On Monday, April 29th we will start our spring greens aerification with a
process known as drill and fill. Drill and fill consist of several 8
inch drill bits that literally drill into our putting greens root-zone.
Once the drill bit removes 8 inches of organic material, the hole is
completely filled with sand. We do this for several reasons, all of
which are critical factors in maintaining high quality putting surfaces.
The first and possibly most important reason is to drastically reduce
soil compaction. Soil compaction occurs on heavy clay native soil
putting greens like we have here at Midlothian.
The clay soil particles
are very fine which means they easily compact. That leads us to another
reason why we drill and fill, water infiltration. The tight compaction
that occurs with heavy clay soils leads to extremely small micropores.
Micropores are the small spaces within
tightly compacted soils in which water and oxygen are held. When soil
becomes overly compacted water can no longer travel from the putting
greens surface through the soil profile. This not only leads to softer
playing surfaces but it can also be a major factor in encouraging
turfgrass diseases. Therefore, we aggressively introduce sand into the
putting greens root-zone by drilling out the clay soils and filling the
holes with sand. Sand is used because the particles are much coarser
than the fine clay soil particles. The coarser sand particles allow for
macropores, which are much larger areas within the root-zone in which
water can infiltrate at a much higher rate. This leads to firmer playing
surfaces and healthier turfgrass plants. The larger pore space also
allows for more oxygen to be held within the soil profile, which
encourages healthy root growth. Growing a healthy, robust root system in
the cooler spring months is key for all turfgrass plants
when trying to survive the unforgiving heat and humidity of the summer
months here in Chicago. The combination of all these factors will
undoubtedly lead to better performing putting greens for our members and
guest.
Linked is an example of the drill and fill process that will take place here at MCC shortly.
