EVENTS...CALENDAR

JULY25 Facilities Management Seminar, Profes-

sional Grounds Management Society,Ohio State University, Columbus, OH. ContactPGMS, 10402 Ridgland Road, Suite 4, Cock-eysville, MD 21030, (301) 667-1833.

28 30 International Power Equipment- Expo, Outdoor Power Equipment

Institute, Kentucky Fair and Exposition Cen-ter, Louisville, KY. Contact Expo '91, (800)558-8767 or (502) 473-1992.

2 9 Turfgrass Field Day, South Farm, Uni-versity of Missouri, Columbia, MO. Con-

tact Missouri Valley Turfgrass Association,344 Hearnes Center, University of Missouri,Columbia, MO 65211, (314) 882-4087.

3 0 Midwest Regional Turf Field Day, Mid-west Regional Turf Foundation, Purdue

University Agronomy Research Center, WestLafayette, IN. Contact Clark Throssell, (317)494-4785.

31 Griffin Field Day, Georgia Golf CourseSuperintendents Association, Georgia

Experiment Station, Griffin, GA. Contact:Karen White, GGCSA, P.O. Box 683, Watkins-ville, GA 30677, (404) 769-4076.

AUGUST1Turfgrass Research Field Day, National

Turfgrass Evaluation Program, USDABeltsville Agricultural Research Center-West,Beltsville, MD. Contact Kevin Morris, USDA-BARCWest, Building 001, Room 333,Belts-ville, MD 20705, (301) 344-2125.

5 6Summer Meeting, Georgia Golf Course- Superintendents Association, Lake La-

nier Islands Hotel and Golf Club, Lake LanierIslands, GA. Contact Karen White, GGCSA,P.O. Box 683 Watkinsville, GA 30677, (404)769-4076.

6 8 Field Diagnostic Course for Turfgrass- Managers, New York State Turfgrass

Association, Inc., Cornell University, Ithaca,NY. Contact Joann Gruttadaurio, (607) 255-1792.

8Turfgrass Research Field, Rutgers Cooper-ative Extension, Adelphia Research Center,

Halls Mills Road, Freehold, NJ. Contact Ed-mund Milewski, Rutgers Cooperative Exten-sion of Morris County, P.O. Box 900,Morristown, NY 07963-0900, (201) 285-8300.

Send announcements on your events two months inadvance to editor, Golf & SportsTURF, P.O. Box 8420,Van Nuys, CA 91409. Fax: (818) 781-8517.

THE FRONT OFFICE...OPINION PAGE

SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE ...

Inplanning and creating this magazine eachmonth, the promise of "Something foreveryone" is easy to make, but difficult to keep.

Our readers are diverse. They include people likeRoss Kurcab, superintendent of the DenverBroncos' practice facilities, and Ed Bacon, aSalem, OR, resident who cares for his own baseballfield, notched out of the hillside next to his home.We go to the keepers of obscure, suburban threepars, as well those who care for well-known,IS-hole private courses.

Satisfying everybody's needs is tricky at best. One reader may find an articletoo complicated, another too simple, and still another simply irrelevant. No matterhow completely we try to cover the field, we will always fail someone. We knowthis, but that doesn't mean we accept it, sit back, and stagnate.

The best way for us to learn what you need from Golf & sportsTURF is to hearyour criticisms. (Certainly, praise is nice, but it's hard to really learn anythingfrom it) We can stay in our offices, waiting for the phone to ring or for the morningmail to arrive, but it's far more enlightening for us to get out in the field and meetyou face to face.

In mid-June, I traveled to the Northwest for the first time for field days andtours of seed companies. In a somewhat frantic week, I visited seed companies inOregon and Idaho. Along the way, I learned a bit about the seed trade, got lostin the spectacular countryside and liked it, met readers, and made a few friends.Best of all, I heard, firsthand, a number of suggestions for this magazine. Whatfollows are a few of the many I wrote down:

"We should provide useful information for superintendents at the high schooland junior high school level. We should be more attentive to what's going on inthe middle regions of the country. We shouldn't be too 'commercial,' but shouldkeep readers abreast of the latest products. We should concentrate more on thepeople in the industry."

Valid points, one and all. We will incorporate each of them into our editorialfocus, in addition to the areas we're already striving to cover. I can't say that everyissue will have an article specifically geared to, for example, the high school fieldmanager, but that area will become a regular part of our rotation.

There are a number of fine turf management magazines, but anyone thatclaims to "have it all covered" is kidding itself and you. That's an irresponsibleattitude for an editor to take-one that hints of complacency. When a publicationbecomes "satisfied" with the job it is doing, it stagnates. We won't let that happen.We can always do better. That's the standing challenge of magazine publishingand, I suspect, most professions.

Still, I know that in the "Something for everyone" department, we will alwayscome up just a little bit short But that won't stop us from trying. We'll keeplistening, learning, and growing. Golf & sportsTURF is your magazine, and yourcomments playa big role in the final product. Call or write Bruce Shank or me,any time.

July, 1991 11

West Side Tennis Club provides four different types of court surfaces for its members.

West Side Tennis Club:

Superintendent PreservesTradition In An Evolving SportTennis comes into full swing during

the summer. Television coverage ofthe Grand Slam and the u.S. Open

boosts the popularity of the game. Courtsfill with everyone from novices to life-longhobbyists seeking exercise outdoors.

Like golf, tennis is a sport for all ages.As a person grows older and finds flagfootball, basketball, and softball a bit toomuch to handle, tennis is an excellent alter-native. He can set his own pace on a tenniscourt and, with regular practice, can remaincompetitive long into retirement From thesport's origin, men and women have partic-ipated equally.

Tennis facilities are adapting to the var-ied condition and skill levels of our matur-ing population. Today, a choice of tennissurfaces helps control the safety and paceof the game. It also increases the responsi-

12 Golf & sport TURF

bility and value of the superintendent orgroundskeeper.

Jim Sheridan, club superintendent atThe West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills,NY, has witnessed the changes in tennisover two generations. His father, OwenSheridan, began grooming the 13 acres ofcolonial bentgrass and clay courts in 1932.Located just outside New York City, WestSide helped launch tennis in the UnitedStates and for decades was the site of theU.S. Open.

What has taken place at the club closelyfollows the evolution of tennis in this coun-try from a gentlemen's sport to a highlycommercialized attraction. It helped buildrecognition for tennis, served as a primarystage for television coverage, and thendrew the line when the Open outgrew itsstadium. It remains one of the premiere

private tennis clubs in the world and fulfillsits promise to members that they will nothave to wait more than one hour to get ona courtTennis Tradition

West Side still serves metropolitan NewYork as well as an international member-ship. It hosts numerous tournaments be-tween May and October. Tennisprofessionals of all ages, countries, andgenders frequent its courts during the year.Most of them know Jim Sheridan on a firstname basis.

They should. He started working thereunder his father when he was 14 years old.He continued part-time throughout highschool and college. His father encouragedhim to complete a degree in OrnamentalHorticulture and Turf Management at Cor-nell University in Ithaca and a Masters in

Business Administration at Fordham Uni-versity in the Bronx. Even after he becameadministrator of grounds at Fordham in1976, he exchanged information with hisfather. In 1980, he assumed thesuperintendent's position after his fatherretired.

It didn't take Sheridan long to beginchanging the way athletic facilities weremanaged at Fordham. "Before you can per-manently solve the problems associatedwith athletic fields, you have to treat themseparately from the rest of campus mainte-nance," he told the university's administra-tion. The fields really should be under aseparate budget with specially trained per-sonnel. You don't get results without mak-ing a commitment, one that isn't constantlybeing challenged by other campus needs.Fordham adopted Sheridan's idea and hassince rebuilt its main fields. Now the ath-letic department is in the process of rein-stating the school's once successful footballprogram.

"Fordham is like an oasis in the middleof the Bronx," he boasts. "It's a beautifulcampus that helps build pride in the midstof the city."

The same can be said for the tennis club.When the club moved from the west side ofManhattan to Forest Hills in 1913, the areawas farmland. It soon featured 36 grasscourts and more than 20 clay. The stadiumwas built in 1923 to hold 15,000 tennisfans, a phenomenal crowd for the times.The U.S. Open was held in this stadiumuntil 1978, when it moved to the NationalTennis Center in Flushing Meadows. In1980, the club hosted its first Tournamentof Champions.

"The Open was played on grass until1975," said Sheridan. "Then the stadiumwas converted to Har-Tru because the play-ers wanted more uniformity. Maintaininggrass for tournament play is a nightmare.We'd resod patches along the baselinesalmost every night. By the end of twoweeks, though, the courts were essentiallydirt. The climate and the construction ofthe courts here is a lot different from Wim-bledon. The soil there contains more claythan our topsoil. Even when the grasswears thin, play can continue."

The popularity of grass courts contin-ued to wane during the '80s. The original36 courts were converted to other surfacesgradually over the years. First to 22 andnow to eight. "Grass is nice for the recrea-tional player," states Sheridan. "We protectour courts by rotating them daily, maintain-ing a sod nursery, and using a few tech-

Bentgrass courts are mowed at 5/16-inch.

niques to keep the bent growing vigor-ously. Each year we host the Men's Easternand National Women's Senior Grass CourtChampionships.

"There's definitely a place for grasscourts in tennis today," continued Sheri-dan. "After a lull ten years ago, the use ofour grass courts picked up again. Someplayers prefer grass over anything else. Wemake sure they have a place to play."

Variety of SurfacesToday, Sheridan maintains eight grass

courts, seven red clay courts, four DecoTurfcourts, and 23 Har-Tru courts. The clubalso has three platform tennis courts andcovers four Har-Tru courts with a bubblefor winter play.

The hard court is actually an adaptationof tennis brought on by American courtbuilders and the glamorization of the fast-paced, power game played by young profes-sionals in this country. Hard courts playfaster, have a more predictable bounce, andprovide superior footing. They benefit theyounger player and power in regard toshotmaktng. However, they also are lessforgiving on knees and leg muscles.

Clay and grass courts take some of thespeed off the ball when it bounces. Theemphasis is placed on shotmaklng. Mostforeign tennis professionals develop theirskills on clay and grass. In fact, most majortournaments outside the United States areheld on other than hard surface courts.

West Side has four Deco-Turf hardcourts for its members who enjoy the fastgame. But the majority of its courts aresurfaced to please those who like moretraditional playing conditions.

Court Maintenance"This country has ventured away from

traditional tennis surfaces partly because ofthe maintenance involved in clay and grasscourts," Sheridan points out. "They requirea daily regimen of maintenance practices.Most parks don't have the budget ortrained staff to manage anything besideshard courts. As a result, most people learntennis on hard surfaces and aren't exposedto the differences grass and clay courtsoffer."

According to Sheridan, there is a gen-eral lack of knowledge on how to care formore traditional tennis surfaces. He is con-stantly receiving phone calls from tennisenthusiasts with their own courts. "I fre-quently consult members on court care,"says Sheridan. He also is a regular speakerat Har-Tru's annual maintenance school.

"Just like no two golf greens are exactlyalike, no two grass or clay courts are thesame," explains Sheridan. "There is a widevariation in grass courts because of the soiland the varieties of bentgrass used. Ourcourts and nursery were constructed witha local topsoil amended with USGA greensmix. The surface is probably in the range of70 percent sand and 30 percent humus. Weaerate, drill seed, topdress, and roll thecourts in October. Deep aeration in Aprilhas also proven helpful."

Sheridan has gradually incorporated dif-ferent varieties of creeping bentgrass andperennial ryegrass into the courts. "I'vetried using just one variety in the past andfound that mixtures are more wear toler-ant," he reports. The courts are now amixture of ryegrass and Cobra, Penncross,

continued on page 14

July, 1991 13

West Side Tennis Clubcontinued from page 13

and Penneagle bents."In the '40s, my father tried

Ugandagrass on a portion of the nursery,"adds Sheridan. "It didn't green up until theend of June."

The other items Sheridan watchesclosely are moisture and fertility. "Our irri-gation system is all manual with quick-cou-pler heads," he says. "There is no zoning.I'd prefer an automatic system, but ournight irrigation man knows to watch thegrass courts very closely."

Since the rootzone contains a high por-tion of sand, Sheridan tries to avoid quick-release nitrogen sources. "There is a lot ofconcern over nitrates leaching into thegroundwater around here," he states. "Ialso don't want lush turf growth. I'm fairlyhappy with a line of fertilizers from Huma-Cro. It includes complete fertilizers as wellas supplements of potassium, phosphorus,and minors. The turf seems to be tougher,better in hot periods, and less prone todisease. It is not quite as green. That'swhere a few selected applications of nitro-gen and iron come in."

Sheridan is trying milky spore to controlgrubs and is considering biological pesti-cides for billbugs and the Northern cranefly. He alternates Bayleton and Chipco26019 for diseases. "I don't go to preventa-tive fungicides unless there's an unusualproblem caused by weather," he adds. Twoapplications of Trimec keep the weedsunder control.

Jim Sheridan.

The grass courts are neatly trimmed at5/16-inch with two walk-behindgreensmowers. "They are a total of abouttwo acres," reveals Sheridan, "so I'm con-sidering a riding triplex greensmower."

Included in his bag of tricks are a specialline marker and an occasional touch upwith green dye for televised events. "Themarker uses a two-inch roller to apply alight coat of paint to the grass," he says. "Ithelps cut down on paint buildup that youcan get from a sprayer."

It might appear that the grass courtsrequire more attention than the others.This is not true according to Sheridan."You have different concerns with clay and

Har-Tru. Brushing, filling in low spots, andmaintaining the right level of moisture areconstant jobs for clay-type courts. We man-age our red clay courts differently from theHar-Tru. The Har-Tru is crushed light-greenstone. It drains better than clay, but it alsorequires more water to maintain its firm-ness. The advantage of Har-Tru is the ma-terial is consistent," claims Sheridan."Clays vary a great deal and they alsocontain fines which cling to the ball andclothing." There is enough to clay courtmanagement that it takes Sheridan morethan three hours to cover the subject at theHar-Tru school.

Six years ago, Sheridan received somany calls about court maintenance that hedecided to train a crew and start a sidebusiness. "We maintain more than 20courts in the area during the summer," hesays. "We have the equipment and knowl-edge it takes to do the job right. Properlymaintained courts play the way they wereintended to play. More people would havegrass and clay courts if there were someoneto maintain them professionally.'

It's obvious that Sheridan has an affinityfor grass and clay courts. Perhaps it's be-cause he and his father have invested somuch of their lives in them. Or maybe it'sthe impression he gets from all the tennisstars he knows personally. He presents thechallenge, "If you're a serious golfer, whattype of course do you enjoy playing most?It's the same for tennis. That's importantwhen you realize you can enjoy tennisthroughout your life."

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Only lerti-Drain® puBsplugs or solid tinesto 16inches deepand saves you wateJ:Lots of products claim to do one of these things well but only Verti-Draincan do them all well. It gives you complete versatility to hollow core orsolid tine depending on your soil conditions. tested worldwide, Verti-Drainconsistently performs well developing healthy-root systems for fine grasses8 to 10 inches deep, often through the black layer into the deep root zone.

And in clay or heavily-compactedsoil areas, users see dramatic improve-ments in drainage. Many also reportsignificant overall water savings becausethe water is getting deeper into the soilinstead of running off or evaporating.

In all sorts of applications, Verti-Drainhas saved greens, improved fairways,brought back sports fields, restored high-traffic turf areas. All because it promotesroot growth like no other machine on themarket today. CUstomers say it works likea pitchfork actually pitching the tinesforward, heaving the soil and creatingnew pockets for air and water withoutscarring the surface.

There's a full range of solid or hollowtine machines and accessories availablefrom a 6 inch depth walk-behind model upto 16 inch deep models. There's a modelthat will fit your needs and budget. Sodon't give up ifyou have compaction ordrainage worries. With \erti-Drain you canhave the turf you want, believe it or not.

Turf professionals have reported excellentresults using both hollow-coring tinesand solid tines with severely compactedor tough-to-penetrate soils. Often solidtines are the best way to break throughrock-hard layers.

The patented Verti-Drain designpermits tines to pivot back andforth while penetrating as deep as16 inches (coring up to 12 inches)into the soil. A lifting-shatteringeffect occurs similar to the actionof a pitchfork. The results areimproved drainage and deeper,stronger, healthier root systems.

No matter what your aeration productivity and depth requirementsare, Verti-Drain has a model and the attachments to meet your needs.Call or write today for more details and the name of a dealer near you.

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ASGCA HONORS ST. ANDREWS SECRETARY

Presenting the award to Michael F. Bonallack (center) are (left to right) ASGCAVice PresidentTom Clark, Secretary Art Hills, President Dan Maples and Treasurer Jerry Matthews.

Michael F. Bonallack, secretary of theRoyal and Ancient Golf Club at St. Andrewswas presented with the 1991 Donald RossAward by the American Society of GolfCourse Architects at its meeting in

Broughton Park, England. The award hon-ors an individual for contributions to thegrowth, understanding, and public aware-ness of the importance of golf course archi-tecture to the game of golf.

MCCUMBER GOLF GOESNORTH OF THE BORDER

Construction of the IS-hole EdmontonPetroleum Golf and Country Club in Al-berta, Canada, is under way. The coursewas designed by Mark McCumber and As-sociates, the design division of McCumberGolf, and is the firm's first course in Can-ada.

The 32O-acre site was purchased by theEdmonton Petroleum club in 1990. It islocated on the west side of Edmonton in thenorth-central region in the province of Al-berta.

Predominantly flat, the land does have20- to 25-foot ridges that cut across thelower third of the property. There is acombination of forest, peat bog, and arableland. The par-72 course will stand alone,with no adjacent residential development.Expansion to a 27-hole course is beingconsidered.

"We have taken great care in routingthe golf course throughout the property tocreate a variety of holes," said Mike Beebe,project architect for Mark McCumber &Associates, who has been elected to full-member status in the American Society ofGolf Course Architects.

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The original aeration device. The latest concept, the Toro Hydro.Iect,

Aeration Takes Rootin Sports TurfSPorts fields, golf greens and park

turf, as simple as they may appear,are complex communities of plants

and organisms living in careful balance.While the vast majority of turf maintenanceis directed at the foliage and thatch aboveground, an equally important portion of theturfgrass community lies below the soilsurface, completely out of sight. Failing tomaintain the subsurface portion of turfover a period of time disrupts the balanceof the turfgrass community and leads to itssteady decline.

There are practical methods availabletoday to maintain "the other half" of turf.They not only improve the overall qualityof turf areas, they also increase the effec-tiveness of surface maintenance methodsand provide the sports turf manager withgreater control.

The most popular of these methods ismechanical aeration. This process makes aseries of holes or slits in the soil. Theseopenings relieve compaction, improvedrainage, permit air and nutrients to pene-trate the root zone, and provide channelsthrough impermeable layers below the sur-face.

In the darkness of the soil, turfgrassesdevelop extensive root systems. Roots sta-bilize the foliage, they explore the porespaces between soil particles for water, airand nutrients, and they store carbohydratesmanufactured in the leaves above. Turfscientists have discovered turfgrass rootsextending more than four feet into the soil.If you consider all the plant functions car-ried out by roots, you quickly realize they

By Dr. John C. Harper

are every bit as important to the turfgrassplant as the leaves.

Leaves have one special task, to manu-facture sugars and starches (carbohy-drates) by a process called photosynthesis.Chlorophyll contained in the leaves cap-tures the energy of the sun to convert waterand carbon dioxide into sugars andstarches. These carbohydrates are then uti-lized by the plant to fuel its growth. Excesscarbohydrates are sent to the roots forstorage.

The roots have the job of obtaining thewater, nutrients and gases for photosynthe-sis, respiration, and growth. A turfgrassplant in full sun without a healthy rootsystem will not perform up to its potential.Therefore, an equal amount of consider-ation should be given to turfgrass roots.

By applying quality fertilizers, sportsturf managers provide most of the nutrientssought by the roots. Irrigation provides thenecessary moisture. Even so, poor drain-age, poor soil, heavy thatch or other barri-ers preventing nutrients and moisture fromentering the root zone greatly reduce theeffectiveness of standard turf maintenancepractices.

These barriers preventing propersoil/atmosphere exchange are oftencaused by compaction of the surface soil.Thousands of impacts caused by foot andvehicle traffic tamp down the top inch ortwo of soil so tightly that neither air orwater can pass through.

The negatives associated with compac-tion have been listed by Dr. J.R. Hall, exten-sion agronomist at Virginia Tech,

Blacksburg, VA. They include destructionof the soil structure, reduced soil drainage,and increased soil-eroding runoff, reducedprotection of the root zone to heat or cold,pesticides are unable to reach and controlinsects in the soil, and there is less storagespace within the soil for water, air, andnutrients, and results in higher mainte-nance costs. Root growth is also stunted bycompacted soil. Shorter and smaller rootsystems render turfgrass more vulnerableto periods of stress.

Thatch, nondecomposed stems, leaves,and roots on the surface of soil, can beharmful to healthy turf if it becomes morethan 1/2-inch thick. Heavy thatch reducesthe effectiveness of some herbicides andinsecticides, harbors insects and diseasesand can disrupt uniform infiltration of irri-gation or natural rainfall. Research hasshown that periodic aeration helps mix soilinto the thatch layer to aid in its decornpo-sition. Some thatch is considered advanta-geous for sports turf since it provides acushion that protects both the player andthe turfgrass from damage upon impact.

Another barrier to healthy turf growthis soil incompatibility, a situation createdwhen sod grown on highly-organic soil isinstalled over a sandy or clay soil. Heavyapplications of organic materials to a turfgrowing in sandy or clay soils can have thesame effect. The organic layer at the surfaceacts like a sponge, keeping the surfaceexcessively damp and preventing surfacewater from draining through the soil as itshould. This environment is destructive to

continued on page 18

July, 1991 17

Holland Aerway fractures subsurface layers of soil.

Aerationcontinued from page 17

organisms living in the turf that assist inthe decomposition of thatch.

Compaction, thatch, and soil incompati-bility are often the real causes of turf failureblamed on poor irrigation practices, dis-eases, insects, or inadequate fertilization.There is enough evidence to support theuse of aerators by sports turf managers toprevent and break up soil barriers.

The earliest documentation of aerationis in a book titled Making A Lawn, writtenin 1912 by LJ. Doogue of the Boston ParksDepartment. Doogue recognized the needto work fertilizer into compacted soils. Hewrites, "Take a round stick about one inchin diameter and three feet long and sharpenone end. At frequent intervals, drive thestick to a depth of two feet about thegrounds. Make many such holes, and intothese ram a mixture of finely-powderedmanure, hardwood ashes and bone meal. Ina short time the good effects of this treat-ment will manifest themselves and duringsubsequent seasons the treatment can beextended to parts not touched before. Itpractically means that the land will be asthoroughly renovated as if it had beenplowed and harrowed."

However, in 1917, the need for aerationwas not recognized in the first comprehen-sive U.S. publication on golf course man-agement, Turf for Golf Courses, by Piperand Oakley. These early agronomistsworked for the United States Departmentof Agriculture and assisted the UnitedStates Golf Association in establishing turfmanagement practices for its members.

18 Golf & sport TURF

Dr. Fred V. Grau, the first extensionturfgrass specialist for Pennsylvania StateUniversity, reported that he had no recol-lection of any type of equipment being usedto improve soil-air relationships or to re-duce soil compaction at the USDA's Arling-ton Turf Gardens in the early 1930s. Graudid remember golf course superintendentsusing potato forks and spading forks toloosen hard spots on putting greens thatresisted water penetration.

In the mid-'30s, a Michigan concern of-fered for sale a three-gang, pull-behindspike disk fairway cultivator, a spike diskgreens cultivator, and a 10-inch-wide homelawn spike disk cultivator. In its advertis-ing, the company stated, "It is an acceptedfact that turf requires aeration and cultiva-tion especially upon turf that receives con-stant play." The tractor-drawn model on themarket today is essentially the same as the1930 version.

During the late '30s and early ,40s,many turfgrass managers developed theirown versions of aerating equipment, rang-ing from devices as simple as large spikesdrive through planks to "Rube Goldberg-type" machines that required several mento push or pull. Soil aeration was a majortopic of "Lawn Schools" given by agricul-tural agent Charles K. Hallowell in Phila-delphia during the period.

In 1945, Grau, then director of theUSGA Green Section, discussed developinga commercial aeration machine with Tomand Tony Mascaro, owners of West PointProducts in West Point, PA. The Mascarobrothers decided to expand their topdress-ing business into equipment manufactur-

ing and designed the West Point Aerifler,This development truly became the begin-ning of a new era for specialized turfgrassmanagement equipment. Hahn purchasedthe manufacturing rights to the "WestPoint Aerifier" in 1970.

The West Point Aerifier had one draw-back. Because the tines entered and exitedthe soil at an angle, they would lift up a lipof turf at the back of the core hole. Golfcourse superintendents were concernedthat these lips would disrupt putting on golfgreens. To provide superintendents with aneater surface following aeration, theGreensaire Aerification Co., of Hopkins,MN, (purchased by Ryan in 1950) inventedan aerator that drove hollow, cylindricaltines vertically into the soil and pulled soilcores straight out. These machines wereconsiderably slower than disc-type or WestPoint aerators.

The first walk-behind aerator for generallawn use was the Motoraire introduced inthe '50s by Soilaire Industries (purchasedby Ryan in 1960). Hollow tines pivoted onsolid metal wheels as they turned. The tinesentered and exited the soil in an almostvertical position providing a neat enoughjob for residential or commercial lawns. Theunit was also as fast as a West Point aerifier,

The Dedoes Co. manufactures a drumaerator which traps the soil cores insideinstead of depositing them on the turf.Screens on both ends of the drums trap thecores until they can be deposited in lowspots or discarded. These are convenientfor smaller jobs where cores could be aproblem, but impractical for large areaswhere the aerator may remove 10 or morecubic yards of cores per acre.

In recent years, several new conceptshave appeared in aerating equipment, in-cluding an oscillating or quaking tine ef-fect. For the most part, the method ofoperation has basically been two-fold. Theso-called punch-type aerators drive hollowor solid tines in and out of the soil verticallywith very little tearing or raising of the sodaround the hole. These machines were de-veloped primarily for golf course greens,grass tennis courts, bowling greens orother c1osely-cut turf areas where minimumdisruption of play is essential.

The second, or rolling-type, machinesare equipped with solid spikes, hollowtines, open-spoon tines, or slitting-slicingtines of varying shapes and sizes. the tinesare mounted on a drum, a series of discs,or directly on an axle that rolls forward withthe machine. The tines enter and exit thesoil at an angle. For this reason, some tines

tend to tear and raise the soil around thelip of the hole.

As previously indicated, there are manydifferent types of tines. Hollow tines andopen-spoon tines remove soil cores whilesolid tines remove little or no soil. Mosttines vary from 1/4 to 3/4 inches in diam-eter. Slicing tines are available in a varietyof shapes, sizes and thicknesses. An earlyaerator known as the Nightcrawler de-signed for greens actually used augers(large drill bits) in place of tines.

The spacing of tines determines thenumber of holes or slices made in a givenarea. A machine equipped with hollow tineson two-inch centers will provide approxi-mately 36,000 holes per 1,000 square feet.A random check of commercial literaturereveals tine spacing of 2, 2.5, 2.75, 3, 3.5,4, 4.5, 5.5, and 6 inches are currently avail-able.

Tine mounting also varies on rolling-type aerators. Most rolling-type, core-re-moving machines have hollow oropen-spoon tines mounted rigidly on thedrum or axle. A few manufacturers of roll-ing-type machines have the tines mountedon hinges. The theory is the tine enters andleaves the soil in an almost straight verticalposition causing less tearing of the sod

around the hole. Generally, spiking, slicingand slitting tines are mounted rigidly.

Speed of operation has been a majorconsideration in the development of aera-tion equipment. Unfortunately, there hasbeen a direct correlation between speedand the quality of the aeration results.Generally, the faster rolling-type machinesdo not have close tine spacing, the cleanentry and exit, or the depth of vertical-coremachines. The outcry for faster equipmentis the result of greatly increased labor costs,down time of the turfgrass area and incon-venience to the player. Some golf courses,where cost is not a limiting factor, havebegun using slow-moving punch-typegreens aerators to cultivate their fairways.Classen, Cushman, Green Care Interna-tional, Jacobsen, Terracare, and Toro havereengineered punch-type aerators for fair-ways and sports fields.

Depth of penetration also has been aconcern. Most machines on the markettoday that pull soil cores penetrate approx-imately two to three inches. One U.S. man-ufacturer provides six inch hollow tines.Slicing or slitting machines may penetrateas deeply as six inches whereas splkersnormally used to break up surface crustsonly penetrate one to two inches.

Some manufacturers offer accessoriesfor their equipment line. Attachments towindrow or pick up soil cores are on themarket today. One manufacturer offers anattachment that picks up the plugs, shattersthem and returns them to the turf astopdressing material. Weight trays andweights for maximum tine penetration areoffered by many suppliers.

A major concern of many turfgrass man-agers is the development of a compactedsoil layer at the point of maximum tinepenetration following frequent aerification.It makes no difference whether the ma-chine is a punch-type or rolling-type.

One possible means of reducing thisproblem may be the development of betterdepth control for existing machines so pen-etration depth can be varied from one aer-ation to the next. Unfortunately, theshallow maximum depth of many machineslimits this approach. A possible alternativewould be to follow a program using severalmachines having different depths of maxi-mum penetration.

The development of the compacted layeris akin to the development of a fragipan orhard pan in a crops soil. Not only is drain-age impeded but roots fail to penetrate the

continued on page 20

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compacted layer. This layer in turf soils maybe more serious than in some crop soilsbecause it develops at such a shallow depth.The resulting shallow roots may lead tosevere stress of the plants during droughtperiods.

Deep aeration devices have been devel-oped in the past few years to break throughsubsurface compacted layers. The Verti-Drain is one example. Holland Co. of On-tario, Canada, has developed a spike-liketine that fractures the soil below the surfacewithout damaging the turf above. YeagerTwose and Olathe have machines that aer-ate by cutting grooves in the soil. TheVertigroove by TurITech removes thin,deep slices of soil instead of cores. Theslices are removed or broken up like coreswould be.

Obviously, tines have the potential todamage irrigation heads and shallow lines.Heads should be marked before aerationand the depth of aeration should be set toprevent tines from hitting irrigation linesor wires.

Tines glazing the sides of core holes orsoil slits is also a concern. Glazed surfaceshave a very thin compacted layer whichreduces the movement of oxygen and waterinto the soil and carbon dioxide out of thesoil. Some manufacturers claim that theaction of their tines shatters the wall of thehole or slit and thus avoids the problem.This may be true for relatively dry soils, butmoist soils do not shatter readily. Further-more, some aerators will not penetrate drysoils well.

Aerator manufacturers have added de-vices to their machines that counteractsome of the tearing and lifting of the sod.Springs attached to each tine compress thesurface as the tine enters the soil andreduces lifting of sod when it exits. Evenvertical core machines have spring-loadedguides that hold the soil around the pointsthe tines enter. Toro has taken a differentapproach to this problem by introducingthe Hydro-Ject which uses jets of waterinstead of tines to create channels in thesoil.

As indicated earlier, speed of aerationis important in some turf operations. Insituations where uninterrupted turf use iscritical, especially from a financial stand-point, sports managers are forced to sacri-fice some quality for speed. Where time isa limiting factor, slicing equipment can beoperated at higher speeds than coring

Aerationcontinued from page 19

equipment although quality may be less.AJ. Turgeon gives a detailed discussion ofthe relative merits of coring as compared toslicing or spiking in his book TurfgrassManagement.

Rapid drying out of the turf can be aproblem if aeration timing is improper. Dur-ing hot weather, especially under windyconditions, desiccation around the core orslit opening can occur quite rapidly. Dryingout potential is greater with coring thanslicing or spiking. During hot, windyweather, it is recommended that a slicingor spiking machine be used rather than acoring unit and that irrigation be available.

On the other hand, soils that are proneto remain wet for long periods benefit fromcoring just prior to expected periods ofprolonged rainfall. When hurricane Agnesstruck the Atlantic Coast in the spring of1972, golf greens that had been core aer-ated that spring withstood flood watersand/or prolonged rainfall much better thanthose that had not been cored. Wet soilscan also be dried out faster by coring pro-viding the equipment used is capable ofpulling cores from wet soil.

Opening up the soil for air, moisture,and nutrients, also opens it up for insectsand weed seeds. Cutworms living in coreholes and feeding near the surface willcause a brown, damaged ring of turf at thetop of the hole. Aerated areas known to beinfested with cutworms or insects of similarhabit, should be treated with an insecticideat the first sign of insect damage.

Aeration can bring viable weed seeds tothe surface that would be too deep togerminate otherwise. Crabgrass seed hasthe ability to lie dormant in the soil formany years and to germinate readily whenbrought to the soil surface. Annual blue-grass seed germination also can be in-creased by aeration.

It's important to note that aeratorsshould not be used during the effectiveperiod of preemergence herbicides. Theseherbicides form a chemical barrier justbelow the surface of the soil which blocksgerminating weeds. Mechanical aerationbreaks through the chemical barrier anddamages the effectiveness of these herbi-cides.

The benefits of aeration far outweighthe problems it creates. The most commonbenefits attributed to aeration are the im-provement of gaseous exchange betweenthe soil and the atmosphere and the reduc-tion of compaction. By removing the cores,the bulk density or hardness of the soildecreases. This softer soil cushions the