Going Deep

The Goal: Break up the aerification pans, with minimal disruption to play, that develop four inches below the surface of the push-up style poa greens at Sharon Heights Golf & Country Club.

by C&RB Staff (editor@clubandresortbusiness.com)
April 2008
 

Going Deep The Goal: Break up the aerification pans, with minimal disruption to play, that develop four inches below the surface of the push-up style poa greens at Sharon Heights Golf & Country Club. The Plan: Use deep-tine aerification in conjunction with conventional aerification in the spring, applying topdressing to act as a bridge. The Payoff: Sand channels now extend nearly eight inches into the root zone.

The golf course at Sharon Heights Golf & Country Club, in Menlo Park, Calif., has push-up style poa greens that become excellent putting surfaces, but can be difficult to manage—because they are susceptible to having hard “aerification pans” form about four inches below the surface.

Sharon Heights now seems to have gained the upper hand in the fight against the pans, though, through an approach used in the spring that combines conventional aerification with a deep-tine aerification process and special application of topdressing.

The conventional aerification pulls up half-inch plugs that are then cleaned up and followed by an application of topdressing, reports the club’s John McGee. The topdressing then acts as a “bridge” when special equipment is used for the deep-tine procedure. After that is completed, the soil amendments and topdressing mix are brushed into the aerification holes.

The result? A path is cleared for water and nutrients to get farther into the surface. “We are pleased to see sand channels down nearly eight inches into the root zone,” McGee reports.

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