By Cameron MacGregor, Northern Region Executive Director
Those little sandy holes on the greens may not look pretty, but they’re a sign your course is protecting the long-term quality of the putting surfaces. Aeration – which usually occurs twice a year in the Spring and Fall – relieves compaction, improves drainage, and promotes healthier roots, which ultimately leads to smoother, more consistent greens. In short, a brief inconvenience now prevents much bigger playability issues later.
From a Rules of Golf perspective, aeration holes are recognized conditions, and players are given free relief under Model Local Rule E-4, which is a rule in effect for all Nevada Golf events.
Here’s what you need to know:
- Ball in an aeration hole (general area): You may take free relief by dropping within one club-length of the nearest point of relief, no nearer the hole (Rule 16.1b). If it rolls into another aeration hole, you may take relief again. If the second dropped ball comes to rest in another aeration hole, the player would place the ball in the relief area where the ball first landed on the second drop.
- Ball on the putting green: You may take free relief by placing the ball at the nearest point of relief, no nearer the hole (Rule 16.1d).
- Relief applies only when the ball lies in or touches an aeration hole, not when it only affects your stance, area of intended swing, or (on the green) your line of play.
- Important: You may move and replace your ball to take relief, but you are not allowed to repair aeration holes. Repairing them is a breach of Rule 13.1c and results in the general penalty.
Knowing this rule can save you strokes. Instead of playing from a compromised lie or risking a penalty by fixing the surface, you’re entitled to free relief. A simple, fair solution during an essential course maintenance period.
