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How do courses in your area handle it when you book a tee time when they're aerating greens?

Do you just find out when you hit the green on the first hole?

Do they tell you they will be aerating greens? If so, do they offer any discount?

I find it discouraging when I go to play a round and find the green covered with holes and sand when I hit the first green. I wish more courses would notify customers beforehand.

i've actually had this happen twice to me in the last two weeks. this past time i drove 45 minutes to play a course that i hadn't played since i was 12 yrs old......called ahead and they said the course was in great shape......needless to say, i found out on the first green and was offered no discount........i was definitely disappointed, and i agree that they should notify customers beforehand

I played a round recently where not only were they aerating the greens, they were sanding them as well. They offered no discount, and left it to the starter at the first tee to tell me.

I've run into the same situation twice now in the last several months on two different courses, neither offered any discounts, though both would have allowed me to double the side that had been less recently cored for a "full" 18 hole round. In both cases, I chose to play the true 18 hole layout. In the first case, I found the greens to be playable--extremely slick, but still with a true roll. In the second case, the greens were a mess--slow, inconsistent, choppy....I couldn't get the ball to the hole to save my life. In both cases, I just shrugged my shoulders and walked off satisfied that I done the best I could under the circumstances, because the alternative would have been that I did not play because the courses were closed during otherwise perfect weather conditions.

Basically, I just chalk it up to being the price you have to pay sometimes. So, I don't necessarily think courses should offer discounts during such times. Aerating is typically done during prime growing seasons for the variety of turf, which also means during peak golfing season. Since golf courses exist as a business, I see no reason for the owner(s) to voluntarily take a hit during these times, especially in light of the fact that newly aerated turf can take up to several days, if not weeks, to fully recover. And aerating is necessary.

As for notifying the players in advance, I'm not sure about that either...if the phone is ringing off the hook, should the guy taking the tee-times have to explain it to everyone on the other end and risk losing the business, or have to take the time explaining why the greens fees are not negotiable during peak season? Maybe they should inform you of the conditions as you are arriving for your round, that way you're already at least somewhat committed to playing that track that day and the first green won't be such a shocker.

I don't know...I see both sides of the debate. The times I've played like this, my scores were horrible, probably five to eight strokes worse than they would have been, given the way I was striking the ball. But again, I just take the whole thing as a necessary evil.

I've never seen greens play faster after being aerated.. that seems a contradiction to me. But

My course gives a $1.00 break per 9 holes on the green fee for 2 weeks after aerating, and the phone greeting message when you call the course gives all pertinent information, course conditions for all 3 courses, range setup, even tells if there's a big tournament scheduled that will make it hard to get on.

We plugged the greens 2-1/2 weeks ago, so the course is back to being fairly playable again now. In fact.... time to head out..

i played last week on sandy greens and shot my best round of the year, 70. I was 3 under on the front, had 2 putts come about an inch short on the front then bogey the first 2 holes on the back and end up shotting 1 over on the back, but i was happy, im really starting to get a good feel for these new irons. I agree the course should let you know and offer a discount. Its weird i always seem to putt better on sandy greens LOL.

That's what I would have thought too, but these things were Augusta-like fast, and they didn't play like that before. I'm assuming it's because they were more tightly mowed than usual, and the top-dressing was fairly light.

We played a course recently where instead of punching the greens, they verti-cut it then sanded it. They were extremely fast.

I only remember getting a discount ($5) once.

One time we played greens that were so bad, we considered any put within 6" of the hole as made.

Both of my regular courses offer twilight rates when they are sanding/aerating. The public course said the greens manager does not notify them in advance, so they cannot warn you when booking. The upscale muni where I have a membership only warns members. Non-members are on their own, no warning unless they specifically ask, no discount.

As for play, my putting (which is always dicey) really stinks on sanded greens.

What is a verti-cut?

last year was my home courses 1st year being open... in my opinion they opened too soon. towards the end of the season the fairways on 3 holes in the back 9 were in awful shape and they decided to aerate the fairways to help... needless to say any ball in the fairway was in horrible shape. the course posted signs on all entrances to the clubhouse and everyone was notified of the shape of the course when paying. as for greens being aerated... last year they did they verti-cut/sanding and they were fast for a good 3 weeks.

I was just at Valley View Tuesday and they aerated...really ugly gravel this time, too...not what I would call sand at all.

They have a calendar on display and marked on the calendar when the greens were going to be aerated. They do not give a discount.

Somebody could make a lot of money by providing good sand for the golf courses in the Salt Lake area...it's pathetic how bad the "sand" is here.

When I play on the municipals in Hawaii, I don't care of they're aerating them or not. I usually go on just for 9 holes and it's only $6 since I'm a resident and I walk. On the other hand, if I'm going to be paying $40 or more for a round, I don't like to play aerated greens at all.

I know of one course on Oahu that discounts their rates when they aerate their greens. I think it's a good policy. It would probably be pretty difficult to notify every customer that they're aerating greens when they call for tee times but I think customers should have a way of finding out course conditions.

I think the course FourPutt plays at does it well. There are a lot of courses on Oahu that have automated greetings and I think they should give notices to customers then.

Taken from another website...
Verticutting stimulates new growth in the plant, opens the turf to allow water, oxygen and nutrients to penetrate to the growth zone while removing excessive waste matter and thatch.

Basically, it simultaneously aerates and de-thatches. It doesn't punch holes, but rather cuts slits or grooves in the green. Since these cuts are narrow and a lot shallower than holes would be, it lets the green be a lot faster. I guess the speed would be determined by how much sand is applied.