We know how it feels. You have been planning this golf tour for months. You have paid full price to play at your dream golf course and arrive to find the greens cored and sanded. It can leave a bitter taste in the mouth. As a golf tour operator that knows how frustrating this can be, we let you know about a golf course’s maintenance schedule so if you have date flexibility, you can adjust your itinerary. If you don’t, here are some insights and tips into playing on aerated greens.
Why are greens aerated?
During the course of the year, greens are subject to wear and tear. Often there will be some small coring done to break up the soil and allow some aeration. This does not usually make play unreasonable.
The larger coring where the the dirt that is taken out is and replaced by a top dressing of sand (at least once a year) is to remove organic matter and improve root growth, improve drainage and decompress the soil. Courses do it for the ultimate health of the greens.
How to survive aeration through coring?
It may only be a 3-4 week period where you have to play on less than pure greens but here are some tips:
It’s about your attitude…
It’s only a small time of the year. Good golf is still overwhelmingly available. Chipping and approach shots can be easier because they will stop on the slower, furry greens. Go and enjoy the game for it’s own sake and you maybe surprised how well you score.
Last year I had one of my best putting games on cored greens because I just had a good stroke and a focused mindset happening. That still matters. One time I played at Bermagui Country Club, a course famous for its slopey, fast greens. It had recently cored their putting surfaces. It was much easier to stop the ball and I had my best ever tee to green performance there.
Bring it in lower
Don’t rely on the high pitch if you can which can hit the core holes at a strange angle. Pitch it in lower and take a glancing blow at those holes. Chip and run when you can and take the good that comes with the bad. Really no more different than usual.
Be up to the hole
The greens are going to slower from coring so you can afford to be sure of being up to hole and not worrying so much about the return putt. It is going to stop quickly. If you are up to hole and putting a good stroke on it, you will be surprised how many times the hole gets in the way! Also allow less break, particularly if it you are running along a line of core holes.
Clean face, a clean strike
As we have said a good clean strike of the putter will more likely keep the ball on line. However the most common problem for doing that during this time of year is a sandy putter face. Before you hit the putt, wipe the face clean of any sand. That is going to affect your roll more than any aeration holes.
Take a tour to a warmer climate
Golf courses in warmer climates will do their greens earlier in the year. Courses like Bonville and Coffs Harbour and some on the Central Coast of NSW will core and sand their greens in August. When your club’s greens are bumpy for three weeks, take a trip with some friends elsewhere. Check out our Coffs Coast and Central Coast golf tour pages to get some itinerary ideas for when your greens have been done.
Also ring around and find courses in your area that have not had green maintenance done yet. They may have open days that welcome visitor golfers from other clubs.
Hope this helps you enjoy the challenge of this short period of time.
