Leaving Cores on all Winter? Cancel The title field is required!

1. Edward Doda

   

   0 posts
   
   11/18/2016 8:11 AM

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   Many years ago the late Hugh Kirkpatrick from Westmount CC used to aerate his fairways late in the year and leave the cores on. He said that cleanup in the spring was fast and the turf was fine. I've been doing it now for many year and wonder if anyone else tries it. We have been fortunate with little ice accumulation for years now so don't know if it helps with any ice damage but when the melt starts it is faster on the areas that I have cores on.
   In the spring we always get a number of nice drying days and we find that we can cleanup all the fairways quickly, the cores fall apart readily and then blowing and sucking them up. Haven't notice any increase in snowmold since starting. Sure is nice to punch the holes after we close for the season without interfering with golfers.
   
   Ed Doda, Barrie CC

   
   
   
   
2. Max Lamas

   

   0 posts
   
   11/19/2016 7:11 AM

   I have known a few people who do this. The winter freeze/thaw rain/snow helps to break the plugs up. I aerate my fairways late and will mow the plugs with the dull blades. wont blow the rest off till next year.

   
   
   
   
3. Kyle Fick

   

   4 posts
   
   11/20/2016 11:11 AM

   I did it that way for a number of years on all surfaces minus the greens of course. However, we often ran into issues with low spots remaining wet in the spring, and it has delayed our opening date due to wet spots, muddy carts being the results. We still leave them lay in the roughs and on the range, but we now use rotary mowers and mulching blades set to .75" and grind the fairway plugs prior to the onset of winter. One or 2 passes with a drag mat first and we can usually grind them in a single pass the day after pulling the plug. We collect them off of our tee tops and approaches and use that soil to till into our nursery to replenish the soil we lost. Cleanup was easier in the spring, but again, a business decision to get people golfing earlier was the reasoning why we adopted this other method.