Golf Course Technology

Turf Time’s Deep Drill & Fill and Deep Drill aerification system will relieve compaction, promote deeper root growth, and increase water percolation.

  • 18 greens aerified in one day
  • Relieves compaction
  • Fast reuse and heal time
  • Purges toxic gase build up
  • Flexible scheduling
  • Increases oxygen level in soil

The condition of turf largely depends on the events occurring below the surface. For grass to grow, deep healthy roots are needed, and roots demand oxygen. In good soil, they receive oxygen from tiny pockets of air trapped between soil and sand particles. On a golf course or a sports field, the everyday traffic from players combined with the weight of heavy mowing equipment causes the soil to become compacted and the air pockets on which the roots depend for oxygen are lost. Aerification is a mechanical process that creates more air space in the soil and promotes deeper rooting, water percolation and compaction relief.

Turf Time’s aerification and compaction relief system is based on our machinery and proprietary drill bits. The drill bits eliminate compaction along the sides and bottom of the aerification hole. This allows for quick and effective penetration, even in heavily compacted soils including hardpan, muck and roots.

Turf Time’s Deep Drill aerifier applies only 9 pounds per square inch to the surface of the green. The “gentle footprint” of this aerifier, in conjunction with the absence of cyclic vibration and the “straight in, straight out” action of the drill bits, gives this machine the capability of aerating greens that are wet, dry or experiencing periods of high stress.

The Deep Drill aerifier is also excellent for use in other problem areas like tee boxes and fairways because the rotating drill bits will penetrate subsoil areas, where other machines tend to walk or bounce, often causing trauma to the delicate playing surface.

Gentle Footprint:

The “footprint” of this aerifier is less than the average amount of pressure applied by a man standing on the green.

Carbide-Tipped Drill Bits

Turf Time’s proprietary carbide drill bits fracture the cylinder wall, thereby allowing lateral movement of air and water. No glazing occurs in our aerification process. These drill bits are used in both Deep Drill and Deep Drill & Fill Aerification.

Deep Drill Aerification

Turf Time’s Deep Drill aerification machines use the carbide-tipped drill bits to drill up to 10″ deep on 5″ centers using either 5/8″ or 3/4″ diameter drills.

The 5″ square drill pattern relieves stress in the rectangular area between the aerification conduits. If foreign matter such as rock or extremely dense hardpan is encountered, the carbide-tipped drill bits will penetrate but not “kicK” the foreign material up, thus preserving the playing surface.

Deep Drill & Fill Aerification

Turf Time’s Deep Drill & Fill aerification machines use the carbide-tipped drill bits, drilling 8-12″ deep on 7 1/2″ centers using either 3/4″, 7/8″ or 1 1/4″ diameter drill bits. The holes can then be filled with the amendment of your choice, thereby modifying the soil profile.

If backfilling with kiln dried sand, one ton of sand will go approximately 2,500 sq. ft. using 7/8″ diameter drill bits, and 1,500 sq. ft. using the 1 1/4″ diameter drill bits.

Advantages of Deep Drill Aerification

Rapid Heal Rate

The Deep Drill aerifier uses carbide drill bits, it does not enter the turf with the “cookie cutter” effect of hollow tine that causes you to dispose of the healthy grass that is the surface of the green. The carbide drill bit instead folds the surface grass back and leaves the majority of it in a position to quickly “heal”. The actual healing time is much shorter than with other methods and the course can be open for play again within hours.

Alignment of Aerification Holes

The uniform drill process ensures that the aerification holes are drilled in the turf straight and in exact alignment and dimension. The “straight in, straight out” drilling enables aerification under a variety of moisture conditions and minimizes the adverse impact to the greens. The holes are smooth and even. Some other aerification methods create bounce or pull up the turf when creating the holes. The perfect alignment ensures that there is no ripping of the greens and keeps soil residue small and easy to scatter.

The non-disruptive process is especially effective for the aerification of Multi-Level Greens. The Deep Drill aerifier will aerate across transitional areas of multi-level greens without damaging the playing surface.

Deep Aerification

The Deep Drill aerifier penetrates the soil 8 to 10 inches below the surface, whereas other methods allow only shallow penetration (i.e., 3 to 4 inches below the surface). Deep aerification stimulates root growth and creates healthy new grass. It also results in greater relief of soil compaction, enabling more chemicals, water and fertilizer to enter the soil than possible with shallow aerification. Toxic gases such as carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, and methane gases that are harmful to the root growth are purged from the soil.

Ease of Clean-Up

The Deep Drill aerifier utilizes a specially designed fluted drill bit. The soil extracted from the aerification conduit arrives at the surface of the green in a pulverized condition. Only a small ant hill type mound of soil residue remains after each penetration. The relatively fine texture of the residue can be easily spread over the playing surface.