Aerification Recovery Update

We are a week removed from aerifying greens and recovery is well on it's way despite the challenging weather over the past weekend.  The morning storms that went through the area on Tuesday helped beat the sand down and allowed for the first cut that afternoon.  Now, three cuts later...greens are returning to our normal standards.  We still need some help form Mother Nature though, cooler temperatures and a timely rain will greatly influence the recovery period.  Greens will continue to be cut on a daily basis, heights will be dropped throughout the next couple of weeks as weather dictates to regain speeds and playability that we are all accustom too.

Unfortunately,  the one drawback of aerifying in August is the challenge created with so much stress to the plant during environmental stresses of drought and high temperatures while conducting the beneficial process.  We did experience a few scars on tees and greens as a result.  The newly sodded collars from this past spring experienced the brunt of damage due to lack of rooting to handle the process.  These are localized areas that have been seeded and will be babied over the next couple of weeks while returning to normal. 

A couple of random bent spots on greens were suffocated under the sand content post topdressing.  A lot of green tissue remains in these spots and with some cooler temps and TLC from the management team, they to will recover with the rest of the putting surfaces.  Pockets on tees experienced the same repercussions from the combination of sand and heat and again practices will be conducted to return them to full health.

It truly is a balancing act to limit turf damage during the strenuous task of Aerification regardless of the timing of year.  After multiple Aerifications in my career, including many during the dog days of summer in the south, my hat is off and couldn't be prouder of the staff and especially the assistants in how they responded over the past week.  Communication was top notch and everyone worked together to limit the amount of damage to the point that I fully expect all to bounce back during the short recovery period over the next couple of weeks.  Aerification, such a long term benefit with so many short term ill effects.

As always, thank you for your continued support and cooperation.  I'm looking forward to a successful remainder of the season and a golf course that continues to speak for itself!