What are all the brown places in the fairways?

Each year we aerify the golf course fairways. Most years we wait until July to perform this task but with the extreme temps and lack of rain throughout the early part of the year, we made the decision to go early. Compaction of the fairways is a battle we face due to the cart traffic the golf hole receives. In essence, our aerator slices the fairway to reduce compaction and allow for better water infiltration through the clay soil profile.

The slicer cuts through the Bermuda and penetrates to a level of about 6 inches. During the day these "slits" will dry out and the turf will turn brown at the point of entry. In years past we haven't seen this trend due to the quick recovery time in July.

We thought we were finished with cool temps when we performed this task. The week after aeration, our area was hit with temps in the 30's and the fairway growth slowed dramatically. Temps are back on the rise and fertilizer will go down Monday to speed the recovery process along.