Aerification Verification

The method that we are using to measure and quantify consistency of ball roll on our greens was conceived and designed by one of our Bittersweet members Ken Krozel.

 
Here we see Ken watching the ball roll toward the target plate. 

The photo doesn't show this clearly, but the plate is etched with a zero in the center, and with plus inches to the right of zero and minus inches to the left of zero. 

 

Here you can see that the ball is rolled from a fixed point on Ken's ramp toward the plate. 

The ball is rolled 20 times and Ken records the strike point at which each ball roll touches the plate. 

This gives Ken a quantifiable reading on ball roll consistency. 

 Ken also films the roll of each ball in slow motion to evaluate smoothness of roll.

This evaluation was performed prior to aerification and four days after we aerified greens to evaluate how our method of greens aerification effects ball roll consistency. 

Our process of greens aerification is to aerify on the first week of August accordingly:

1. One week prior to the aerification the greens are sprayed with Daconil Ultrex 4.25 oz. + Thiram 4.25 oz. + Aneuw 4 oz./acre + .10 lbs N from Urea. 
2. Waupaca Fines Free sand topdressing is first applied at 15 tons per acre in front of the aerifier.
3. A walking behind aerifier is then operated over the top of the sand using .60 inch solid tines on a 2 x 2 inch pattern at two inches depth. 
4. A sweep and fill brush is then used to brush the sand into the holes in three directions.
5. A Smithco roller was then used to roll the green one time. 
6. In the afternoon hours a cocoa mat drag brush is then used to brush the green two more directions.
7. A half inch of irrigation water is applied to the greens overnight with a Pervade wetting agent Tablet placed in the wet well of the pump house.

The results of the evaluation demonstrate that our method produced greens which were 93% as consistent as the greens prior to aerification.

We feel that the success of our results were owed to the timing of the aerification during the first week of August when greens typically heal fastest owing to the peak soil temperatures of this period.