Full Answer
What is hollow Tining and is it just for Greens?
As hollow tining is a good way of improving drainage it’s also a way of preventing the spread of disease. Is it just for greens? It’s a potential treatment for any turf suffering from compaction and the other conditions explained above. Many clubs hollow tine their tees and, if they have the manpower, some will even hollow tine the fairways.
What is hollow Tining on a golf course?
The hollow tining of greens, tees and even fairways is an essential part of most golf course maintenance programmes. It’s a recognised and proven technique carried out every year at most UK golf clubs.
Why don’t golfers like hollow coring Greens?
Whether hollow coring (Photograph 1) or deep scarifying, this reluctance is largely due to the fact that thatch removal is an invasive operation, and golfers generally fail to see beyond the short term disruption in play these operations cause. Photograph 1: Hollow coring greens is a disruptive operation.
What is a hollow Tine?
A hollow tine is a round tube that penetrates into the ground, collects a core and when the tube penetrates the ground again, the core is pushed out through a hole. This allows greenkeepers to remove material, such as poor quality soil and thatch and allows water and air into the root zone.
Why do we Hollow Tine greens?
A hollow tine is a round tube that penetrates into the ground, collects a core and when the tube penetrates the ground again, the core is pushed out through a hole. This allows greenkeepers to remove material, such as poor quality soil and thatch and allows water and air into the root zone.
What does Hollow tining mean?
So what is hollow tining? It's the physical removal of cores of turf from a playing surface. The holes are generally 13-16 mm in diameter and of varying depths depending on the reason for the tine. The cores are ejected, swept up and removed. They make excellent compost.
Can you play on hollow tined greens?
Can you play on hollow tined greens? You can absolutely play on hollow tined greens, but you may not love it. The key is approaching your round with the correct mindset. Recently hollow tined greens can be bumpy and inconsistent, so you can't expect every putt to roll perfectly.
What is the purpose of aerating golf greens?
Putting greens receive more traffic than any other playing surface. The aeration process helps relieve the compaction caused by all that traffic. It also helps create a firm, smooth putting surface by controlling thatch and promoting healthy turf roots.
How often should you aerate golf greens?
one to three times a yearThis is typically done one to three times a year, depending on the course, the type of greens, and in what part of the country they are located. "The practice of core aeration is done when the grass is growing the most aggressively, so they can have the quickest recovery time," Moeller said.
How long does Hollow tining take to recover?
Hollow tining is best done when the grass is growing aggressively to recover quicker. Depending on the type of aerating, coring the greens can take up to two days and the healing process takes up to three weeks.
How often should you hollow tine?
Those with hard or clay soil should be aerated once a year as they have more difficulty getting air and water to the roots. For all other types of soil and lawn you should aerate at least every 3 years, but more frequent if the grass is looking unhealthy or not growing well.
How long until aerated greens are playable?
It usually takes a golf course two weeks to recovery from properly done golf course aeration. Once the grass grows back through the aeration holes to a healthy level, the mowers and rollers come back, typically with greens as good as new.
Why do you Verticut greens?
Vertical mowing is a maintenance practice periodically performed on greens to accomplish the following objectives: Remove excessive leaf growth that contributes to puffy, spongy surface conditions. Improve mowing quality and surface smoothness. Cut laterally growing stolons and promote an upright growth habit.
Can you putt on aerated greens?
The holes punched during aeration are smaller and the greens heal more quickly than the old days of course maintenance. Still, there is no denying that recently aerated greens play differently than greens in peak condition. They roll more slowly and the punched holes can knock a putt off line.
What happens if you don't aerate your lawn?
Grasses gradually thin and eventually die out completely, for lack of the oxygen, water and nutrients available just inches away. Even a single aeration session can open the avenue for these essentials to reach their mark and put your lawn back on an upward trend. Core aerators pull small plugs of soil to the surface.
What is the difference between aeration and Aerification?
Aeration (also called aerification or aeriation) is the process by which air is circulated through, mixed with or dissolved in a liquid or other substances that act as a fluid (such as soil). Aeration processes create additional surface area in the mixture, allowing greater chemical or suspension reactions.
What is hollow tining?
Hollow tining is a method used by greenkeepers at golf courses to aerate the greens.
Why do greens get hollow tined?
If hollow tining greens irritates the customers (golfers) why do golf courses do it?
Can you play on hollow tined greens?
You can absolutely play on hollow tined greens, but you may not love it.
Why do greenkeepers put sand on the greens?
The process of putting a thin layer of sand on the greens is known as “top dressing” and it is done to improve the quality of turf. Typically greenskeepers will top dress the greens after hollow tining them to complete the process.
How often are greens hollow tined and sanded (top dressed)?
All golf courses will hollow tine and sand their greens, but the frequency will vary depending on the type of terrain and putting surface (Bermuda, Bent, Poa Annua).
Conclusion
As golfers we would always prefer to putt on smooth and quick greens – you know, like Augusta National.
Why do I need hollow tining?
Hollow tining allows the compacted turf to expand and air and moisture to be more easily absorbed. The coring helps address the problem of thatch. (Thatch is a layer of grass stems, roots, and debris that settle and accumulate over time.) A thin layer is acceptable but too much thatch will hold water like a sponge.
When to tin greens in the fall?
Hollow tining is generally done between August and September as the temperatures allow for quicker recovery of surfaces and also prepare the greens for the rain season by improving drainage. It’s important that the tining is completed before the weather turns wet so there’s time for growth and for the holes to seal up.
How deep are turf core holes?
It’s the physical removal of cores of turf from a playing surface. The holes are generally 13-16mm in diameter and of varying depths depending on the reason for the tine.The cores are ejected, swept up and removed. They make excellent compost.
What is slitting in turf?
Slitting is another method of aerating the turf and counteracting thatch. Deep slitting is normally carried out through the winter when the ground is softer and more receptive. It’s done with blades that penetrate from 125 to 300 mm. These will be attached to a machine pulled by a tractor.
Can you use solid tining to aerate?
Not quite. Solid tining doesn’t go as deep as hollow tining. It’s useful for aerating the upper level of the root zone but it won’t relieve the problem of compaction. It can be carried out at any point through the year and is particularly good where there is sandy soil that doesn’t need much compaction relief.
Does coring help with thatch?
More often than not, having opened up the soil profile through coring, one wants to replace the removed material with fresh top dressing to dilute thatch, restore surface levels and firmness, improve drainage and/or generally improve the overall quality of the rootzone.
Is thatchy greens a problem?
It seems that thatchy greens are a perennial problem at a significant number of clubs. This may come as no surprise when often many greens are managed as if thatch were not a problem at all with limited hollow coring and/or scarification regimes employed.
Why Is It done?
- Course traffic causes the ground to become compacted. This means drainage is less efficient and the grass’s roots are prevented from absorbing oxygen. Hollow tining allows the compacted turf to expand and air and moisture to be more easily absorbed. The coring helps address the pr…
When Is It done?
- Hollow tining is generally done out-with the main playing season: often in early autumn. It’s important that the tining is completed before the weather turns wet and cold so there’s time for growth and for the holes to seal up. So the best time to hollow tine is late August/early September, but this coincides with the playing season at most clubs. It’s a difficult balancing act for greenke…
Is It A Treatment For Diseased Greens?
- It’s generally accepted that drier surfaces will be less susceptible to diseases like fusarium. As hollow tining is a good way of improving drainage it’s also a way of preventing the spread of disease.
Is It Just For Greens?
- It’s a potential treatment for any turf suffering from compaction, thatch and the other conditions explained above. Many clubs hollow tine their tees and, if they have the manpower, some will even hollow tine the fairways.
Is Solid Tining The Same Thing?
- Not quite. Solid tining doesn’t remove any matter. It’s useful for aerating the upper level of the root zone. It can be carried out at any point through the year and is particularly good where there is sandy soil that doesn’t need much compaction relief.
and Vertidraining?
- John McLoughlin explains: "That’s where you spike the greens vertically and you put holes in the green. So you’re putting a solid metal tine down to around 11-12 inches into the greens and then that helps the moisture move through the green profile," he says. "That is a little bit disruptive because you've got to take a tractor on your green and it can be quite an intrusive method of aer…
What About Slitting, Scarifying and Verticutting?
- Slitting is another method of aerating the turf and counteracting thatch. Deep slitting is normally carried out through the winter when the ground is softer and more receptive. It’s done with blades that penetrate from 125 to 300 mm. These will be attached to a machine pulled by a tractor. You’ll normally see this treatment on the fairways. Surface slitters penetrate just 40mm. These are des…