Tining update

Today we top dressed the rest of the greens on the course with straight sand and matted in. applying around half a tonne a green.

Where the greens were tined yesterday we matted them once again and cut to remove any growth whilst the surfaces were dry. Ball roll across the tined areas is smooth considering they were done yesterday. They will need a few days until the sand settles into the sward.

We had a visit from our agronomist, Robert Laycock today who inspected the course mainly concentrating on the greens. He was pleased on the progress we are making, his report will be available in the next couple of weeks. Elsewhere we raked bunkers cut surrounds, tees, teesides, semi, fairways and moved holes.

Solid tining

To continually improve the greens we are changing our approach to aeration now we have finished the soil exchange programme we started 3 years ago. Last year, and the previous 2 we double passed the greens with 16mm hollow tines and filled the holes with sand to increase firmness and remove a thatch layer that had built up over a number of years. This work was crucial to providing firm surfaces year round even in the wettest of conditions. Now we are happy with the firmness we want to provide better greens longer into the playing season for the members. To do this we need to carry out our aeration earlier in the year, doing this we will have guaranteed higher soil temperatures which will help speed up recovery and ensure germination of newly sown seedlings. We are now concentrating on the lower profile of the soil structure so larger diameter tines are not needed, we are using 12mm tines to a depth of 250mm, at50mm x 50mm spacing. To ensure play is not unduly disrupted we plan to tine sections of greens leaving the pin on an unaffected part of the green. On 6 separate occasions we will tine 6 sections, covering all of 1-18 greens, 19-27 greens are scheduled to be tined 27th-30th Aug in one block, as there are less restrictions regarding competitions on this nine.
This morning we tined back 10th, front 12th, back 15th, back 16th, front 17th and the front putting green.

The greens were topdressed with straight sand, seeded with bent/fescue then left to dry completely before matted in.

Another dressing of sand was added, left to dry before matting in, then the greens were rolled and brushed to ensure all the holes were filled.

Weidenmann in action on the 16th. On the 16th and 17th greens we applied sand to the green before tining.
Also today we had a drainage consultant to inspect the course to help put a plan together to alleviate some of the drainage issue we suffer on holes 10-18. Scott and Rob dug several drainage inspection pits so David Hemstock could see the soil profile, existing drainage and associated problems.

Its been a few months since the hedge was removed from between the 18th and 19th holes, now the area has recovered and the leaves are on the trees that were planted, personally I feel is a marked improvement to both holes.

We have still work to do to finalise the change, this winter we have to plant more trees to fill in some of the open areas, move the left hand bunker on the 19th and reshape the 19th fairway to accommodate the new bunker layout.
In the last couple of days we have continued our work on the greens by grooming once more before an application of fertiliser, seaweed, primo, iron and wetter. Each time we apply this mix to the greens I can adjust the quantities slightly to overcome environmental pressures. For example if the weather is dry as it has been recently more wetter can be added, if the grass is growing vigorously more growth regulator can be added. We try and use a similar mix unless needed and adjust the timing between applications to ensure the rate of growth remains constant.

The 4mm of rain we had on Wednesday morning has greened areas up nicely however the forecast was for much more, a little every now and again is just perfect for me. With Captains Days this weekend we should have the course in good shape, hopefully staying dry!

Scarifying

I returned back to work today and the course has turned ever more brown since I last saw it, with the sandier areas of the course really start to loose all colour, looking more like a links course than parkland. Fortunately for the course a period of rain is forecast for the next week or so which will definitely help improve the turf condition. We have suffered a little more than I would have liked, with a couple of greens showing signs of dry patch, not helped by the irrigation breakdown recently, but has made the turf on these greens patchy.

The 24th looking linksy

 

The dry weather has also had an effect on the texture of the grasses, a lot of areas on the course are made up of rye grass which can become wirey in dry weather. The tees, although being irrigated, can become matted and wirey too, they are made up of bents, fescues, smooth stalk meadow grass and rye. We took the opportunity before the weather turns to scarify the tees, to lift, cut and remove dead material from the surface. Once the scarifying units had been passed across the tees, they were cut to ensure any lifted grass was removed and striped back up for presentation.

 

 



 

We also scarified the greens this morning, once again to remove any organic matter and to lift lateral growth. Bent grass, which we are trying to encourage on the greens has a growth habit which needs regular maintenance to ensure it doesn't get too much lateral growth. Following scarification we double verticut and tidied the surface with a straight cut. We will spray them with wetting agent, fertiliser, growth regulator and seaweed later this week.

The 23rd irrigation box was refitted after the irrigation leak was fixed

 

Out with the hoses

I think it is fair to say this week has been all about moisture application and aiding retention on the golf course. The irrigation system has being doing overtime through the night however Adam and the team have had to top up water deficits in areas where it dries more quickly. Natural push up greens can have very different requirements for water, not only from one green to another but across the same green. The greens at Malton and Norton are over 60 years old and are managed to encourage the finer grasses to establish by low nutrient inputs, minimal watering and not too intense vertical cutting, however even finer grasses need water and a certain amount of nutrients to survive. These differences in water requirements cant be dealt with simply by use of the fixed sprinkler heads on the course, so hand watering tops up any deficiencies. Around a lot of the greens are bunkers that are close by to the putting surfaces which creates sand splash and dries out very quickly so these need to be watered daily, walk on/off areas also tend to require more water.

 Drain installed last winter on the 9th

Bunker top next to 15th green

 

Else where the course still looks great if a little brown in places, greens cut, groomed and rolled, also  tees, fairways, semi, surrounds cut and bunkers raked.

 View back down the 1st

5th looking fantastic!

Finally a small detail but one Adam is delighted with, a 'mock orange' bush near the 15th ladies tee that was saved from near death by some judicial pruning a year or so ago, now looking in fine health.

 



Adams update

Dry weather continues so hand watering and daily irrigation cycles continue on greens, tees and approaches. Growth has slowed due to lack of moisture, however regular cutting continues to ensure appearance remains high. Intermediate rough has been cut and bunkers continue to be edged on the derwent nine holes. Tees are being divoted with the help of a work experience student from Norton college.

A number of wasp nests have come to light in the past week or so which are being dealt with as they are found. The irrigation leaks are being repaired, however the box at the 4th is still to be completed.
I will post pictures shortly

Heatwave!

We look like we are set for a long period of dry weather, according to the short term forecast. Last year we didn't go a week with out a downpour and were pleading for a spell of dry weather, this year it is completely the reverse. The dry weather is beautiful for golf however it creates different challenges for the greenstaff. Water management is key to maintaining healthy growth. Our irrigation system is very basic, supplying water to greens and tees only, running one station at a time. However it is crucial and is efficient enough to keep the turf alive in the driest of conditions.
Areas of turf that aren't reached by the automatic sprinklers are dealt with through application via the mobile sprinkler. Currently the 15th fairway is very dry due to recent solid tining to help drainage in wet conditions, this has caused increased drying out in these stressful conditions for turf.

This area should see quick recovery within the next week

I am on holiday for the next 8 days so Adam will take over, I will update the blog on the work Adam and the rest of the team does towards the end of the week.

As the irrigation is pushed hard to keep moisture in the rootzone it begins to show its frailties. This week we have had 2 separate burst at control boxes for tees and greens, another hose point needs replacing as this is leaking past the seal and 3 sprinkler heads need replacing, 2 of those were the old impact sprinklers on the tees. The impact sprinklers are very old, inefficient and are on a replacement schedule so these are welcome replacements. The other leaks are something we could do without, but these are common as the irrigation pipework is around 30 years old.

To keep the rest of the system going until our irrigation contractor comes to put in a new valve set we dug out the old valve set and capped the end of the main pipe. To do this we had to drain the pipework, cut the pipe before the break, glue on new fittings and then re fill the system. The new joints need around 4 hours for the glue to fully set and have strength at full pressure.
When the system was drained we took the opportunity to clean and check the suction pipe in the bottom pond which fills the storage tanks. When the filter was taken out of the basket, which keeps weeds from being sucked on to the filter, we discovered a fish had got trapped inside the basket. It certainly wouldn't help the irrigation, nor would I think it would be that nice for the fish.

The fish was returned to the pond!

Elsewhere cutting continues, although growth on the course has slowed, the entrance lane has been strimmed and tidied,  another compost tea application was made to the greens and the surrounds and approaches were fertilised using the tractor mounted sprayer, bunker edges are being strimmed and bunkers raked.

 

This week has not started well, we have had a number of breakdowns on various pieces of equipment. A pin on the 4500 needed attention, the 6500 fairway mower radiator sprung a leak, the stiga steering shaft and bearings need replacing, the alternator bracket on the vibrating roller machine needed fixing and finally we possibly have another leak on the irrigation system, this needs to be investigated further. Most of these problems have been repaired, others are on going, however we are working around these problems to maintain the quality of the course.

Radiator removed for repair

 

The weather has been glorious and helps us present the course in the best condition we can, however the heat is starting to stress the turf. The irrigation system is being worked every night on greens and tees to ensure they don't dry out and the turf health is maintained.

 

Additional water is being applied by hand applicator and wetting agent tablets where needed on selected greens, generally the driest areas are around bunkers where sand splash is a common occurrence.

Isolated areas of the greens were solid tined with 12mm tines to aid water penetration and aeration into the rootzone. These were done Friday 28th June, with good growing conditions in the growing season the holes soon recover, in fact the surface was back to normal 4 days later.

Solid tined green 4-5 days after tining.

We aim to carry out solid tining to all greens before mid September, this should ensure we have full recovery before soil temperatures fall, extending the golfing season. Following tining we would sand and seed instead of leaving the surface like we have on this occasion.



We're ready, are you?

This weekend we have the gents open day and ladies presidents day so we have been preparing the Welham course for both days. We have got all areas cut and presented exactly how we would like for what looks like a fantastic weekend in prospect. Course looks great, greens are running fast and true, here's a taster.

Other jobs were to divot tees and water drying turf areas with wetting agent solution

Dry conditions exaggerated by near by pine tree roots

Another branch takes a tumble!

This morning we discovered yet another large limb had cracked off an old oak tree on 15th. Only a week after we had a large limb crack off the sweet chestnut tree on 10th. This time it had cracked clean out of the tree so the tree surgeon wasn't required. Myself and Scott spent a little time cutting and clearing it away this morning to make the area safe. I think it maybe coincidence that they happened close to each other, however the tree surgeon did warn that some of the larger branches may need the end load reducing to ensure we do not suffer similar consequences with other trees.

Alistair and Rob seeded the area of soil at the end of the range where we removed soil for projects over the winter. This was refilled some time ago using the best of the soil we removed from drainage work and now seeded should blend back into the range outfield before to long.

They also turfed a small area at the back of the range building which was causing problems with the ball collector when returning to the ball dispenser.

With the gents open day and ladies presidents day this weekend we have stepped up cutting so the course looks that extra bit special, with the weather on our side the course is once again looking good. We have strimmed all bits around the course that cant be cut with mowers, cut bunker faces, teesides, intermediate rough, and all short grass in our usual routine. Adam also replaced the sprinkler head at the front of the mens 1st tee as this was not functioning correctly. The ride on mower we use to cut in the copses is currently being repaired as the bearings have worn in the steering shaft. On the positive side, the weather is fantastic!

Chafer beetles

On Sunday it was noticeable that the infestations of chafer grubs we found on holes 3 to 6 have emerged as chafer beetles or May bugs as some people may refer to them.

 

 

 This is a picture of a beetle on the practice chipping green, there are many beetles flying in the air on warm summer nights, this chart helps us identify which ones are active at the moment.

Looking at the chart this looks very much like the garden chafer beetle, although we have seen some welsh chafer beetles on parts of the course.

The last couple of days we have been topping the bunkers up with sand, another 29 tonnes of bunker sand has been added to holes 10-27. Other bunkers were checked and raked.

Our usual cutting routine continues elsewhere on the course,