated sodium and will also assist in breaking up a small pan layer that we have.  A pan layer is a layer that has formed just below typical aeration depth which is approximately 3-4" below the surface.   The pan layer can accumulate sodium and bicarbonates and prevents a good flushing.

You can use this cultivation experience as practice for the mental side of your game. While you will see holes, there is virtually no disturbance of ball roll as they are cut and rolled following.

October, The Hole-y Month

As we approach the end of October, we will have completed aeration on all surfaces at Cinnabar Hills.  October has got to be one the most anticipated months in my calendar.  By this time of the year, we are all just trying to hang on for a couple of more weeks and there is nothing like aeration to past the time.  

The month started out with doing both fairways and approaches.  We pulled cores that were 5/8" in diameter and we then topdressed both fairways and approaches at a rate of 12 tons per acre.  Partly filling the holes with sand  has been part of the reason why deep watering has been so successful for us.  Something different this year was that we purchased 25 tons of gypsum in pellet form and got that dragged into the holes as well.  That will help flush out any salts we have now for  when the rains come and also help with nutrient retention.  

Bulk gypsum

In the middle of the month, we were able to get in one more deep tine event on the greens.  What is amazing with the SR-54s deep tine is that it leaves the greens faster after they have been punched than before.  We actually get compliments after the deep tine event.  I know that you would think that we always get compliments after any aeration considering the cost of aeration and the long term benefits, but golfers don't like aeration for some reason.  

This week we will begin aerating the tees and to wrap up the month we will begin punching the rough.  It really is a fun time of year and not just because we are putting holes in the ground.  The planning that is involved is half the fun and when let's say your topdresser just happens to flip over, the improvising can be fun too!

    

Peanuts

Aeration time is approaching and we are ready to harvest the peanuts.  It may be translated incorrectly, but our Spanish staff calls the cores that are pulled from the greens cacajuates which means peanuts; or so I'm told.  It may mean turds too?

Last week we aerated two practice greens and things went great.  We did two more practice greens this week and got everything dialed in for another successful aeration on the 6th of August.  You may think how much dialing in is necessary being that this gets done twice a year, but you'd be surprised.  

This year I  paid extra attention to soil moisture content before we aerated with the use of our new soil moisture meter.  It is the trickiest variable in my opinion that we control.  We have been monitoring soil moisture following an irrigation cycle and comparing the water loss to evapotranspiration rates for the day.  Come the 6th of August, I should be within 5% of my target soil moisture content.

For the process itself, we are using the ten tine block for the Toro 648, but we are only placing 5 tines on each block.  The 5 tines consist of 3 - 1/2" tines and 2 - 3/8" tines.  This allows us to pull slightly more material than the standard configuration of 5 - 3/8" tines.  We pull these cores on 1.5" spacing.  

After aeration, we will put down our soil amendments, then the sand down, and then use a 3/8" deep tine on top of the sand.  We previously did this prior to pulling the core, but doing this after the sand allieviates the tire rutting that the sand topdresser leaves behind.  Thank you to Thomas Bastis (@calsuper) of Cal Club for that tip.  We conclude the process by brushing the greens once and then blow the rest of the sand into the remaining holes. 

From the pictures below, the greens are coming along extremely well. They are actually on pace for a healing record.  

Day after aeration

7 Days after aeration

Deep Tine

Last week we were able to get all of the greens punched with our deep tine aerator from Toro.  It took 12 hours at 0.8 mph, but it is well worth it.  Since we started doing this last year our roots have been much longer than normal which is by no coincidence.  If you recall, I wrote an article in May about our roots, but I failed to mention that the deep tine is a big part of that.  From the pictures below, root depth and hole depth are almost equal.  


Aside from great rooting, we get better air/ water exchange through the soil profile and we also break up the small pan layer we have.  A pan layer is formed typically around 3.5" deep where normal greens aerators typically go down to.  When inserting a soil probe, you'll feel it get much firmer to press in at this layer and water will also have a hard time getting through that layer.