Deep Tine Aerification

On Monday we deep tined the greens. Basically, this is a process where solid tines that are 1/2 inch in diameter by 10 inches long are used to punch holes in the greens. No cores are taken out but what it does is create channels to increase oxygen into the rootzone. Soil physical testing has shown that we have a little too much organic matter in the upper soil profile. By getting oxygen into these areas the natural breakdown of the organic matter occurs. Plus, these channels will be used by roots to penetrate deeper into the rootzone.

Here's a picture of how it looks when complete. Notice the spacing between holes is fairly wide which causes less disruption in play:

Here is the machine actually making the holes:

Finally, here is a photo of what it looks like under the ground once the machine passes through. This picture shows a hole in which the cup has been removed. Notice how the tine actually went in outside the cup but do to it's "kick" action once in the ground the tine moves creating a bigger hole in the rootzone which can be seen in this photo: