GREENS

GREENS

 

It is fairly obvious to see at this moment in time that the greens are not where we would want them to be, and believe me no one is more frustrated about it than me. This is down to several different factors including a late growing season, soil temperatures, different grass growth, lack of aeration, not to mention the weather.

 

Having had discussions with the club over the years it was felt necessary to try and include some necessary maintenance during the season and so in recent years we have tried to clear the diary during May to carry out these procedures. However these type of "maintenance weeks" seen at lots of clubs don't always work out the way you want them to as mother nature sometimes doesn't read the diary. Certainly having one Monday in May isn't the best option as maintenance should be carried out little and often right through the year if good surfaces are to be expected.

 

Due to the very cold spring and lack of any real growth at this time it was decided that hollow coring or scarifying to pull out thatch was not the best idea due to the speed of recovery. Unless conditions are well in favour then these sort of procedures are best left until the autumn.

 

Therefore I decided to aerate the greens using a Vertidrain on Monday morning. Below is a picture of one in action, carried out by Fine Turf Services as currently we do not have one of our own. The greens were cut before this operation and after each green had been aerated I fertilised with a granular application of a 10-0-10 urea based fertiliser which also included some other nutrients such as Iron and Magnesium to assist with giving the greens some better colour.

As you can see the Vertidrain punches holes into the ground with a pitchfork action.

 

Vertidrain 18th Green

As it reaches the bottom of its run it heaves the ground and this creates holes in the soil profile (see below). These holes in turn allow air, water and roots to penetrate deeper down. The roots are able to reach further down under ground, creating stronger and healthier turf and the water that lands on the surface has much more chance of draining away.

 

Holes created in soil deep below

 

Having had around half an inch of rain fall on Tuesday night and then an inch fall on Wednesday alone closing the course in the morning, it was possible to open the course late in the afternoon, something which would have been impossible without this procedure.

 

 

On Tuesday we topdressed the greens with almost twenty tons of a sandy, composted soil blend which has been mixed together and heated before being delivered. This type of topdressing gives a small amount of its own nutrition to the greens due to the compost content. You could actually still feel the heat off the pile when it was delivered.

 

The topdressing was then ran over with a dragmat to smooth it into the green. However unfortunately during this operation we had some rather heavy showers of rain which were not ideal. This meant that the topdressing was rather smeared into the surface because it had got wet. I thought it best to carry on though as the forecast for Wednesday was horrible.

 

Wednesday morning we arrived at work to find the course under water and it was clear as the morning progressed that no work further work could be carried out on the greens that day. A whole day lost on such an important task is far from ideal and in total we had 44mm of rain in approximately 36 hours.

 

On Thursday the greens were dry enough for us to brush and cut them for the first time since Monday morning. It was clear to see that much of the fertiliser and some of the topdressing had been well washed in but in many areas where growth is weak the soil was still clearly visible. Obviously it helps when it is dry so that it disappears lower into the base. Many of the holes from the Vertidrain had been closed up although their benefit will still be working underneath for time to come and it will hold the greens in good stead in the long run.

 

 



 

On Friday the greens were again brushed and cut and this time they were ironed as well using the Tru Turf roller. Obviously the greens are not in their prime condition but it has been quite a disruptive week for them, but very beneficial. A huge amount of work has gone into them which will only be for the better. Short term disruption for long term gain.

 

Once the soil temperatures pick up enough to promote stronger growth we should see an improvement. The greens will drain better and the roots now have more room to grow stronger and deeper, again producing better quality in the future. This amount of disruption is not the norm but I felt it necessary especially having worked hard to create space in the diary. On a more regular basis we will sarel roll the greens and topdress very lightly to help smooth out the surfaces. Also the greens will be verticut to thin out more of the coarses looking grasses, thus providing a more uniform appearance. This will happen shortly and will be discussed on here at the time. Patience is key at this time.   

  

 



 

 

 

 

 



No Growth

No Sign of Greens Growth

 

 

The greens are still not showing any real signs of growth, especially with the temperatures remaining colder at nights. Talking to other greenkeepers in the area and reps who visit many clubs the feedback is the same. They talk about being around a month behind schedule with regards to where they should be. We can try many different things such as use of fertiliser and other products but unless we receive some help from mother nature with regards to sunshine and an increase in soil temperatures, the greens will continue to make slow progress.

 

 

 

Bent and poa grasses

These photos show the different types of grasses that we have in our greens. They are predominantly made up of poa annua and bent grasses. There are also small amounts of fescue and rye in certain greens. Now just to make things difficult, these different grass types grow at different rates to different heights, which cause the greens to have a patchy appearance. The bent grass has a much more desirable colour and it is much more disease tolerant and doesn't rely as much on water and fertiliser. Poa (annual meadow grass) has a much weaker appearance, is more shallow rooting and requires more food and water to survive. Ideally the greens would be made up of bent and fescue grasses, what you would find more commonly on a links green, but this would require much needed maintenance, time, money and commitment.
 

 

The following diagrams show how the last few years have varied with regard to soil temperatures. Generally conditions require temperatures to be above 6 degrees to achieve any growth. The first diagram shows how many days were higher than 6 degrees. The second shows how many of these days there were in total. It is clear to see how fewer we have had this year compared to last, accounting for the lack of growth. (These figures were accumalated in the midlands, but a similar pattern if not worse has happened in the north west).

Courtesy of Mark Hunt, Headland

 

 

Courtesy of Mark Hunt

Usually this subject of uneven growth and bobbly greens rears its head around April time, or Augusta syndrome time, but we are only now at the middle of May and the growth still resists. The next topic will be spring maintenance, the value of aeration and the use of topdressing.