This won't hurt a bit.....

"Now roll up your golf shirt sleeve, this isn't going to hurt a bit."

Greens are scheduled for aeration beginning Monday May 2.

We are using non invasive bayonet tines to aerate greens this week. We will NOT pull soil from the greens, we are only poking holes into the greens with a thin 6" long knife like tine. We will aerate in two directions. Greens will be lightly topdressed with sand. Greens will again be in nice condition two days after they are aerated.

One reason we aerate greens is to remove thatch, a coagulated layer of dead roots and decaying plant stems. Spring 2011 soil testing show that Potowomut greens contain LOW organic matter (around 2% thatch) content. Just five years ago, our greens contained "excessive" (6%) organic matter according to soil tests. Therefore, we hope to rely less on soil pulling core aeration during future springs and more on solid tine aeration. (****Other factors are also at work that may require spring core aeration, so no guarantees can be issued about which method we choose each sping****)

As a Superintendent, I'm thrilled we've had success to limit excessive greens' thatch. As a golfer, I am also happy to provide aeration to greens without severely impacting surfaces for putting....at least for spring 2011!!