2026 Summer Aeration Update

As we wrap up another successful aeration week, we would like to thank you for your patience and understanding while GCM completed these important annual maintenance tasks.

Aeration is one of the most beneficial practices we perform each year to maintain healthy turf and provide exceptional playing conditions throughout the season. By relieving soil compaction, improving air and water movement, and encouraging deeper root growth, we're investing in the long-term health of the golf course. We close in July to aerate FW's while the warm season Hybrid Bermuda is actively growing. This July's weather facilitated a small tine aeration of the greens as well.

What you can expect on Saturday when the course re-opens is putting surfaces showing some small aeration holes and a little sand. We will mow and roll the greens through the weekend, however expect slower surfaces but true. Fairways will have a tan appearance to them from all of the aeration and topdressing practices, and they'll be a bit sandy but lies will be very good. They might be a little wet in some areas as we need keep them hydrated with the presence of open holes which can accelerate soil drying. A picture is worth a thousand words so below are photo's of the week, outlining the process for those who are interested.

Greens Aeration

The first step in the  greens aeration process is to actually aerate the greens. Above is an example of greens aeration using a Toro Procore 648 Turf Aerator an industry standard. We set up the aerator with 1/4" coreing tines fitting with our philosphy of small hole but more frequent putting surface aeration. Small holes are less disruptive to the surface and therfore recover much quicker then larger more traditional greens aeration holes. This process is a poa annua prevention strategy as well along with putting quality strategy as small holes dont effect ball roll as much and recover rapidly limiting poa's germination.

The next step is to remove the cores extracted from the surface with the Procore. We recently had an oppurtunity to rent a core sweeper that significantly reduces the strain of processing cores developed during aeration. Above depicts the Pure Turf Core Sweeper working in tandom with the Toro Procore Turf Aerator and our own GCM partners with blowers keeping the process clean and tight.

Following the cleaning of the surface we apply sand topdressing with a Toro Propass 200 Series Topdressor. Applying topdressing sand to the surface is crucial as it fills the aeration holes for stability & surface firmness and it dilutes the excessive organic matter that putting surfaces are prone to develop.

Aftery some drying of the topdressing sand we use a GreensGroomer Brush to work the sand into the aeration holes and turf canopy. This brushing process can be hard on the surface if applied excessively. Therfore we dont try to apply too much sand in the  first pass of topdressing which would require the damageing excessive brushing. Experience has taught us to make subsequent light applications of sand to completly fill aeration holes and brush this light amount in, limiting the bruseing it can cause to the surface.

We had the oppurtunity to let the greens rest  after all of the above mentioned aeration processes this week as we were closed Monday 7/6/26 through Friday 7/10/26. Normally when we do this 1/4" aeration process to the putting surfaces, we do it on a closed Monday and need to prep the greens for Member play the following Tuesday. Here we are on Friday rolling the greens for the first time since aeration on Monday. Rolling will help the sand settle in, smooth and prepare them for mowing ahead of Member play on Saturday

After the rolling we go ahead and mow the surface for the first time since Sunday. We can get away with this being closed for a week but as I mentioned above, normal circumstances opening on Tuesday after a Monday 1/4" aeration event we have to prepare surfaces for Member use.

Above is a fair representation of the greens Members will encounter on Saturday when the course re-opens. Small 1/4" holes wont deflect ball roll, but speed will be down for at least a week longer

Fairway Aeration

Flagging irrigation heads and valve boxes is the first step in any aeration process as aeration equipment will destroy irrigation heads and must be avoided. Even with all of the proactive work of flagging heads it is enivitable that some of them will get clipped with the aerator and require replacement. 

Granite Bay is blessed to have two Toro Procore 1298 Turf Aerators for aeration. Having two big aerators allow us to get allot done rapidly in the AM so when daybreak arrives the extracted turf cores start to dry out and we can start to process them. Dry conditions are crucial for the remaining processes of verticle mowing, sand topdressing and brushing. Above depicts the two Procore 1298's extracting cores on #9.

We took advantage of the flagged irrigation heads this aeration cycle and trimmed the overgrown turf from them. This will allow us to identify the low heads so we can start the process of raising and leveling them.

We added Vertical Mowing to this years aeration process with the goal of getting the Santa Anna Hybrid Bermuda  fairways into a more upright growth habit and at the same time removing thatch or excessive organic matter. The entire process of aeration and vertical mowing must be done when the Santa Anna is actively growing which is the primary reason we close the golf course the week after the 4th of July. 

Here is a good look at the verticle blades of the vertical mowing units for our fairway mower's. The blades are set to go down almost 1/2" removing thatch and cutting the lateral stems or stolons of the hybrid bermuda plant. This encourages new sprouts from severed stems and promotes an upright growth habit.

Above is a good look at the fairway surface after core aeration and verticle mowing

The next step is to sweep up all of the thatch and debris removed from the aeration and verticle mowing process.

We left piles of this thatch and debris in native areas near the holes we were aerating. We do this because time is of the essence during this process and we need to complete the entire job in the allocated closure time of one week. It would take too long to drive the sweepers across the course to dump on the corner of Barton Road. We will come back and remove these piles next week.

After the sweeping  process we use a mower to cut the bermuda plants that were stood up from the sweeping.  Mowing at this point creates  more oppurtunities for sprouting of new plants and upright growth.

After aeration & Verticle Mowing cleanup and mowing we start to add topdressing sand .

After adding the sand we like to let it dry a little and then brush it into the turf canopy.

Here we are brushing in the fairway topdressing sand.

Above is a fair representation of the fairways Members will encounter on Saturday when the course re-opens. This is #1 which was done early in the process so will be a little farther along then subsequent holes. You'll see some brown, you'll see some sand which will mostly disappear by next week.

We appreciate your continued support and understanding as we care for the Club's greatest asset. We in GCM take great pride in maintaining the course, and we're excited to welcome you back to enjoy it.