Conflicting interests...

From the moment the last tine exits the turf during spring aerification, it feels like someone hit the stopwatch, as the countdown to the Member-Guest tournament begins.  The goals of getting the greens to fill in and heal, then have them rolling well for the tournament, are often at odds with each other.  To be blunt, we need to go from the absolute worst the greens will putt, to the best they will putt.  This is where the challenge begins...

Just prior to aerification, we will back off on the use of plant growth regulators, and begin applying small amounts of fertilizer.  100% of our greens fertility is sprayed on, allowing us to carefully mange growth.  Part of the reasoning here, is that we can always add more, but once fertilizer is applied, it's hard to take it back.

On average, between the hollow tine aerification, and the Dryject process, we applied 9,000 pounds of sand per green.  Clearly, in order to fill in from this, we need to encourage the greens to grow.  It seems pretty simple that if we get them growing aggressively, they will fill in quickly.

 However, when you consider that more grass = more friction = slower green speeds, when preparing the greens for a tournament, we are typically looking to minimize clipping yield, not encourage growth.  Thus, we have a balancing act.

The picture below was taken five days after aerification, and while the holes are starting to get some grass covering them, we were still miles away from anything close to normal.

Monitoring the progress of aerification holes filling in, can really feel like you're watching paint dry.  As the days go by, we are able to slowly lower the mowing height, and get the putting surfaces back on their strict diet, and exercise regimen.  Finally, beginning Tuesday of Member-Guest week, it is double mowing and rolling every day.

The picture below was taken on day one of the event.  They're not quite "ludicrous speed," but rolling pretty well.

Rollin', rollin', rollin'...

So, how tight is the margin between aerification and spring Member-Guest?  Well, due to scheduling, this year we had one less day between aerification and the tournament.  At times like this, a single day can lead to quite a bit of stress.

Fortunately, waiting until May to aerify, gives us the best chance of hitting some "Goldilocks" growing weather--not too hot, and not too cold.  While nobody enjoys aerified greens, this process is the best way to set us up for another successful summer, and really good greens going forward.