The ultimate guide to solid and hollow tines
When it comes to turf grass management, understanding all the nuances and differences between the tine types available to greenkeepers and grounds managers can be surprisingly challenging.

And yet, from addressing soil compaction to thatch reduction and management, using the right tines for your needs can unlock a wide range of benefits.
To help you get the most out of your equipment, we’ll explore the most common tine types, their purposes, and how they can best support your turfcare operations.
What are tines used for?
Tines are used during the aeration process to punch holes into the ground and increase pore space, creating air pockets within the soil to allow the turf to breathe better.
However, there are many shapes and varieties of tines to choose from, and each one is better suited to achieve a slightly different turfcare goal.
Before addressing tine types, let’s consider a few ways aeration improves golf courses, commercial grounds, and sports pitches.

Relieving soil compaction
Over time, foot traffic and machinery compress soil, isolating grass roots from air and water. Aeration alleviates this problem by punching holes into the ground to provide soil compaction relief.
Managing thatch
Excessive thatch – a layer of organic material between soil and grass – restricts water and nutrient flow. Aeration pierces this layer, promoting microbial activity to break it down into beneficial components.
Encouraging deeper root growth
Aeration delivers more oxygen and nutrients to grass roots, encouraging deeper growth and improving turf resilience.
Improving grass health
By reducing compaction and thatch, aeration ensures air, water, and nutrients reach even the deepest roots, strengthening grass health and improving drainage.
Minimising reliance on chemicals for pest control
Deep, healthy roots create more resilient turf, reducing reliance on chemical pest control and shifting the focus to natural prevention.
Hollow tine aeration
The type of tines used during aeration will influence key factors such as how much soil is removed during the process and how long the turf will take to recover.

Hollow tines, for example, are cylindrical tools that are hollow inside and are used to extract small cores of turf from the soil. Depending on the equipment and accessories used, you might also need to consider core collection following hollow tine aeration.
Being wider and removing more material than most types of tines, they are ideal for mitigating even the worst cases of compaction or thatch density. They are also the best tines to create air pockets within the soil to facilitate the circulation of nutrients and improve drainage.
However, due to a more disruptive aeration process, hollow tines are tougher on the turf. They should not be used too frequently and only under the right conditions – for instance, avoid dry, hot weather as the turf might lose an excessive quantity of moisture and become fragile.
Solid tine aeration
Solid tines can have various shapes to achieve different degrees of aeration but, unlike hollow tines, they work by piercing the soil rather than digging out cores.

Because of this key difference, solid tine aeration is less disruptive and better suited for mild cases of soil compaction or to deal with thin layers of thatch.
Being more delicate on the turf, this process can be used more often than hollow tine aeration and can be integrated into a regular maintenance schedule. It’s also the best type of surface aeration when the turf is struggling and isn’t able to recover quickly from tougher aeration techniques.
Hollow vs solid tines: which one is best?
There is no undisputed winner here – the answer depends on your unique situation.
As explained, hollow tine aeration is more effective against heavily compacted soils and thick layers of thatch, but it can make the turf more fragile if not planned correctly.
On the other hand, while solid tine aeration can have a more moderate impact on thatch and compaction, it’s not particularly problematic for turf health. If you’re managing a golf course or sports pitch, it will also have a lesser effect on playability, since the process doesn’t involve removing turf cores that need to be collected and removed.
Moreover, soil profiles and turf conditions can vary significantly even within a single golf course, requiring different approaches to aeration. Once you understand all the pros and cons of solid and hollow tines, you’ll be able to choose the perfect aeration technique for any occasion.
A wide range of tines
The distinction between hollow and solid tines is critical to navigate different types of aeration, but it can hardly paint the whole picture.
Take for instance Toro’s range of Titan tines: there are over 150 options to choose from to match your unique turf grass management requirements.
Some tines are perfect for aerating delicate turf such as greens and tees, while others, built for fairways, are more resistant and have a larger ejection hole to improve core removal on tougher terrain.
The newest type of hollow tines in the Titan family, instead, are designed to split cores into smaller pieces, helping the remains gradually merge into the turf canopy and eliminating the need for core removal.
Suiting a wide variety of applications, solid tines embrace multiple designs as well. For instance, needle tines guarantee minimal turf disruption, cross tines expose almost double the soil surface area to air, while slicing tines are ideal to minimise turf damage.
The value of Toro Titan tines
With so many options available, it can be hard to identify the right one for your needs.
To begin, you can explore our tine selection chart or speak with an expert to get a better idea of what’s possible and what type of tine depth and diameter would best suit your situation.
You’ll also learn that not all tines are created equal. Titan tines from Toro, in particular, are perfect to improve golf course turf health and playability. They last up to four times longer than standard tines and are built with the highest quality materials to offer the best results to your grounds. This way, you’ll reduce the need for frequent tine replacements and avoid disruptions to your busy schedule.
With sharp edges and smooth sides, Toro tines deliver clean cut holes that won’t be too harsh on the turf and ensure consistent aeration outcomes – providing better soil, drainage, and nutrients intake even after aerating a single time.
This means that by combining a well-planned maintenance programme with Toro tines you can significantly accelerate turf recovery and get your course or pitch back in play in no time. And what’s best, Titan tines can fit older Toro machines or other makes and models of aerators, thanks to special conversion sleeves.
Your trusted turfcare partner
Aeration is a key component of a proper turf management programme. And when it comes to high-traffic areas, it’s essential to aerate often to keep your turf looking great and healthy.
To learn more about Toro’s offering and how Reesink can help you find the best equipment to meet all your aeration needs, call 01480 226800, email info@reesinkturfcare.co.uk, or visit reesinkturfcare.co.uk.