Course Update

As we look towards the winter and the colder temperatures here is an update on a few matters with regards to the golf course.

 

The greens are being fed on a monthly basis with a liquid feed mixture. This contains nitrogen, iron, magnesium, calcium and seaweed. This mixture will help to harden the turf as we get colder and keep it healthier throughout the winter. This has been sprayed three times already with more to come. Other products are there to be used if we need to boost this mixture but at the time of writing the greens look a lot more healthy than they did in previous winters. The greens are being hand cut which will continue when required through the winter. This will help to provide a smoother surface with a decent pace.

 

 

The fusarium disease scars are starting to repair and this feeding regime will help. Recovery will be slower at this time of year but they will recover and be stronger going into to spring where we will be looking for a fast start as the new season approaches.

 

The two tees (13th and 17th) which are being relevelled and returfed are well under way and the turfing will commence on Tuesday 25th. The first stage of this process was having the tees stripped of the existing turf. This turf is being used to repair many of the GUR areas around the course. So far we have completed areas on the 4th, 7th, 8th, 10th, 12th and 18th. This work is ongoing.

 

17th Tee adding rootzone

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With the turf removed fresh rootzone was added to help level the surfaces ready for the new tees turf. This is grown especially for purpose with two grass species (fescue and smooth stalk meadow grass) being used to provide a quality surface. 

 

Once we have completed the tee turfing we will continue with the GUR areas and also try and tackle some of the drainage issues which are leaving some areas very wet, especially after very heavy rain. The budget is tight for this kind of work and so we will do what we can to improve things without taking anything away from the greens and tees etc.

 

Slitter on the 11th

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aeration will continue right through the winter and we will endeavour to cover as many areas as possible. The greens have been slit twice recently down to a depth of five inches. This allows air and water to move further down the soil profile, keeping the surfaces drier and firmer. The greens have also been sarel rolled to keep the surface open. Other areas of the course have been Vertidrained to help relieve compaction. This kind of work is essential if we are to try and produce a golf course to be proud of.

 

 

The steps and astro turf at the back of the 10th green have been removed. We have replaced it with tee turf and a new set of steps. This work is ongoing but will make the exit to the next tee much more presentable.

 

10th Steps under construction

 

 

As you can see the winter programme is well under way and we will try and keep the disturbance to a minimum. However some disruption is inevitable but we appreciate your patience during this time. All five of the greenkeeping department want to achieve as much as possible this winter to help the course improve.

Scarifying Greens

Scarifying Greens

Next week the greens will be scarified. We have decided to perform this task rather than hollow coring for a number of reasons. Firstly the main reason is recovery. Scarifying the greens will leave grooves rather than holes all over the greens. We will not go as deep into the green as hollow coring but with continuous grooves along the green we will actually take out more thatch.

We will scarify on Tuesday weather permitting and the greens will be cleared of debris as we go. If more debris is left on the green if wet then we will also verticut the greens after to remove it. I expect to be on each green for about half an hour at a time. On Wednesday the greens will be topdressed, overseeded with bent and brushed. We will again be demoing the Sweep and Fill Brush which will flick the topdressing into the grooves and into the surface. There should be very little disruption to the surfaces after a day or so.

As the greens have already been fertilised I expect recovery to be quite quick. The seed should be through in about a week but the grooves will close up very quickly. Once the brushing is complete the greens will be rolled and then cut on the days after.

This maintenance is essential for the continued improvement of the greens surfaces. It will continue our soil exchange programme and will help the greens to be more free draining, an important factor as we approach the autumn and winter.

Greens Update

The greens are having to deal with some very testing conditions at the moment. Hot temperatures, high winds and low cutting heights mean that they are very stressed currently.

 

There have been several comments about the speed of the greens recently. It is very difficult to keep them very quick during this time for various reasons.

 

The irrigation system is having to be used constantly to water the greens to avoid them drying out too much. There have been some dry patches appear and they are being managed as best as possible. The drain lines really struggle in this heat due to the sand underneath. These lines have been topdressed and a wetting agent applied to help cope with the stress.

 

The greens have also been aerated using the Procore. This was essential maintenance to help the greens breathe. Allowing them to breathe means that they relax a little and with the added water the greenspeed does drop a little. We have maintained a lower height of cut to assist with the speed where normally during the hot spell it would be raised.

 

A granular supplement feed as been added to help with this stress period. It has small amounts of feed in it as well as acting as aid to help reduce thatch.

 

Another point to be made is staff levels. We have said in the past that when we are all on top of things all over the golf course we would hand cut as much as possible. This has recently been difficult to achieve as at various times some members of staff have taken part of their annual leave entitlement. This stretches the small squad at times and so we may not have time to always handcut. The use of the iron will be used to help with the speed though.

 

We thank the members and visitors for their comments regarding the presentation of the course and we continue to work hard to achieve the standards required.

 

 

VERTIDRAIN

We now have our own Vertidrain!!! Along with the Procore which we purchased last summer the club now owns some very decent aeration equipment which will really help to improve the quality of the main surfaces, i.e. greens, tees and approaches. We also have a machine to scarify the fairways.

 

Model 7316. 1.6m width

 

The Vertidrain is capable of spiking down to a depth of 12 inches. It is a staple machine for golf courses to own. The aeration provides several benefits.

 

Firstly it allows much needed air down into the soil profile. It also allows gas to escape to allow the soil structure to remain aerobic.

Once the holes on the top have disappeared there is still a hole underneath which water, air and roots can utilise.

 

Secondly it allows surface water to escape down the hundreds of holes made. This will aid the surface to keep dry and will promote firmer greens.

 

 

 

 

This machine will be used on a regular basis at different depths so that we can help the greens to improve

Rough Scarifier

Last week we had a demonstration of the Wiedenmann Super 500 Deep Rough cutter/scarifier/collector and we spent a few hours putting it through its paces. Obviously after all the heavy recent rain conditions were not perfect but it still performed very well.

Loading machine to our tractor

We concentrated on two areas during the demo, the thick rough between the 1st and 9th fairways and the patch between the 2nd and 7th fairways. The machine performed well cutting the thick rough down to an inch or so.

Hi tip collector can be dumped into a trailer

Can cope with any terrain

These rough areas around the course need to be thinned out so that the finer wispy grasses can establish. This will have several benefits. Firstly, a golfer would be able to find their ball therefore speeding up play. The presentation of the golf course would be greatly increased. Imagine the wispy tall rough blowing in the wind, defining the holes.

Area between 1 and 9, a ball magnet

 

 

The area between 2 and 7 is a mess and can be a hold up area with people looking for lost balls.

 

 

The area between 2 and 7 is a mess and can be a hold up area with people looking for lost balls.

 

 

After the demonstration you can see how well the machine cut the scrub down. Only the extreme weather shortly after this prevented us from carrying on.



 

 

 

 

 

Next week we shall be demonstrating another machine of this type to compare and contrast.

 



 

 

 



 

 

GRINDERS

We have had a demonstration of a set of Bernhard grinders recently. These machines sharpen both the cutting cylinder and the bottom blade off the mowers. Greens, tees, fairways, semi rough and hand mowers can all be sharpened with these machines. Having a sharp cutting unit is essential for providing top presentation and a smooth ball roll. It can actually help to increase the speed on the greens.

 

Bottom Blade Grinder

  

There are two machines which perform a separate function. One is designed to sharpen the reels of the cutting unit and the other sharpens the bottom blade. This means we could run our units with no contact between the two. Therefore there would be less wear on the bottom blade, cylinder, hydraulic motor and the mower would use less fuel.

 

 https://www.dropbox.com/s/ks3gckkc98luntm/20140129_102556.jpg

 

It is very clear to see the effects of when a mower has been sharpened. The ball runs smoother, the greens look more healthy and they do not rely so much on fertiliser and water. The grass leaf is kept very strong with a sharpened cut so there is much less disease incidence.

 

During the demonstration we were able to sharpen six cutting units and bottom blades.

 

The club has now made the wise decision to invest in these demonstration models of the grinders. They will be with us in a few weeks and I will update on their arrival.

 

 

 

 

 

Winter Work Barriers

It sometimes can be very difficult to work on the golf course during the winter time. The last two winters have been very cold with lots of snow which has shut the golf course for periods of time. This winter has been the wettest on record and this brings its own difficulties.

 

Since Christmas we have had seven inches of rain fall on the course and it really has struggled to cope sometimes. Golf is a twelve month sport nowadays and people expect to play in the best conditions all year round. Sometimes this is simply not possible, especially with days of rain on end.

 

The high water table means the rain doesn't have anywhere to go and it just tops itself up all the time. This makes playing conditions very difficult. The pinch points on the golf course, the main walk offs from green to tee etc become very waterlogged, muddy even.

 

Typical sight after heavy rain


The winter programme is a guide to what the staff are trying to achieve over this period in order to improve the golf course. However when we have weather that is so inclement then this has to be reviewed. Losing so many days to heavy downpours means that not all the work may be carried out. However we will try and achieve as much as possible before the season starts.

 

The ninth fairway drainage work was abandoned due to the poor weather as the rootzone was continually being washed away. This will be finished as soon as possible and then we can turn our attention to the ditch at the right hand of the first. We are also looking at other areas of the course and trying to repair sunken drains and unblock existing drainage.

 

What we have to remember is that while we are carrying out drainage, construction or repair work, thought must be given for the upcoming season. This means aeration work on the greens and tees, organising fertiliser programmes and stock levels. Spraying or spreading products has to be carried out.

 

 

The irrigation system will be turned on for the season and many pop ups have to be replaced to increase efficiency. We will also this year be using a product added to the irrigation to improve the greens. More details will come on this in time.

 

So all in all there is much to do and we will try to achieve as much as possible. Hopefully mother nature will give us a break soon.

 

Ninth Fairway

NINTH FAIRWAY DRAINAGE

 

 

A trench has been dug at the bottom of the slope on the ninth fairway to install new drainage and repair the worn out main traffic area. During this dig we found old existing drainage, which was not working anymore. We also found some blocked culverts and have made sure that they now run into the drainage. We found some random clay piping which was all silted up.

 

 

Area always wet and badly worn turf

View from the fairway after heavy rain



Trench dug through the main wet area, incorporating some other areas of weak turf

 

We have installed some 100mm pipe across the main area and added 10mm gravel before finishing the trenches with rootzone. The area will be returfed when topped up. In a couple of places to connect to culverts we have used bigger pipework and that has been connected to the main trench. At the end of the trench the pipework drops into the main culvert which runs from the 10th green to the right hand side of the first hole.



 

Pipe installed and gravel filled

Main trench 

 

 

Unfortunately due to the bad weather recently the work on this particular job was suspended due to the rootzone which was added being washed away in heavy downpours. During this time of bad weather the supplier of our rootzone has also experienced problems at the quarry. The sand which was washed ready to be mixed to make rootzone was flooded with contaminated lake water. Therefore they had to wash it all over again. This has caused a delay in supplying new rootzone to many customers. We will finish this work as soon as possible.