Alternatives to Aerification

James Smith

112 posts

7/10/2015 6:07 AM

Well I probably should of seen this coming with us in the middle of aerification.

I have been tasked with coming up with alternatives to our aerification schedule of 3 times per year from my club Treasurer. He seems to think were losing about $30,000 in revenue due to our aerification schedule (I call bullshite)

We are located just outside New Orleans La. We are a small member owned private club that is probably best described as a blue collared golf club. We have 16 year old TifEagle Greens. We get about 20,000 rounds per year.

I have had the USGA out on one occasion since renovating the greens in which they reccommended an aerification schedule of 4-5 times per year. Under our current program my biomass layer is about 1" and has been holding pretty steady throughout the years.

Like normal some of my board members played in a tournament at a upscale club with TifEagle greens and ask the Superintendent his schedule in whihc his response was once per year (although he warned them not to use his schedule to compare because he also hydro injects his greens monthly and has low play and lots of budget).

So my question is what have you done that has enabled you to cut back on the core aerification?

I have been doing research on the different alternatives such as Hydro injection and Air injection.

If you are already doing these practices could you describe your thoughts on them. What is the cost of the machines? In your honest opinion will this work long term?

Just trying to do my duty and get him the requested info. I have already told him that he is a board member and if he makes a motion to the board to stop aerifications and it is passed I will do the will of the board, but I will also be on record as saying it is a grave mistake!

Thanks

Andy Jorgensen

1 posts

7/10/2015 8:07 AM

With TifEagle, removing the organic matter would be the end goal. The only way to do this effectively is to core aerify. Although all the other methods are great, they don't remove organic matter.

What you may want to look into is reducing the number of times you aerify without sacrificing the amount of organics removed. A method to perform this is to double-punch your greens twice per year rather than a single punch three times per year. This will assist you in meeting your goal of organic material removal and reduce your disruption to only twice per year. By double-punching two times, you will also increase your affected area over what you are doing now. I've attached an article from the USGA regarding this.

James Smith

112 posts

7/10/2015 9:07 AM

Andy Jorgensen said: With TifEagle, removing the organic matter would be the end goal. The only way to do this effectively is to core aerify. Although all the other methods are great, they don't remove organic matter.

What you may want to look into is reducing the number of times you aerify without sacrificing the amount of organics removed. A method to perform this is to double-punch your greens twice per year rather than a single punch three times per year. This will assist you in meeting your goal of organic material removal and reduce your disruption to only twice per year. By double-punching two times, you will also increase your affected area over what you are doing now. I've attached an article from the USGA regarding this.

Thats an excellent article Andy! Was I correct in seeing that yall completely close your course for this?

With my limited crew I do not know if I can actually aerifye all of my greens, topdress them and drag them to fill the holes in one day to be able to do it again the second time. About five years ago we purchase a 48" soil reliever to use on the greens. I saw right away that I was not pulling as much material out as our old GA-30. It takes the soil reliever about 11 hours to get all of my greens done the first time (if we dont not have any issues). Removing just one aerification from my schedule will not help in the income department much. I still question my treasurers numbers because during the summer months we are a lot slower, especially with outside play. I can see us losing some money in lower bar sales but $30,000 is stretching it from my point of view. I was told yesterday that they may decide to bring it up at our annual membership meeting this next January. I told the guy that would be perfect with me as 99% of the membership will vote using my advice rather then the treasurers.

Our turf is generally 95% filled in from the aerification by the second weekend so we only really lose one weekends worth of revenue.

Thanks for the info.

Corey Eastwood

80 posts

7/10/2015 12:07 PM

THE ANSWER IS PLANETAIR.Increased air space for more microbial activity. No disruption and no loss of revenue. Bi-weekly and your problems are over.

Corey Eastwood CGCS, Stockton Golf & CC, Retired

Philip Cook

2 posts

7/10/2015 1:07 PM

I do not manage ultradwarf putting greens, but one thing that we have done to maintain pretty good greens with minimal disruption to the surface is using the DryJect to introduce new sand. This has been very useful because it has allowed us to use smaller diameter tines to remove orgranic matter from our profile because we are no longer concerned with putting sand back into the channels because the DryJect does that for us. Greens also putt really well after DryJecting (we do it 3x3 in two directions). I don't know if this would apply for ultradwarf greens but it has helped us to provide better playing conditions while still promoting good greens health. It is rare when everybody wins (Agronomist, Pro Shop, Golf Member) but that has been the case when we switched to this process from traditional aeration. Also, we topdress fairly aggressively almost every week and that helps a lot with organic matter sand dilution.

Andy Jorgensen

1 posts

7/10/2015 3:07 PM

Yes, we are fortunate enough to close down for the process. We also own and used to use a Soil Reliever for all of our greens aerification. I agree with you 100% that it does not allow enough material to be removed at one time and took all day(sometimes two) to complete the process. We have since purchased two Toro 648's and can now aerify almost 4 acres of greens in 10 hours using both machines. Obviously these are pretty pricey machines, but I feel the overall health of our putting surfaces has increased greatly. I don't see how double punching would increase the time for recovery any more than a couple of days. The hole size is the same, just more of them.

I have also used the PlanetAir and DryJect. Both are great machines. The PlanetAir I felt was excellent for venting anytime of the year as it was as quick as a greens mower. But, TifEagle is an entirely different animal, and organic matter removal is a must. I don't see how using only the PlanetAir would solve the problem.

The DryJect is also great, but very pricey and still does nothing to remove organic matter. With the cost to have this service performed and the cost of labor and materials(not to mention the days it would take to do a whole course), I really don't see this as the answer to offset the loss of revenue that traditional aerification causes. Especially since traditional aerification would still have to be performed.

In my personal opinion, I would ask(or beg) to purchase a 648 and perform the double-punch as mentioned. Even if you were only able to do this once per year. Or, consider contracting one or all of the aerifications out. Without knowing your optimum growing season, I would think a June and August double punch would allow enough time throughout the rest of the year, and in between aerifications, to provide great playing conditions.

Keith Pegg

0 posts

7/12/2015 4:07 PM

Club Treasurer, do run some clubs; very sadïŒ.

Never cut back on greens and hold your stance on that. Even if you have to do only 2-4 greens a day (at night get them done, I must assume you are going 50-70mm deep maybe the summer could be just the thatch 30mm +- to save on top dressing and still get the job of thinning the thatch done. I do not think that is cutting however a bit of a sales pitch for someone that has only looked at the back end of a pen for to many years.
Good Luck

Keith

James Smith

112 posts

7/14/2015 7:07 AM

My true growing season usually starts in late March early April but lately it has still been cold in April which slows down the recovery period. The growing season generally ends around late October but I hardly ever punch holes past late August due to the possibility of a cold front shutting down the recovery period. Basically between mid May until Late Aug I have to get three aerifications in. It generally works out to be about 7-8 weeks apart with a two week recovery peried for each.

When we punch holes I generally go just deep enough to pull a little white sand. It works out to be about 6" deep on average.

While I understand his side of the issue he does not understand my side. Even with the USGA reports we have about aerification times per year for our club, he still does not get it.

The good thing is that 99% of the board will follow my advice. But we superintendents have to always remember that it only takes one pee'd off board member to end your position! They pay me to do a job professionally, which includes doing research when requested. Due to another part of the request I have shown that the last two years we have had to skip our first aerification (April) due to cold weather. So that is only twice that we have aerified per year. I am working with 16 year old Tif Eagle greens with little budget and less man power. We have had to base-line a lot of our normal practices due to budget and manpower cuts.

Thanks for your inputs! it helps.

James Smith

112 posts

7/14/2015 7:07 AM

Corey Eastwood, CGCS said: THE ANSWER IS PLANETAIR.Increased air space for more microbial activity. No disruption and no loss of revenue. Bi-weekly and your problems are over.

Corey, does this practice make the top of the greens soft? I know when we aerifye our greens it will take two weeks for them to start firming up. I am concerned with having to roll them more the presently since it takes extra man power!

Clint Evans

0 posts

7/14/2015 8:07 AM

I would look into contracting out the aerification. You can use Turf Specialties out of Lake Charles. I have used them the last 3 years and have been very happy. We let him go out first with some pretty big tines (3/4" deep tines, I think) and then go behind this with my Toro 648 (5/8" shallow tines). We do this once in the spring and then just the shallow tines in the fall. Same story as it take about 14 days to heal. A good fertilizerr app the week before aerifing and lots of roller use once the holes are filled will shorten recovery time. I am on MiniVerde here.

Henry Heinz

0 posts

7/14/2015 8:07 AM

James, like Andy, we have double punch greens many times. Use the land pride core collector and go deep on the first pass over the green then adjust to a slight angle and go about 2 to 3 inches deep, just enough to get your organic out. You've then double the green without leaving and the cleanups are just piles on the outer edge of the greens. In the past we used two 648's with two pro gators to clean up and one topdresser. Probably a little larger crew than you currently have, but hopefully some of this will help you get through the process quicker. Long day but 18 greens done and out before 8pm. Long I know but it worked. You can also look at calibrating your 648, I'm guessing you're using a 648, to a 1" spacing and step up tine size to remove percentage of organic as well. We used 1/2'' tines, quad blocks on a 1" spacing with a double punch, first as deep as it could go, second about 2'' depth just to remove material from the upper portion of the greens surface. we have the 5x5 quad blocks and just use the front 5.

Regards,

James Smith

112 posts

7/14/2015 9:07 AM

Henry Heinz said: James, like Andy, we have double punch greens many times. Use the land pride core collector and go deep on the first pass over the green then adjust to a slight angle and go about 2 to 3 inches deep, just enough to get your organic out. You've then double the green without leaving and the cleanups are just piles on the outer edge of the greens. In the past we used two 648's with two pro gators to clean up and one topdresser. Probably a little larger crew than you currently have, but hopefully some of this will help you get through the process quicker. Long day but 18 greens done and out before 8pm. Long I know but it worked. You can also look at calibrating your 648, I'm guessing you're using a 648, to a 1" spacing and step up tine size to remove percentage of organic as well. We used 1/2'' tines, quad blocks on a 1" spacing with a double punch, first as deep as it could go, second about 2'' depth just to remove material from the upper portion of the greens surface. we have the 5x5 quad blocks and just use the front 5.

Regards,

Henry, I do not have the luxury of owning a 648! I have a 48" soil reliever which only does a 2" X 2" spacing at the smallest. We cannot afford a new different aerifyer at the moment.

Henry Heinz

0 posts

7/14/2015 11:07 AM

Well that certainly does hinder the amount of production you can get done. As someone else stated earlier, maybe a contract service. They would most likely be able to be more aggressive and then you could drop to twice a year.

possibilities of doing some deep vertical mowing to remove some material may help you out also. I know through the winter months we will vent with 200 and 250 solid tines weekly followed by a lighter topdressing and that has seem to help out.

Good luck,

James Smith

112 posts

7/20/2015 9:07 AM

Corey Eastwood, CGCS said: THE ANSWER IS PLANETAIR.Increased air space for more microbial activity. No disruption and no loss of revenue. Bi-weekly and your problems are over.

Corey, do you currently use the planetair machine?
If so can you tell me more about it? I went to their website and they only have two testimonials listed.
Can you see this as a substitution for two of my three aerifications per year?

One thing that interest me was the verticutting part. does this leave a mess like traditional verticutters? I find that verticutting can be a major pain in removing all of the clippings. I would love to haver a better way!

If you did buy one can you give me a ball park idea as to cost?

Thanks

Corey Eastwood

80 posts

7/20/2015 11:07 AM

James there is no mess in the verticut mode. Give me a call at 209 401 9443 and we will chat.

Corey Eastwood CGCS, Stockton Golf & CC, Retired

Joshua Sawyer

0 posts

7/30/2015 11:07 AM

I would concur that a Planet Air on bermuda greens would be a great tool to potentially reduce your aerifications. For normal slicing,it doesn't soften our surfaces, actually firms them a little-dont know about in verticut mode...

Another option to manage play is to shut down 9 holes at a time. We typically schedule start to finish on one 9, leaving the other open for play. We would then close the other 9 the next day. I like the ideas of double punching, assuming your turf can take it as it is very aggressive.

One other option to consider is reaching your target organic material removal through a combination of deep verticutting combined with core aerification. You can search a good article from Chris Hartwiger from a few years ago called "Aerification by the Numbers" for help setting or defining your targets for removal.

James Smith

112 posts

6/10/2016 12:06 PM

I'm renewing this topic since I am again ask questions from board members who play in some high end courses.

One of my board members had found out that one of the golf courses use an outside service to inject sand into their greens with little disruption to play. He was told they charge $.06 sqft. which leaves us around the $6,500 cost. I then told him we would have to add the cost of sand and that I think they have to use Kiln dried sand.

Anyone know the cost of the kiln dried sand? and if there are any dealers in the lower Louisiana area?

Anyone know of contractors who is doing the planet air or the A2G2 (I think thats right). I would be interested in trying them out.

Anthony Nysse

1 posts

6/10/2016 1:06 PM

James Smith said: I'm renewing this topic since I am again ask questions from board members who play in some high end courses.

One of my board members had found out that one of the golf courses use an outside service to inject sand into their greens with little disruption to play. He was told they charge $.06 sqft. which leaves us around the $6,500 cost. I then told him we would have to add the cost of sand and that I think they have to use Kiln dried sand.

Anyone know the cost of the kiln dried sand? and if there are any dealers in the lower Louisiana area?

Anyone know of contractors who is doing the planet air or the A2G2 (I think thats right). I would be interested in trying them out.

Dryjecting, Gradens, Planet air are all good tools in the proper place, but at the end of the day, nothing replaces core aerification. Its the only process where you're REMOVING organic, dead material. Without removal, that material will cause proplems down the roads.

A normal dryject will average 40-50tons of kiln dried sand. Kiln dried is around 2x the cost of "wet sand."

Joshua Sawyer

0 posts

6/10/2016 2:06 PM

The only one I might consider in place of a core aerification would be the sand injection Graden. You can remove a ton of material from the top inch or so and replace with good sand. Punch on top of that in one process, maybe you can remove a core aerification. So...either pony up the cash for a machine or for contractors and, once again, take it on the chin with the cost of dried sand and labor to fill the machines.

Wally Dowe

0 posts

6/13/2016 12:06 PM

James, We manage mini verde. We core aerify in May w/ 1/2" hollow tines on a quad block with the Toro 648. We follow up in late June early July w/ the graden 1 mm blades and then verti drain 7/8" hollow tines. This is a very small snapshot of our program along with ALOT of venting, topdressing and verti cutting. You may want to consider doing nine holes at a time and keeping nine hole open for play. You may want to also consider borrowing a Toro 648 from a neighboring course to show your board the difference the right machines can make for your operation. The options the 648 offer are almost unlimited and the speed is great. Another option is but again this means a Toro 648 - use 1/4" or 3/8" on a quad block and aerify 3 or 4x per year. Yes, it is a lot of aerification but they heal extremely fast. 3 or 4 days and greens are almost back to normal. The other key factor is really watch your Nitrogen levels. Keep the greens lean so they will not produce as much thatch. I would not recommend juicing them up with N to get them to heal from aerification. As others have mentioned, I would not replace core aerification with the planet aire in hopes to keep thatch under control on ultra dwarf Bermuda greens.
Best of luck.

Wally Dowe
Ventana Canyon
Tucson, AZ

James Smith

112 posts

6/14/2016 8:06 AM

Wally, thanks for the info. my problem is that my board wants to find a way to cut out most if not all of our core aerification. While I know other clubs have done it, they are mostly high end clubs. I'm on the opposite end of the stick. hardly any money to spare! It would be great if I could find a way to back off of my spring and fall aerifications and do a major one in the summer when we are much slower. this would give my course maybe six extra weeks of play and outside tournaments they could book. Those 6 weeks could generate anywhere from $18,000 - $36,000 a year. that money would be put back into the course and could be used as a sell on getting a different aerifyer that could help us achieve the goal of one major aerification per year.I can see our treasurer's point of view where it may be profitable to purchase an new aerifyer.

Christopher Flynn

0 posts

6/14/2016 6:06 PM

James, I would echo with what most have already said. Have you ever done an ISTRC soil test? This could be the hard data you need that specifies what your aerification needs are. With this info - there is no debate on what you must do. Also, sounds like you need to reach out to these local "high-end" Superintendents to see what they are really actually doing. Do not rely on what your members are saying - they are probably totally uninformed of the truth. Planet Air is a great tool. DOES NOT REPLACE CORE AERIFICATION. Do not forget how your annual topdressing program effects all of the this. Weekly to Bi-Weekly Topdressing year round (amount varies by time of year) makes a huge impact on your O.M. Same goes for verticutting during the growing season. Doing it weekly to Bi-weekly followed by topdressing will really pay off. Go often & you can go light. Do it rarely - then you have to go heavy. I certainly understand your position & the staffing/financial restrictions. I really think your local superintendents are your best source of info!

James Smith

112 posts

6/15/2016 8:06 AM

Thanks Chris, I know I need to improve my verticutting and topdressing because this year I have my smallest crew ever and it has been a challenge just to do it. taking one day away from our regular cutting duties would keep us from completing the entire course before the weekend. I just have not had the manpower or sand to get back on it. I can see that the savings of not core aerifying or backing down to one per year would help us out financially. maybe enough to get another machine to do our core aerifying with. A soil reliever cannot pull enough material to consider doing it only one time per year.

Lisa Wick

1 posts

6/20/2016 2:06 PM

Good afternoon - I was just reviewing this thread to see what I might learn and develop as a webcast topic. But from my limited knowledge and reading this, doesn't seem that omitting aerification is the way to go.

I read some comments about topdressing and if you haven't seen the On Demand webcast that Doug Karcher, Ph.D., presented for us last fall, Sand Topdressing Programs - Benefits and Challenges, you might want to check that out. Here's the direct link:

http://www.gcsaa.tv/webinars/education/view.php?id=296

Best of luck this summer! Lisa

Lisa Wick, sr. manager, e-Learning Programs

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