Greens Aerification at Glenwild

As the golf course here at Glenwild enters its tenth (10^th) year of play, I thought that it would be a great opportunity to begin a dialog with the membership about our maintenance practices. Many have asked the question, "Why do we aerify greens?" Since this practice started, it has been a question asked by every golfer, multiple times.

I have been fortunate to be the Golf Course Superintendant at Glenwild since its inception including the construction and grow in phases. Over the past ten years, it has been my responsibility to protect and maintain this great golf course. As the golf course matures, our procedures and practices will change with the challenges associated with an aging golf course.

The reputation of any good facility can be attributed to the condition of its greens. Consistency, speed, and health of the surface are the hallmarks of good greens. To that end aerification is the most important practice performed to maintain and promote healthy putting surfaces. Here at Glenwild, we have A4 Creeping bentgrass on our greens, which is widely recognized as the grass that creates the best possible putting surface. However, A4 has its challenges as well. Mainly that it produces the most thatch (dead plant matter left behind from old stems and stolons), meaning it needs more aggressive maintenance including more frequent aerification. The need for aerification comes from a number of factors that negatively affect healthy bentgrass. The aerification process removes thatch, relieves compaction, provides oxygenation to the roots, allows for better drainage, and helps relieve other environmental stresses mostly pertaining to plant diseases. Simply put, if Glenwild didn't aerify and keep up with our current practices, we wouldn't have very good greens for long.

In years past, we have experimented with both core and linear aerification. Linear aerification cuts straight lines in the greens which removes more thatch than regular core aerification. This practice, although great for removing thatch has a longer recovery period. In past years, we would linear aerify the greens the 1^st week of August. This schedule of linear aerification did a great job of removing thatch, but was very disruptive for play and was slow to heal. In order to keep our prime playing conditions for as long as possible, we have opted for core aerification in September and October.

A4 is the biggest thatch producer of all the bentgrasses making its necessary to aerify a minimum of 2 times per season. Fall is the best time to complete this process due to warmer soil temperatures and a more consistent weather pattern. The benefits of fall aerification are two-fold. It provides time for the greens to heal / regenerate and gives us the opportunity to open the course earlier in the spring to better playing conditions.

The older courses in the area have less of a need to aerify as much as we do because they do not have the new generation of bentgrasses. Much of their putting surfaces are Poa annua, a grass which requires less aerification but provides an inconsistent surface susceptible to additional stresses. The newer courses in the area have the latest generation of grasses with the exception of Promontory's Dye course. These courses based on their soil conditions, location, budget or other factors may choose to not aerify using the same schedule we have here at Glenwild, but in my professional opinion will eventually end up having problems like Summer Patch disease, a fungus that can wipe out large areas of the greens.

It is my recommendation that in order to have great greens as long as possible throughout the season we should stay on the current maintenance schedule. I have been proud of the product that our staff has consistently produced over the past ten years. If you have any questions or are interested in learning about our procedures please give me a call at 435-615-7632.

 

See You on the Course!
David G. Willis, CGCS