Of the 35 public 18-hole golf courses in Sacramento, Calif., 10 aerify once a year, scaling back from twice a year in the past. Golf courses cite economics as the reason for skipping the process, with one property reporting a cost of $30,000 for each aerification, including labor, material, and lost revenue.
Economic limitations are prompting golf courses in the Sacramento, Calif., area to rethink their aerification processes, the Sacramento Bee reported.
A decade ago, greens at practically every golf course were aerified twice a year. The pulling of dirt cores to lessen compaction and increase oxygen flow to the turf’s roots was accepted as a necessary evil, the Bee reported.
Times have changed, largely because of economics. Of the 35 public 18-hole courses listed biannually by The Sacramento Bee in spring and fall aerification schedules, 10 now punch only once a year. Operators who manage multiple courses alternate between spring and fall. Three courses aerify in the summer, which was unheard of previously, the Bee reported.
“For hundreds of years, they’ve done it twice a year,” said Dominic Atlan, Director of Golf at Castle Oaks Golf Club in Ione, Calif., for 21 years. Atlan estimates that it costs $30,000 to aerify counting labor, material and lost revenue. He said he’s broached the idea of skipping a session, but Castle Oaks’ owner believes twice-a-year aerification is the right thing to do for short- and long-term agronomic health, the Bee reported.
And then there’s DarkHorse Golf Club in Auburn, Calif., where the greens haven’t had a core-pulling aerification in eight years. Superintendent Stephen McVey verticuts, knifes, top dresses, dusts and hand waters. He experiments with new technology that gives his greens some of the benefits of aerification without the invasiveness and lost play, the Bee reported.
“If you can get sand in the profile, somehow, some way, you can survive,” McVey said.
Diluting organic matter is more important than relieving compaction, in his opinion, although he knows catastrophe lurks, the Bee reported.
“If we were to aerify twice a year, we probably wouldn’t be open,” he said. “You have to be a little more outside the box and aggressive.”
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