Why We Aerate 



 This is a classic picture from the greenkeeping world illustrating brilliantly how foot traffic on a golf green causes and concentrates compaction.  The highlighted footmarks in the picture show what happens when ONE FOURBALL enters, putts out and exits a green; multiply this by 100 for a major competition and by many thousands for the main playing season and you have some serious compaction to undo!  This is why regular aeration is the single most imprtant operation carried out on the golf course; left compacted, greens hold water, become soft and uneven and have little or no root growth which makes them very poor and disease-prone surfaces.  More aeration means better, firmer greens which are healthier and more playable year round.  Put simply, short-term pain, long-term gain