It's hard to believe but it's that time again... Spring Aeration. The weather forecast for the next 10 days is for dry conditions allowing us to begin our aeration as planned on Monday the 16th. The schedule is as follows:
March 16, 17 & 18 - Greens Drill & Fill / Core Aeration
March 19 to 23 - Tee & Approach Aeration and Sand
March 23 to March 30 - Fairways Core Aeration
March 30 & April 1 - Fairway Sanding
Late last year, we took soil core samples and sent them to ISTRC (International Sports Turf Research Center) to analyze the physical properties of the soil in our greens. This very in-depth testing of 8 inches of root zone has given us a large amount of hard data. Varied soil particle size and numerous layers throughout the 8 inch profile has made it difficult to establish healthy roots, has created issues with properly watering the greens and allows for more salt accumulation in the root zone. The recommendation was to perform an aeration called Drill and Fill to modify the subsurface by removal of old material and incorporation of fresh new sand.
While this is a new process for us, the Drill and Fill has been used for years, many times on modified soil push up greens like those found here at Claremont. We will follow the Drill and Fill with our traditional core aeration and sanding and hope to have the greens healed up in 4 weeks time.
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