Greens Spiking

Due to the large volume of play experienced during this time of year, there are several cultural practices utilized throughout the course to continue to provide quality conditions.

One of these practices is to 'spike' the putting greens with thousands of holes approximately the size of a pencil that travel 3 1/2 inches into the soil.



Thousands of tiny holes are created in the putting surface.


The benefit of spiking the greens is to alleviate compaction, allowing water and nutrients to enter the root system and to allow oxygen exchange to promote healthy turf grass. Once the greens have been spiked, a light weight roller smooths the putting surface ready for play followed by a light top-dressing of sand.

Copperleaf utilizes two Toro 648 greens aerifiers to complete the practice before play. Jose Salazar is seen here on hole 16.

All greens are spiked in one day with 9 holes being completed before play in the morning and the remaining greens completed in the afternoon. The end result is a smooth, receptive and healthy putting green that can handle up to 240 rounds of golf per day for over 3 months.