Dryjecting the greens

Aerification is a necessary turf maintenance practice that must be done for the long term health and playability of the turf.  For the summer aerification process this year, I have decided to try a new method that hopefully produces the needed health care benefits of the turf but also has less negative impact to our members and guests. This method is called Dryjecting. With conventional aerification the greens are left bumpy, slow and covered in sand for days and takes 4-5 weeks to be back to normal. The Dryjecting method leaves them playable the same day and back to normal within 1-2 weeks. Below are some video's and pictures of the process.

With a Dryject machine there is minimal distruption to the surface of the green. The hole in the green is made by a series of nozzles that have water shot at 3000 pounds per square inch down to approximately 7 inches deep. The dry sand is then sucked into the holes by a venturi effect by the water. This leaves the greens aerified and the holes filled with sand.

After the dryjecting is finished, the green is rolled and it is back in play within 4-5 hours

(above) Willy Contreras rolling the putting green

This is a photo of a finished green the next morning. It rolls smooth, fast and is in a state that would normally take a traditional aerification process to take 3-4 weeks to be in the same condition.

I don't feel that the dryject process eliminates the traditional aerification process (which removes biomass) but I do feel this process can be incorporated into our maintenance program. The greens on the Masters course were aerified with this method on August 1. The U.S.Open course will be aerified on August 6 and the Western course on August 8.