There is no shortage of work to be done on a golf course in the offseason. Frankly, there is enough work to be done that the term “offseason” really doesn’t make sense anymore, at least from the golf course maintenance perspective. One of those tasks that I find beneficial in the long term is deep-tine aeration.
Many courses in the Northeast have what are referred to as modified soil greens, meaning they were originally constructed from native soil and through years of cultivation and topdressing, a layer of sandy soil has been built up in the top few inches of the profile. While the sand accumulation near the surface of the green is critically important, so too is fracturing tightly compacted soil deeper in the profile and the interface between sand and soil.
A common recommendation that I make for courses with modified soil greens is to deep-tine them as often as possible starting in the fall until the weather dictates that you stop. This is most often when the profile freezes. Up to that point, the benefits will far outweigh any minor surface disruption caused by the process itself. To take it a step further, apply sand to the greens first and then deep-tine them. This forces some sand into the profile. It is also easier to get ahead of the aerator with the topdresser rather than to wait for greens to be aerated first. Topdressing in advance of aeration also allows time for the sand to dry out if needed. The added benefit of mechanical incorporation by pushing the sand down with the tines can be great. There are also other benefits of deep-tine aeration at this time of year that will mean better turf later.
Too often with modified soil greens, we focus on getting sand incorporated at the surface to build a layer above the soil instead of trying to improve the soil below the sandy rootzone. Fracturing the soil and forcing sand deep into the profile with deep-tine aeration and regularly topdressing the surface is a great two-pathway approach to maintain high-performing modified soil greens.
Northeast Region Agronomists:
Darin Bevard, senior director, Championship Agronomy – dbevard@usga.org
Elliott L. Dowling, regional director, East Region – edowling@usga.org
Brian Gietka, agronomist – bgietka@usga.org