The Aerification Process

  The past week at Avila was a rather busy one as we began using the Graden verti-cut unit on the fairways to help refine the playing surface, as well as aerifying and topdressing the greens.  The greens aerification was very successful at smoothing out the putting surfaces, and filling in any thin areas that still remain.  Completed on Tuesday, August 6th, the greens aerification is barely visible just 5 days later as you can see below.

The Graden on #6 Fairway

#6 Fairway before and after the Graden

Prior to Aerification the greens were mowed...

...and Topdressed

 

Following the topdressing, the greens were aerified with 3/8" tines at 2" x 2" spacing

 

Aerifying after the topdressing helps incorporate more sand into the greens profile

After the aerification, the greens were brushed to remove the plant material, refill the aerification holes, and to smooth out the putting surface.

Blowing off the plant material

Once the greens were brushed and blown off, they were rolled multiple times to create the truest possible putting surface

 

 

This image shows the surface of the greens following the aerification process