Maintenance Week

This week the staff have worked hard to perform as much tasks as possible, despite over an inch of rain falling on the course. This put paid to any chance we had of coring the greens. Before the week started we looked at the forecast, the soil temperature, the golfing calendar and the expected recovery time and we took the decision that hollow coring was not the option at this time.

 

We tried to use the weather to our advantage as we knew that the heavy rain would wash in the topdressing nicely. So on Monday we solid spiked the greens with 10mm wide tines (on the new Wiedenmann GXi8) down to a depth of 6 inches. We followed this up on Tuesday by firstly brushing the greens with the sweep and fill brush to stand up the grass. Then they were cut before topdressing commenced. The topdressing went on fairly heavy in the rain so much so that when we were dressing the bottom four greens, the dressing on the top greens had almost been washed in already. This meant we were able to put more on straightaway. The dressing was then run over using a dragmat to help with smoothness. 

 

On Wednesday and Thursday we then spiked the greens again with the Procore using 8mm tines down to 4 inches. This was followed by more dressing, matting, brushing and cutting. On Friday the greens were cut and ironed to help bring the pace up a touch as carrying out this kind of work always drops the pace off. We have managed to put around 25 tons of material onto the greens this week which is a really good effort considering the challenging start to the week and the lack of growth. Soil temperatures are now up again to a respectable level and so with another feed due on the greens next week, we should see an improvement in their playability once again. Regular light dressings, brushing and cutting will be carried out to inprove smoothness.

 

Also this week we have took the opportunity to spike all the tees and approaches with the 10mm tines as well as fertilising the tees with a slow release, season long granular fertiliser. The fairways and roughs were cut too to help improve presentation. As growth continues the golf course will continue to come to life.

Cold Spring Course Update

As we enter May you would expect the normal spring growth kick to be well underway by now. However that is not the case up on the course at the moment as a week of extremely strong easterly winds has played havoc with both playing conditions and any potential for decent growth. Patience is really the key at the moment for all concerned.

The greens have really suffered in these conditions as they have dried out and firmed up significantly. With a mixture of a lack of rainfall together with heavy winds, there is no wonder that there has been a significant lack of growth. We have fertilised, topdressed, brushed and generally done everything we can to assist making decent putting surfaces and now we just need a bit of help from the weather to help us on our way.

We have been using the irrigation system on a regular basis, however there is an issue which is affecting the bottom part of the course, specifically greens 4,15,5,14,3, and 13. This issue should be sorted out in the next few days. These greens haven't received the same kind of moisture inputs as the others which again affects their appearance but this is a short term issue. The winds have really affected the direction of the spray from the sprinklers. I'm sure you will notice from the direction of the winds how some greens will be dry in one area and normal in the other. Some bunkers have received a real soaking due to the wind strength taking the spray away from the designated area.

Another negative of the heavy winds this week is that we haven't been able to use our new sprayer (other to spray a bit of water on the bottom greens) as there was no way we could control the chemical feeds being applied to the surface. The winds are due to die down Sunday and therefore the sprayer will be used next week.

Another hot subject matter at the moment is the bunkers. Whenever we add new bunker sand to the bunkers there is always comments about too much sand or the wrong kind of sand. I can assure you that the sand recently added is exactly the same consistency as the previous stuff. The problem with new sand is that when it is powder dry or soaking wet it doesn't perform to its capabilities. It just needs a little more time to settle.

http://weather.headlandamenity.com/2017/05/may-2nd/   

I have attached a link to an interesting blog which goes into the lack of growth and moisture in more detail. It shows in greater detail the struggle many golf courses throughout the country are facing.

As I said at the start, patience is the key...

Winter weather disruption

As you can see from the chart below we have recently had some significant rainfall and stormy weather which has hindered what we have been able to achieve during this winter period so far.

We had planned to finish off some of the winter work in areas that had been started, such as the 1st and 14th holes. However, with all this rainfall flooding the golf course we have not been able to work on those areas for fear of causing further compaction and making more of a mess than is absolutely necessary.

 

 

Rather than the rainfall be fairly consistent, as you can see we have had three main rainfall timeframes all lasting approximately 9 days totalling 203mm. This has had a serious effect on ground conditions and playability. After a week or so of drying weather the heavens reopen and bring us back to square one. This has meant course closures and/or the use of temporary greens at times, but I’m sure now you can understand why.

 

 

 

As well as the rainfall, we have had significant damage from Storm Doris, which caused several pine trees to fall, split or lean to an extent that were deemed unsafe. These trees have been chopped up but, due to the ground conditions being what they are, we have left them in situ for a short period until we can remove them via trailer or chipper. Hopefully the rest of March is kinder to us so that we can continue our preparations ready for the new season ahead.

New Year

Firstly may I wish all the readers a very Happy New Year as we look forward to another busy year at Bolton Old Links Golf Club. We are always trying to maintain the golf course to its full potential regardless of the time of year and we are carrying on with our winter programme which is focussed mainly on repairing GUR areas around the course and installing extra drainage in other areas.

 

This work is ongoing and will continue during periods of decent weather. We have laid fresh turf in various areas to improve quality of presentation and grass species. The 11th fairway GUR areas have been dug up, levelled and returfed. Any decent turf that could be salvaged will be used in other areas so it is not wasted. It would be very beneficial if all golfers could keep off the newly laid turf areas so that it has the best chance possible to establish over the winter. Please take notice of the ropes and keep to the driest possible areas.

 

The majority of the drainage work carried out on the first hole has been soiled and turfed too. Further drainage work needs to be carried out to finish the whole area but the worst areas are now complete. Again, please try and spread your wear when playing the golf course.

 

The greens are holding up well in general over the winter so far with the weather remaining fairly settled. There certainly has not been the same amount of rainfall as this time last year. We are continuing to aerate the greens when we can either by spiking or slitting so that the surfaces can breathe and any root growth has the maximum amount of air possible to grow into.

 

We have been using the handmowers when needed to cut the greens which give a decent ball roll and increased presentation. We will continue to monitor the health of the greens during this cold period and if there is a need to give any a rest, this will take place for the benefit of the greens in the long run. Please do your best to repair a pitchmark on the greens as this will help us to provide better surfaces in the winter period.

 

We have to be careful that during periods of frost we look after the greens as much as possible. Any sudden thaws after heavy frosts can lead to root shear and detrimental turf health and so temporary greens may have to be used for a short period to allow the frost to fully leave the ground. This is being monitored on a daily basis with all the staff involved in the process.

 

When the weather is too poor for us to carry on with the winter programme then there are other tasks that we can be getting on with. This includes sharpening the mower blades, sanding down and painting markers and posts.

 

So as you can see there is plenty going on at the moment as we now look forward to a nice warm spring and a healthy golf course. All the best for the new year.

Course Update-Winter Work

The weather recently has been very dry in the main and so the golf course has benefited with the team trying to keep presentation levels as high as possible. However it doesn't take much rain to change things around and in the last week or so we had had plenty. As I write this the course is shut as it has been flooded by another 10mm of rain, which just raises the water table even more, having had 30mm over the last week or so.

 

We are trying to take advantage of any dry periods to carry out important drainage tasks around the golf course. We have already started work on several holes, including 1st, 10th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 17th and 18th holes.

 

We have installed extra drainage on the right hand side of the 1st and 14th holes. On the 1st we discovered a very deep culvert up near the pond area that was blocked completely with tree roots. Having located the large pipe which runs from the pond to the ditch, we have installed drainage and stone from the culvert to the large pipe.

 

On the 14th we have dug trenches through the worst of the wet area on the right hand side. This has been added to the existing drainage. On the left hand side of the 14th the ditch has been dug out deeper and wider to take an extra volume of water away.

 

Areas of the ditches on the 10th, 13th and 18th have been dug out so that a greater water flow can take place. We have cleared away blockages in culverts we have found which will help to free water movement on the course. On the 13th we have also trimmed the trees and bushes on the left of the ditch right away so that ball retrieval will be much easier for the golfers.

 

An area of much comment and discussion was the bomb hole on the 15th. This area used to be cut regularly with the rough mower but over the last 18 months or so it has become increasingly more difficult to maintain the area. It became wetter and wetter and eventually we were unable to do anything with it as it filled up with water.

 

The decision was made to dig in the area to inspect what the issue was and develop a plan to move forward. The bottom of the pit had a very poor sward after remaining wet for so long and therefore we decided to strip off this area. When we started to remove it we uncovered a deep culvert which started to take all the water away. Moving forward this will be inspected further to make sure it is constantly flowing correctly. If we feel extra drainage is needed then this will be added. Then the area will be made good again with fresh soil and turf.

 

As you can see we are keeping busy with projects as well as trying to keep the course as tidy as possible. Further updates will follow when more works are completed. Please look on the club's twitter feed for pictures of the above work.

 

 

Course Update

The Autumn weather is definitely moving in now with darker mornings and colder temperatures. We seemed to have mostly skipped summer this year with constant rainfall and not too many dry spells. Still, the staff continue to work hard to try and present the golf course as best as they can.

As well as the weather, the machinery has had another hard season and on occasions it has let us down from time to time. I will write a separate blog about the machinery shortly. On a busy course such as this one, it is paramount that all the machinery is up to date and working correctly.

The greens have stood up reasonably well to all the bad weather and have stayed relatively firm. However the constant rain does take its toll and they can only take so much before playability is affected. All the greens today have been fed with an organic granular feed. This will provide a nice colour up as well as keep them ticking along nicely as we head towards the off season.

The aeration policy is still vastly important and the greens were recently spiked with the Procore to allow the surface to breathe. This task will remain a constant through the Autumn period so that we can keep the greens as healthy and as free draining as possible.

 

As we look towards Autumn and Winter we will soon be starting the winter work programme. A separate blog will detail this.

 

 

Greens Renovation

We have talked in the past about the importance of regular aeration work on the surfaces, especially the greens. This year it has been very difficult with the weather to establish consistently high quality putting surfaces but the work must be done to continue to achieve improved results. After a very wet winter and a late, cold spring the greens were slow to get going and so the decision was made not to core in the maintenance window in August.

Although coring was not undertaken this time, we still managed to achieve a lot in a small window. The Air2G2 machine was hired in to blast air into the profile deep down, lower than we currently spike down to. This breaks up any pan in the soil profile, allowing air, water and roots to reach further down. It also is a fantastic machine as it creates very little surface disruption.

A few days after the Air2 we started to Vertidrain the greens. This machine is our own and it can spike down to about 12 inches. We used half inch tines and spiked down to 10 inches so that the toxic air could escape and fresh oxygen could enter the profile. It works like you would stand on your back garden with a pitchfork to relieve compaction (you all do that don’t you!?)

The greens were then topdressed and approximately one ton per green was applied to the surfaces.

After this the Procore was then used to spike the greens to a depth of 4 inches using 8mm tines.

 

We use this machine to drive sand into the profile and also to help close up the Vertidrain holes.

We then went across the greens brushing with the Sweep and Fill brush, making sure the topdressing was brushed into the surface. As we have not cored we are not intending to totally fill any holes on the greens, just give them a dressing. Typically the weather turned as we started to dress the greens so some of the dressing was very wet, however the sweep and fill brush coped very well.

 

Finally the greens were cut and then ironed to help with smoothness. The process was reasonably straightforward and was completed with the minimum of disruption, although you can see by the pictures the kind of machinery needed to keep the greens in the best possible condition.

Recovery is well underway and the greens will be back to normal in no time. An organic granular fertiliser has been applied since to aid the recovery and to give the greens a gentle feed for the next month or so. Next week the weather looks to be a lot warmer so the recovery time should be very minimal. Although we won't look to core the greens until after the season finishes, more aeration work will continue throughout the season on a little and often basis.