We are now a week removed from our fall aeration of greens tees and approaches. We are happy with the progress made to this point. Greens were verticut on Tuesday to move some sand around and despite a little mess left after the following morning mowing, it worked out great. We are cutting a great deal of grass when we mow, so we will continue with daily mowing and rolling to get them back under control. Green speeds are not what they typically are, but that is completely normal and expected. Speed will come back with time as long as we can keep the roller going.
Currently our bentgrass is growing at an accelerated rate because of ideal growing conditions and higher than normal fertility levels. Prior to aeration we give a little extra shot of fertilizer to help our greens endure the stress aeration can cause. They are certainly not as smooth as they were prior to aeration, but we are confident that within another week, it will be hard to tell that they were aerated at all. Aeration is and should always be a compromise for golfers and turf staff alike. We would love to be more aggressive with aeration, but we understand that the sooner we get these areas back into shape, the sooner we can offer the best possible experience to our guests. At the same time, without aeration at all, the long term health and playability of our green, tees and approaches would be compromised. Look for fairway aeration to start in the next week or so, and check back for more information to come.
