Aerated greens
My club is private, so I'm lucky in that the maintenance staff do take pains to make the greens somewhat playable following aeration. Our greens were just aerated a few days ago... despite the light top dressing they're still very slow and bumpy, especially in the mornings with the dew on the ground.... but it's a necessary evil we have to deal with a couple times per year.
A course where I used to play got into the habit of double-punching their greens when they'd do aeration... and they always did the deepest tines. Those greens had twice as many holes, took twice as long to recover, and they always put either too much sand on them or not enough. It's basically why I stopped being a member there - they'd aerate in May, greens would finally recover around July, then we'd have good greens in July-August, then they'd double-punch again in September.
So two months of nice greens my last two seasons there. They had nary a clue about wtf they were doing, so I left.
Putt harder and pray harder.
Played on one of my fav courses this weekend and it was already done....ball plinkos around....not much you can do.....liberal gimmies. It is frustrating, but does not deter me from playing.
ode - were you informed that the greens had been top dressed before you paid? I guess that is one of my big gripes and personally seek alternatives when I know in advance if a course has just recently aerated.
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Me neither. But that's what they did. I asked why... told them I'd never heard of such an extreme practice. "To help remove thatch" they said. So... they'd do 'em once, then go back over and do them again in another go-round. They annihilated em. That's why it would take two months for them to recover.
I left for a reason.
PS - one year they aerated in November! We're in f**king Northeast PA... how much growing weather do we have in November through May? LOL... Those greens wouldn't be playable until June.
Hellacious operation they had going there. I think they've since hired a new Super and are actually doing very well. The Super they had prior was an alcoholic who was basically allowed to do whatever he damned well wanted.
You get what you pay for.
mikeintopeka nope, all good though, as the course it beautiful and one of the best I've played for pure fun. Aeration should be noted when making a tee time, whether it be online or call in....at least then a golfer can opt out and be spared some irritation. We only paid 27 to ride.
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There seems to be some difference in the machines used..my home course is one that the punch marks are close together, so there are tons of holes....I've seen some where they are spaced out more, maybe every 4 inches or so and not so close together....this is what I'm used too-
Assuming there could be a difference in the size/diameter of the punch too, but ??
I want LB as our head greenskeeper.
Truth. I dealt with their stupidity for two years. Then finally said screw it, you guys have no idea wtf you're doing.
I mean, yeah... thatch can be a problem. But nuking your greens to remove thatch should never be a considered option.
Again, the head greenskeeper at the time was more Carl Spackler than anything else. I'm actually surprised he didn't use C4 as part of the aeration process.
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That automatic 2 putt sounds like the lazy old geezers that play at our place. 
I had to play in a four ball match on the aerated greens and we ended up doing pretty much what you guys suggested ............ anything under three feet was given, Frustrating playing a match under those conditions though.
Appreciate the suggestions guys!
I completely lose interest if I have to putt on aerated greens, which is why I call pretty much every March to October before I want to play a course! I keep a log of local courses to refer to. I understand it needs to be done so do it and I'll check out your course later.
I was in Ocean City for a few days recently and just about every aerated two weeks before, and I saw some premium prices. I think courses are becoming more transparent about this, but I still get a few courses saying the aeration was already done when I call. When I ask them when sometimes I'll get a last week response. Okay, thanks LOL