Hmmm, didn't know those existed.

I have that one & a solid tine version called hound dog from home depot. They both work great, but the hollow tine gets plugged up constantly so I end up using the hound dog a lot more often.

The solid tines will not help, they will actually increase compaction.

Yeah I've heard that one too. I figure a hole is a hole when I'm using it like a pitchfork, but in certain aspects I can see why the hollow tines are preferred. I just can't keep them hollow when they're constantly filling with dirt...

The solid tines are used on golf courses to penetrate a sod that has turned hydrophobic.

Another approach is to spray shampoo. If the area is fairly small, then put some shampoo into a 5-gallon bucket and pour it on. Follow that up with more water to get the soap down deep.

I figure a hole is a hole when I'm using it like a pitchfork, but in certain aspects I can see why the hollow tines are preferred. I just can't keep them hollow when they're constantly filling with dirt...

Think about it, when you push a solid tine into the soil, the soil has nowhere to go but to move sideways out of the way and make room for the tine. You're basically compressing the dirt onto the "walls" of the hole. Whereas a hollow tine actually removes that dirt creating free space in the soil. As far as keeping the tines hollow, what you do is push it down into the soil, it fills up with dirt - the "core". Then you move on to the next spot and push it into the soil again and the dirt already in the tine gets pushed out the other end. And so on.