Late fall aeration

This week was set aside for Rockville Links late fall aeration.  We began the process by using our deep scarifier verticut blades.  These do a great job removing thatch and organic matter from the surface making room for sand.  As you can see in the pictures above there is plenty of excess sand after Drill and Fill.

Drill and Fill is a very slow process that we bring in an outside company to complete.  3-4 machines operated for 20+ hours to complete all 18 greens, putting green, and target green on the range.  The huge advantage of this process is it removes material at depths of 8-10" and completely fills the 1" holes with sand.  

While the drill and fill process was ongoing, Rockville's crew aerated approaches.  The sandy mix left behind on greens was then dragged onto apps to fill the holes.  

Once cleanup was complete on greens they were rolled and then aerated.  The above picture is how they looked directly behind aeration.  The greens were then rolled again and amendments were added to the open holes.  Sand topdessing was then applied and brushed to fill holes.  

Weather cooperated all week long.  There were no frost delays and rain came as soon as cleanup was complete.  There will be ongoing work in the next week to help ensure sand is distributed evenly.  The greens will also be rolled a few more times to help smooth the playing surface.