Aerification sights and sounds

I know I said in my last post that my next post would be about the master plan but I wanted to share something else real quick.  First of all here is how the back of 7 green turned out after installing the run off run on.

It is really neat and another thing these pictures show is how much sunlight is on the back of #7.  You'll remember there used to be a huge fir on the back of this green.  Back in October we removed the tree since it had simply outgrown its space.  It was seriously shading the green and also competing with the Garry Oak that resides back left of the green complex.  With the tree removed and the run off installed, I must say this is one of my favorite spots on the property right now.  Can't wait to play golf here and decide whether to chip it or putt it.  Anyway, we are in the middle of punching and sanding the golf course.  Actually we are almost done and it happened quickly this year with our new fairway puncher.  Watch the video below to see the new TORO 864 married to the new Kioti DK55.  Everyone knows Kubota is a great tractor but I'm here to tell you the best Orange tractor is the Kioti

This next video is of the core harvester.  The Cushman Core harvester has been around for decades and has changed very little.  We use it on the TORO Workman.  We have one on a Diesel powered rig and one on a gas powered rig.  The newer rigs like ours have high flow hydraulics giving the old core harvester almost more power than it can handle.  These machines work well but I'll tell you they require a lot of attention.  Joe and Jason spend hours preparing these machines for the abuse of fairway aerification.  Let's face it, if you get the weather to punch, you want to get it done quick so break downs are unacceptable.  In this video you'll see Dustin in the back shoveling like a machine.  This is how we do it so the driver can just drive.  With the guy in the back distributing the plugs, the driver can go "non stop" till the bed is full.  This is how one harvester machine can keep up with our new really cool, really fast  TORO 864

So after harvesting the plugs, sand is applied to the fairways.  The next video shows our 1992 Ford 3930 tractor pulling the Tycrop MH400 which spreads the sand.  The Ford is pretty old but for the last several years, all she has done is pull the Tycrop and she does that really well.  Check out Doug topdressing #5 fairway.  Doug is really good at getting a uniform application.

This next video is of a sand delivery.  We apply over 700 tons of sand with each application to the fairways so we get 17+ truck loads of sand delivered.  What you'll see here is only half a load.  We consider the truck and transfer unit one load which is usually about 40 tons.

With decent weather it takes just about a week to punch and sand fairways.  I know it is an inconvenience but I think most of you will agree it is worth it to have the turf quality we have come to expect.  This post was to show that we have some really cool equipment which makes the aerification process fast and somewhat painless.  It also shows how well  the iPhone takes movies.  If it wasn't for my new iPhone, making these movies would take too long and I wouldn't bother sharing this stuff with you.  I took these movies and posted them to youtube all with the iPhone and in just minutes.