June 12, 2016
Every year Preston Trail has a member-guest golf tournament, which is known at the Trailblazer. This year it was June 4-6, 2016. The course needed to be in perfect condition, so the superintendents were working overtime throughout the week. After a busy week weed eating every tree, mowing every trap, green and tee, hand raking the bunkers, etc, the course was in nearly perfect condition. The members and guests were very happy about how the course looked for the tournament and had a great weekend.
The usual schedule after the Trailblazer is to close the course for a week to aerate the greens, tees and fairways. As well as a heavy topdressing of sand. So early on Monday morning the pro-core started cutting holes into the fairways. Every sprinkler head and yardage marker had to be flagged off so they wouldn't be damaged.
At the end of the second day all 18 fairways had been aerated with 1/8 in. x 4 in. length tines. The greens and tees were aerated next with 3/8 in. tines. After all the holes had been aerated and the sand was applied the course still needed to be dragged so all the holes in the fairway would be filled with sand. On the greens a brush and brooms were used to neatly fill in all the holes. It was a long process which is done bi-annually to remove 20% of the organic matter growing in the O horizon.
Toro ProCore chewing up the fairways 
After the plugs had been removed from the green
Close up of the plugs on #3 fairway
Two plugs
Cores on the fairway. Next to thick bermuda rough
After the plugs were removed from the green a heavy application of sand was added to all 18 greens
Tractor and Tycrop adding sand to a fairway
Tycrop topdresser spitting sand onto the fairways
Tycrop on a fairway
Hole #4 green with a beautiful layer of white sand
The sand used to top dress the fairways. Separate from the sand used on the greens
Sand being brushed into holes. After filling the holes a machine brush hit every green
Thanks for reading!!
Austin Pettit
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