The Drill and Fill process was completed over the course of Tuesday and Wednesday. Luckily, we finished late last night after two very long days because most of today was a rain out. The process went overall very smoothly and we learned a lot of lessons for next year. The machines consist of 24, 1 inch drill bits that drill down into the green and pull out the old material. The sand then fills the new holes with fresh sand. Any holes that were not perfectly filled, our team filled with funnels. It is a very labor intensive process but is one that will benefit us for years to come. Moving forward, the drill and fill will be performed in the spring along with our normal core aeration.
After the drill and fill, our team core aerated the greens with 1/4" hollow tine. These create very small holes but help smooth the surface, remove thatch, and drag the sand into the drill and fill holes. All of the remaining material was cleaned up and the green was blown off and rolled. Soil amendments and topdressing were the last step in the process. We began rolling and mowing greens today but were cut short due to rain. The remainder of the greens will be rolled and mowed tomorrow ahead of play and the golf course will open tomorrow morning as scheduled.
The remaining pictures and video really show the process well. Many thanks to our staff who worked from 5:30 a.m. - 8:30 p.m. both days to accomplish this important process. The weather also held up great. I didn't want to talk about it because it would be like talking to your pitcher in the middle of a no-hitter but the weather was perfect. We dodged a lot of storms to make this process happen in two days. Have a great weekend and we look forward to cooler temperatures and lower humidity starting Sunday.
Harmon Turf Services was contracted out to perform the Drill and Fill. The holes are between 9-11 inches deep and are back filled with fresh sand.
Our team filled any holes with funnels that the machine did not fill to the brim.
Using only two machines is not ideal for this process. We will bring in 3 or 4 machines in the future. Every green takes about 1 hour with two machines. That is not terrible right now with about 13.5 working hours of sunlight but in early March, it won't cut it.
Our team pulled 1/4" cores right behind the drill and fill. All of the material was then pushed off the greens and cleaned up. The green was then blown off and rolled. The core aeration smoothed the surface, removed thatch, and helped drag the sand into the holes.
