23rd green bank update

Just an update on the 23rd green, the bank is growing in nicely, a couple more weeks and it will be back in play. We will keep the new bunker as GUR until we have installed the required drainage

Cut, cut cut

view down to 8th



As mentioned yesterday today was all about cutting, Will cut semi, the fairway mowers were set too 14mm for the moment, which has really improved the fairway sward finish. Alistair and Rob spent most of the day brushing and cutting fairways. The greens were cut first thing then Adam cut tees. I spent the majority of the day cutting the intermediate rough with the tractor mounted deck. Mark moved 19-27 holes and cut the copses with the Stiga. We had to hand water some areas on 4 greens first thing as these were starting too 'burn off'. The irrigation is set to water the greens tonight.

 5th- view back to tee

5th fairway

After a week off I returned to the course on Saturday and what a transformation, the last week has seen hot, sunny conditions and with all the moisture in the ground, grass growth has been uncontrollable. The staff have been cutting grass at the same frequency and heights, however some of the rough and semi rough is much longer and thicker than it would normally be. We will try and get 'on top' of these areas especially this coming week. Now all the fairways have been sprayed with herbicide the cutting height will be set at the normal level (13mm opposed to 15mm, current height). All the fairways have been divoted. We have to pay particular attention to water application to greens and tees at the moment due to  the hot weather, we adjust irrigation application daily to ensure each green is of similar moisture level. Where extra water is needed, hand watering is carried out adding wetting agents to help prevent dry patch forming.

On Friday we managed to catch up on all cutting, tees were cut, greens and surrounds cut, moved the holes, we also raked all bunkers on the course and edged the practice ground bunkers. We picked up range balls and cut the range then serviced the range ball washer. Next week the fairways will be divoted, I am away so Adam, the Deputy Head Greenkeeper will over see maintenance on the course.

Ladies Open Day today, as mentioned yesterday we brushed greens, cut greens, rolled greens, cut surrounds and cut semi rough.

 9th green being brushed

Front putting green being hand cut

We also brushed, cut and sprayed 18-27 fairways with Praxys herbicide.

 24th fairway

25th fairway

This week has brought us considerably drier weather, the course opened again on Sunday. It has meant we can get back to our regular cutting programme, most areas on the course have been cut yesterday and today, we only have a couple of bunkers on the course to edge and add sand to. Tomorrow we have the Ladies Open Day which is one of the first big open events on the course. The greenstaff try to maintain high standards everyday for general member play, visiting parties and internal competition golf, however for big events we will ensure the course looks and plays its best for everyone visiting. Tomorrow greens will be brushed, cut and rolled, surrounds cut, semi cut, tees divoted, bunkers raked and we hope to finish bunker edging.

Back to normal (raining)

Just as the course was improving with the dry weather the rain has set us back once again. The last 24hrs brought us nearly another inch of rain, on top of saturated ground from the rain previously it comes as no surprise that the course is closed once more. We are in a difficult position as greenkeepers due to the time of year and grass growth. We have to continue to cut grass where ground conditions allow, mainly in semi rough areas, tree lines and hand mowing (flymo) otherwise we would be overwhelmed with cutting, we aim to keep the course is the best possible condition whatever the weather.

The 9th fairway waterlogged

All the greenkeepers have been working tremendously hard this week to catch up on lost time.

 Scott cutting semi rough

 Mark cutting copses

 Flymoing bunker faces, Alistair above and Rob below

And I have been cutting tree lines with the deck set at 6 inches. Will has been flymoing the 10/13/14 ditch and divoting the rest of tees

Summer?

The weather felt a lot warmer today, which is helping grass growth. It has forecast more rain tonight so today we made the most of the dry conditions and cut greens, surrounds and fairways, finished spraying tees with Praxys herbicide and started divoting the tee's.

 10th fairway

18th green

Today we top dressed the greens, at this time of the year we cut the greens prior to topdressing, then spread straight sand at a rate of 600kg per green approximately, then wait till it has dried on the surface and mat in using a drag mat on the back of the Jacobsen mk 5 mower. The amount of sand applied to the greens is minimal so can be easily matted into the green, thus improving ball roll. We try to dress the greens every 3-4 weeks to help surface smoothness, dilute any ongoing thatch buildup, and to keep the surface as dry as possible. It also help improve the speed of the greens as stress to the grass plants is reduced also lowering inputs like fertliser, water and labour. We also cut the tees, following this we applied a granular fertiliser (4-0-8) and sprayed them with Praxys herbicide to control any weeds. We also repaired damage to the 23rd banking where heavy rain had washed some of the soil and seed off the newly constructed area.

Course open

On Tuesday morning the course dried up enough to reopen 1-18 holes. Holes 19-27 remain closed due to water logging in the low areas, we hope to reopen these holes sometime on Thursday. We are slowly catching up on cutting across the course with greens been cut once again with the triple mowers, surrounds have been cut and groomed, fairways cut, semi rough mostly cut, tees cut, tee sides will be cut tomorrow and the bank sides on 10/13/14 will be sprayed for weeds.

7th green

1st hole

We have also turfed the 23rd green side bunker after the area has recently been seeded. Due to the recent wet weather the bunker is currently full of water. A drain in the bunker and at the bottom of the bank is to be installed when ground conditions allow. Some damage has also been caused to the seeded area with water run off, this will be repaired shortly.