An Air Inject Air2G2 supplied by Campey Turf Care Systems has helped transform the greens at Dublin’s Swords Golf Club.
Previous methods had proved ineffective because of stones in the greens.
Course superintendent Colm McGuinness with the Air Inject Air2G2
The initial pay and play nine-hole course was founded in 1992, and the sand-based greens that offer little drainage below the surface were prone to flooding due to being so flat.
The 18-hole Roganstown Course was added in 2003 with USGA specification greens, and the Air2G2 is now a main feature of the maintenance programme.
Course superintendent Colm McGuinness had been using a deep tine aeration method prior to the acquisition of an Air2G2, but he explains the issues he found when using other methods and the vast benefits the Campey supplied machine has had on his courses.
McGuinness said, “I had an issue with solid tine aeration because we have a lot of stones in our greens and you could bend 50 tines in one session.
“Also, you can’t get down 12 inches with any other method. It’s nearly impossible. So being able to do it with the Air2G2 and give it a blast of air is fantastic.
“Since we got the Air2G2 it’s been unbelievable. It’s so easy to cut a hole, the greens look a lot healthier and my black layer has gone. My first green was jet black, you’d pick a sample of it up and it would smell foul, but it’s gone completely in less than five months.
“I haven’t used any alternative vertical aeration on the pay and play course since using the Air2G2 and the greens are first class. I haven’t missed using it because I’ve got very little disease, the sward is fabulous during the winter.
“It’s transformed what we’re doing here. Last year in February we solid tined and we had the members complaining about the greens. But when we had the demo of the Air2G2 we used it on one of the Swords greens twice and no-one knew that we had been on there.”
The machine is now a mainstay in the maintenance programme across both courses and has improved all the greens considerably.
