A brief change

Yesterday we had more rain which closed the course, but this was only the second closure since March 2013. The conditions were very sticky, although there was no water stood the constant rainfall had saturated the surface making thin areas impassable.

Fortunately an easterly wind has brought drier conditions, overnight has dried the course considerably and we have all holes open except 3 next to the river which are affected by flood water. 

With ground conditions firmer we took the opportunity to cut greens and surrounds and rake all bunkers. 

The greens cut at 4.5mm mostly with the john Deere triple, however 5 of the wettest greens were cut by hand to reduce damage to the surface. 

Surrounds cut at 13mm with the toro hand mower. 

On Monday we applied a slow release iron to greens, surrounds and approaches. After a little rain which is due on Friday night that should wash it into the root zone, the grass can then begin to utilise it. Work continues on machinery service, now on the trail gangs, slit tining continues and will is just about finished on the 13th Tee side hedge.  

A modern day lawn mower

Many of the members will have seen the machines we use out on the course, all designed to be used on a specific area. Depending on the length of grass and type of finish we require determines which machine and units to use.

Today we have been servicing the john Deere greens mowers so I thought it would be an ideal opportunity to share what makes them different from the rest to cut the greens. 

Firstly the greens are cut anywhere from 3 mm to 5 mm, this in itself warrants some specific requirements, the units have to be able to cut low without damaging the turf, be able to cut frequently to produce a good finish and the machine has to be able to travel on the green without causing any damage. 

Firstly the cylinders have 11 blades which can produce a high frequency of cut (0.71mm/kmh). This ensures a smooth finish, critical for a greens surface. 

Secondly the blade (bottom blade) is very  thin to ensure the height of cut can be as low as it is. 

This is a brand new bottom blade and is only 2 - 3 mm thick on the leading edge. Tournament blades are thinner than this to cut as low as 2mm however will not last as long. 

The critical point when servicing the units on any mower is to ensure the angles are correct. By this I'm referring to the relief angles on cylinder blades and top and front of the bottom blade. For this particular machine we put a 5 degree angle on the cylinder, 6.5 degree top and 15 degree front. This creates the scissor action that cuts the sward and remains sharp throughout there life. 

The front roller is grooved to ensure the grass isn't flattened before cutting. The back smooth to create the finishing roll. 

All the unit is striped down when serviced and cleaned then reassembled checking wear, breakages and greasing where needed. 

The final piece of technology which is required to produce fine turf are groomers. These are thin vertical pieces of metal spaced around 10mm apart. 

They are not used every time we cut greens but can be lowered when needed. They are used to remove lateral growth that is usually associated with bent grasses. These differ from scarifying units, as these don't penetrate the soil surface, where as scarifying can go into the soil and thatch around 3 - 4mm. 

When all assembled look a little like this. 

Unit before servicing. 

After each day of cutting they are always checked for blade contact and greased up after around 50 hours of use. 

The machine itself runs on smooth tyres which has a low pound per sq inch footprint, this ensures very little impact on the greens surface. It is powered by a 20hp 0.7 litre 3 cylinder Diesel engine, with the whole machine weighing only 700kg including operator. 

So next time you see us out on our 'lawn mowers' hopefully the technology we use  to keep the grass cut will be a little clearer. 

This week was all about updating and expanding our knowledge and skills. Firstly we attended the BTME show where we saw some new and innovative machines and products which will help us within our industry. Then on Wednesday and Thursday 4 of the staff took part in a welding course held at the golf club. This will help the staff in machinery repair and widen their knowledge.

The training was organised by Linda Bower of Land Based Training. 

On the course the weather has limited travelling with machinery so only the priority tasks have been carried out. Other jobs have been to cut hedges, paint markers, machinery service and repair and today when the frost had gone  slitting fairways. 

With more rain forecast and even colder temperatures expected next week we took the opportunity on we'd to get a preventative fungicide on the greens, a mix of iprodione, tebuconazole and prochloraz. This protects against fusarium outbreaks. 

Frosty

A cold week in prospect, however the weekend brought more rain on Sunday which made the mixed winter comp a bit sticky in certain places

6th tee this morning

Also we had a few winter cups in play due to puddling and wet conditions on and around the greens. This morning some of those puddles had frozen leaving sheets of ice in low spots, leaving 2 winter cups still remaining. Today at least the sun is shining and the forecast is dry until Wednesday.

It's our annual trip to Harrogate exhibition (BTME) on Tuesday. Here there is everything imaginable associated with turf management, not only for golf courses but tennis, rugby, football, synthetics and all other sports dealing with turf and playing surfaces. It's our opportunity to educate, look and try new products and machinery which we think will help improve our course. 

On the course we sprayed 1-18 fairways with sulphate of iron and pottassium nitrate to add a little colour in winter conditions, hedge cutting continues, machinery servicing is going well, and ditch clearance is ongoing on the 1st. 

Machinery service time

After a wet start to this morning we battled the conditions to get the course open and in a reasonably playable state. The new policy which includes the use of winter cups has already come into effect twice during the last week. With out there use (positioned on the approach) it would be difficult to keep the course fully open without causing damage to greens surfaces. 

There are areas that are very sticky so the policy to restrict buggies is also being brought into use. The main reason is for safety, the green staff do not go on to the course with vehicles in these conditions unless needed so safety is not compromised. 

Foot traffic and pull along trollies are allowed as they do not cause serious damage and are safer in wet and icy conditions. The storm drains are working well and the majority of drainage seems to be effective. Notes are being made of where we are to install more drains in the future. 

Whilst we can't go on to the course machinery servicing continues at pace. The fairway mower complete and work starts on the tee side mowers. We are also busy painting markers to ensure they look good for the start of the season

Rain, test passed

Last night brought very heavy rain, 20mm in total, the first time this winter we have had such a volume of rain. So the first test of some of the drainage. Pleasing this morning then that we could keep the course open as it had drained well in most areas. The worst areas were around greens and tees where grass is thin due to wear and looked slightly muddy. We had to use some of the winter cups we have put out to ensure damage didn't occur in these poorer areas.

It did highlight where more drainage is needed in coming years but we have made good progress with what we have done so far. 

Yesterday we managed to complete the storm drains on 15 

As ground conditions were wet in areas we limited vehicles on the course so work continued with servicing machinery, fixing the 1st practice net, cleaning out ditches, cutting hedges and painting markers. 

Pitchmarks again......please please look after YOUR greens

Heres another short video to show how a pitchmark is repaired correctly, please repair at least a couple pitchmarks per green to ensure they are in good condition for all who play. Thank you

Lucky with the weather......?

Here at Malton and norton golf club we have managed to stay relatively dry, when looking at other areas in the uk, especially the south and west. We only had 492mm of rain in 2013 compared to 950mm in 2012. That helped the course stay playable most of the year with only 4 days closed excluding snow days for the entire year. This week with the weather is still mild so we are installing storm drains into the surround and approach of 15th green. These are being connected to existing fairway drainage. 

Hopefully these will be finished tomorrow. 

This morning the greens were cut again and holes moved. The putting surfaces still looking and playing good for the time of year. 

Other jobs have been hand cutting hedges, continuation of machinery service, repairing the practice net and sanding drains and wet areas

A happy new year to all

Well it's not a bad start to the new year, the sun is shining and the course is still looking good. The Christmas period brought us some showers but overall we have missed most of the heavy rain that has affected golf courses in the south of the country. For now anyway. Back to work and into the thick of it, we are starting the machinery service, all done in house, with around 40 units to sharpen service and clean down it's not a quick process, all the vehicles also need servicing and checking with any repairs carried out to ensure they are ready for the start of the new season

On the course greens have been cut, surrounds cut with the hand mower, bunkers raked and blown off, holes moved and ropes repositioned. 

We have also put out some winter cups if needed over the next couple of months. These are position in a dry area In front of the green so when conditions are bad enough that play on the summer green would cause damage we would use the winter cups to keep the course open. 

Over the next few weeks we hope to do some more drainage work on the course especially on the 27th and 17th hole, plus some small areas around greens. We also have a lot of debris collection to do after the severe winds, fortunately no major damage has occurred