20 Feb 2015

For many there is nothing more annoying in golf than turning up to play a course that’s just had its greens cored and sanded. The game isn’t quite the same. Although a necessary part of the maintenance regime, few golfers truly understand the aeration process and why it is undertaken at their golf course.

The technical justification for pulling turf plugs out of greens or fairways and back filling with sand is to reduce thatch (sponginess), remove excess organic matter (which is detrimental to turf grass), relieve compaction, increase root stimulation and allow air and water to move through the growing medium. It also creates space for the addition of soil amendments, such as sand or wetting agents. The more practical explanation, however, is that it enables superintendents to present golfers with smoother and superior playing surfaces. The 3-4 weeks of pain felt while the turf recovers from coring pales by comparison to the aforementioned benefits in the longer term.

To learn more about aeration we spoke to a couple of leading Australian golf course superintendents. Dan Brown is an experienced turf manager now working overseas in Vietnam. Brown has worked in various climates and with various turf species and describes how different grass types require different aeration programs.

The warm season turf grasses of Northern NSW and Queensland require more maintenance because of the high rainfall, humidity and prolonged hot temperatures,’ he says. ‘Turf in those areas grow much quicker than turf in SE Australia. The cool season grasses found on most courses in Victoria and Tasmania requires less maintenance because their period of growth is much shorter. The cold winters almost put these grass varieties to sleep, coming alive in spring, doing its best to get through a hot summer before enjoying the spoils of autumn.’

Brown explains there are many different aerification methods, and some that provide great results with minimal disruption to play. Such methods include Verti-draining, or punching with small solid tines, slicing, spiking and water injection.

According to Simon Muller, Superintendent at The Dunes Golf Links near Melbourne, the primary benefit of all aeration techniques is, ‘to create temporary pore space in the soil, which allows for water movement, gas exchange, root growth and the addition of soil amendments.

Pore space provides several important functions within the soil profile. 

  • Water movement into the soil (infiltration) and past the root zone (drainage) is through pore spaces. If excess water cannot be rapidly removed, the site would be water-logged, soggy, exhibit low soil aeration, and be unstable for traffic. Also, irrigation watering is not efficient if water cannot penetrate into the soil surface, resulting in high runoff and evaporation losses of water.
  • Pore spaces are the channels for oxygen movement from the atmosphere into the soil and for soil generated gases (carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, methane, etc.) to dissipate into the atmosphere. Root cells require oxygen for cell respiration for survival. Initially, low oxygen stress is demonstrated by a reduction in water uptake and reduced nutrient uptake, while continued stress results in root dieback.
  • Adequate pore spaces are required for root growth. These serve as channels for roots to penetrate more rapidly and deeply into the soil.’

Muller adds that, ‘the goal is to aerate frequently enough and to a depth sufficient to create and maintain pore space throughout the whole root zone depth or at any location within the root zone where they do not exist.’

Although some readers might need convincing, golfer inconvenience is a very real consideration for superintendents and the frequency of aeration depends on many factors including turf species, weather conditions and, crucially, whether the course is private or public access.

As Brown points out, whatever the aeration method or program the key to presenting good golf turf is sound management. ‘Overwatering and over-fertilizing is a recipe for disaster, and a vicious cycle that leads to soft, thatch, diseased and uninteresting golf - and more disruption of play due to constant aerification.’

More disruption and more aerification. Nobody wants that.

 

Darius Oliver

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