At the start of each spring you prepare for the upcoming season by doing proper cultural practices. Many superintendents do things in different ways, but get the same result. Aerifying and topdressing is a big part of your spring cultivation practices.
One method of aerifying and topdressing greens is to pull cores and topdress heavy in the spring. When we would topdress in the spring at my old course in Kansas, we would use 1/2 inch tines and go to a depth of 3”. After the aerifyer was off the green, the next step was to get a good topdress on it. We would use a John Deere Pro Gator with a Vicon attached to the back of it to spread the sand properly. After the sand was spread out on the green the next step was to drag the sand in the holes. In some cases, push broom would be used to work the sand into the holes. This is very labor intensive and generally only can be done if you had the workforce to do so. We chose to drag the sand in by using a mat behind a light golf cart. We had to be extremely careful when you turning on the green because of the tire marks it could leave. Once all of the holes were filled with sand the irrigation heads would come on for 6 minutes to help relieve some stress.
Some benefits to spring cultivation practices
• Oxygen exchange
• Root growth
• Water movement
• Thatch management
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