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How the Air2G2 revolutionizes the turfgrass industry

For Doug Soldat, working with turfgrass is more than a passion. As a professor and turfgrass Extension specialist at the University of Wisconsin, one of his main duties is to assess turfgrass growth and revitalize stressed grass.

Doug Soldat

Doug Soldat

Soldat said he was very interested in the Air2G2 when he saw it on a golf course research putting green at the university. The Air2G2 Doug Soldat inserts probes into the soil and injects high-pressure air. After seeing it in action, he wanted to research the impact that it could have on compacted turf.

“We ended up laying out a study area on one of the high school fields, using the Air2G2 to see if we can improve the turf quality in these compacted soils,” Soldat said. “The Air2G2 is a really unique piece of equipment, since it is injecting air into the soil. Other machines inject sand or similar materials, making it very different than what is currently available.”

As the study progressed, Soldat noticed the soil level visibly moved up, which he said was definite evidence of the air being pushed into the turf while causing minimal damage to the first layer of grass.

“One of the very exciting things about the Air2G2 is that it doesn’t create a lot of disturbance on the surface,” Soldat said. “When you’re pulling cores, you’re not able to play immediately on it after that operation. With the Air2G2, it has a minimal level disturbance that it creates. If you can have low disturbance and some compaction alleviation or reduction, that is a very powerful tool.”

Soldat said he and the research team at the University of Wisconsin continue their research and are excited to see what more they will learn about the Air2G2’s benefits.

Proof is in the putting

Seven years ago, when Adam Robertson, owner and operator of TurfAir, saw a demo of the Air2G2, he immediately saw the potential of this equipment. He decided the best path for him was to open his own business — TurfAir out of Victoria, Australia — to allow others to experience the same piece of equipment, as it was not being used in Australia yet.

Adam Robertson

Adam Robertson

Robertson said of the biggest impact the Air2G2 has on turf is the minimal disturbance it has to the top layer while still helping to “reignite” the soil profile below.

“This type of machinery, this type of aeration, is the future moving forward,” Robertson said. “Age has compromised a lot of golf course greens and whatever else (on the course). Clubs can’t necessarily afford renovating greens. The use of this machine can reignite performance back in. It’s just that investment of use, and it will come back and reward you in spades.”

As the owner and operator of TurfAir, Robertson has seen firsthand the impact the Air2G2 has had on multiple Adam Robertson varieties of turfgrass. He said he often gets asked how he can promise a better turf outcome for his customers, and his answer tends to be the same: by using the Air2G2 to reignite the profile of the turf and help increase the porosity, the results will follow.

“How do we get that performance back into the profile? By aerating it, increasing the porosity, taking the compaction out of the ground, reigniting the biology of the profile,” Robertson explained. “Then when we get the profile right, then surface performance increases, we can have faster greens, firmer greens, all the things that the players want. That’s where users of the [Air2G2] really have felt that benefit.”

Robertson is not afraid to recommend the Air2G2 to all his fellow turfgrass aerators. He feels that the Air2G2 plays a very important role in the rejuvenation of the turfgrass and that this product will help create better greens, which will create happier players.

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The Air2G2 336 uses three probes to laterally inject pressurized air up to 12 inches beneath the surface of the soil, in a diameter of up to 9 feet, reaching deep into the soil profile.

“Give your clubs the opportunity to try something different. Try the Air2G2 as a part of your program management,” Robertson urges. “The traditional renovation practices are all working in that top 4 inches. The Air2 allows you to work 11 inches of the profile now. A lot does happen in the top four inches, but I go to so many clubs and they do all the renovations and still have water sitting in the bottom of their cups.”

With 2023 right around the corner, Robertson is optimistic about the number of courses already looking to book the Air2G2 for their course. As of now, he has 25 bookings, with more superintendents looking to try the product.

“The most rewarding part of using the Air2G2 is getting the callbacks from the supers,” Robertson said. “They say if that’s what happened from one outing, how’s it going to be if we do two or three outings a year, even four outings a year? Their committees, their boards, their superintendents have seen change, experienced the change, and they really want to get into a program and do it on a regular basis.”


All images: Foley Co.

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