I will never forget the first time I saw my home course after an aggressive August aeration! We had just replaced an old superintendent with his top assistant, and I guess the marching orders were to bring our course conditions up to par with our peer clubs in the area. Well, he pulled large cores and verticut EVERYTHING. I had not checked the book and had no idea this was going to happen, showed up on a Thursday afternoon to play, and almost got physically sick when I walked through the pro shop doors and saw the course! It looked like we had been in a war and lost! That began my education on what needs to be done to have a course in top condition.
That was ten years ago, and he has done it every August (and milder aeration every June) and our course condition has gotten SO much better each year. Certainly it is an annoyance and I have no desire to play golf there right after aeration, but I'll put up with it because the benefits are so obvious. When I became Grounds Chair, I helped convince the board to totally close the course for three days so that the crews can work without interruption, and then the entire course heals together rather than stretching it out over two weeks.