Why do we aerate greens?

I still think there are a lot of questions out there on my we aerate a golf green.  I found this video that really explains the benefits of aeration and the reasons why we must aerate to have a successful putting surface.


I have also answered many questions on why our greens are so slow to heal after aeration.  There are two main reasons that our greens are slow to heal.  The first is the timing of aeration.  We have pushed aeration back until late September/ early October when the turfgrass plant has slowed day with top growth and is putting all of it's energy into root growth.  The second reason is the variety of grass on our greens.  Our greens ar 100% A-1 which is a slow grower and takes a long time to heal in aerification holes or ball marks.  These two combined produce slow healing after aerification.  We do our best to produce a great putting surface after aerification is complete.