Planet Air, localized dry spots and cart traffic.

This week we were able to run the PlanetAir on greens and on some of the dry fairway spots. This is a machine that vertically slices the playing surface, resulting in channels for increased air and water exchange leading to healthier grass and firmer playing surfaces. We haven't run this over greens for over a month so it was long overdue and should have a positive impact very quickly, especially considering the moisture issues we've had on the course. The best part about this process is how non-invasive it is. We ran it on Tuesday morning (and skipped mowing) and rolled behind and greens were actually faster than they were the day before when we mowed. It is a great tool to have in the shop.

PlanetAir on greens. I covered this in a post last year too.

One of the things that the PlanetAir helps with is water infiltration into localized dry spots. Mark went into what causes these in his post about water issues on the course. The water is able to overcome the hydrophobic soil and break up the dry spot by flowing through the channels that are created. It may seem counter intuitive to do damage to a stressed area, but it actually helps out a lot.

Localized dry spots are very bad on our tees. We are spot spraying wetting agent in these areas and hand watering. They will come back alright.

Finally, with all the dry weather you may notice that we have more of the green and white stakes out. We are trying to direct the cart traffic around some of the well worn rough areas. I know that sometimes these stakes are in places that cause you to take an indirect route and maybe even walk a bit farther but, if you could please work with us it will help out a lot. We move these every day and doing this helps rotate wear on the grass and keep it alive. Thanks a lot!

Grass that needs a day off!

Ian