End of week catch up

What a busy week, as mentioned in my previous blog the bunker on 10 was going well helped by closure of the hole to allow safety for the staff. By Thursday this was complete albeit a little drainage to finish.

Then work continued on the new 16th white tee. The soil was shaped, irrigation lines installed and root zone added. 

The root zone then was levelled and prepared for turf. The banks have a little work to be done before these are turfed using the turf from the 10th fairway. 

Leaf collection continues with blustery winds today they are a constant issue at the moment. 

Next week we will start on the 18th tee and turf the work done so far. Also we have some pine trees to plant on holes 10, 18 and 20. 

Bunker dig/ 16 tee

Today the dig of the 10th bunker was

nearly complete and is looking great. Just the face to turf and some extra drainage to install.

All the topsoil that was excavated was taken to be used on the new 16th tee. This was levelled out and compacted ready for some root zone and final levels before irrigation is installed

Bunker dig day 2

Another beautiful morning and we were straight back on with verti draining fairways and digging out the bunker on the 10th fairway. We made a good start yesterday with all the top soil removed and the face shaped roughly. 

Once the shape was established the subsoil could be removed maintaining the correct base level. Whilst digging out the base the edges could be beveled off to ensure the bunker blends naturally into the contours of the fairway. Then turf could be returned around the edge.

Tomorrow we will finish removing the subsoil and shape the remaining edges.

A week of changes

The clocks have been changed feeling like winter is well and truely here.

This week we are busy making some course changes of our own. First up is a new bunker on the 10th fairway. This is on the right hand side just short of the road. First job was to mark out the intended shape and remove the turf to be reused. 

Once lifted excavation began. More updates on progress will follow. The soil we are removing will be used to make a new 16 th white tee. 

Here the site for the new tee was marked out and turf removed. This tee will be around 25 yards further back. Soil will be shaped and a extension to the irrigation line will be added before turf is laid. Again updates on progress here will be posted in due course. 

Elsewhere verti draining of fairways has started, concentrating on 10-18 fairways to begin with. 

Using 12 mm tines and around 10 % heave will relieve compaction and improve growth for the upcoming winter. A slow process but well worth doing to continually improve the condition of the course. Tees and surrounds will also be done in the near future. 

Turfing continues

This week we laid another 150sqm on the ditch banks at the new ditch on the driving range. This is progressing nicely, another couple of trailer loads of turf should see the majority of the ditch complete. 

The weather has been mild still for the time of year. This has meant disease pressure is high. Fusarium the most likely disease to effect turf at this time of year, using a preventative approach we try to predict this higher pressure circumstances and apply a fungicide before disease effects the turf to badly. 

Winds have also been strong, bringing down a lot of leaves. It took a full day just to make a dent into the covering across the course. 

Once cleared the course looking great again. 

Today we applied an application of slow release fertiliser and iron on to the greens. Also an application of slow release nitrogen on to the tees. This should stand them in good health when temperatures start to tumble. 

Bad weekend

As the title suggests the weekend just past was not one of the best. Firstly the leaves are falling thick and fast from the trees with the high winds, these covered the course. On a weekend we only have time on a morning to blow off greens and some of the worst tees. Through the week we are able to spend more time and more men blowing leaves.

The scene on the 12th this morning before blowing. This was cleared yesterday but the wind blowing leaves across the green constantly was causing problems for golfers. A tractor mounted blower and two back pack blowers went out to tackle the leaves. 

A great job done, once cleared tees and surrounds were cut. Growth is still going, especially as the air temperature was 18 degrees at the weekend. This is causing issues trying to cut grass with soft ground conditions and leaves, creates a lot of mess. 

With ground conditions softening preferred lies are now on and the grass section of the range tee is now closed until spring. 

Disappointingly the badger retuned to the course at the weekend ripping up a lot of turf at the start of the 6th fairway. This will have to be repaired in the spring. Anything repaired now will be ripped straight back up. Very frustrating to see, this may not be the end of the damage either. 

Bunker renovations

This week we have been concentrating on bunkers. All the green side bunkers have been washed down. This is simply using the irrigation hose to jet water onto the face to remove all the sand from within the turf. It is amazing how much sand builds up, in places up to 6 inches. Along with the sand it also removes moss and any other debris which is then removed the following day. The faces have also been cut. 

After a season of play they are in need of some attention. There are a few repairs needed but most are in good shape.

Although temperatures are set to rise according to the forecast, we have raised height of cut on the greens to 4.5mm. This is the bench setting measurement. This equates to around 3.5-4mm actual height of cut. To measure the height we use a prism gauge. As seen below. 

We have applied a 15-5-24 fertiliser to 10,14,15,16,18 and the 27 fairway as a trial to see wether an autumn application would boost spring growth. An application of fertiliser will be put on the greens next week and also some slow release fertiliser on the tees and approaches.

Turf down on first section.

A really quick update on the progress of the new ditch. Turf gone down on the first section, which takes us up to the front of the 20 th tee. The team have done a fantastic job, the ditch looking good and even has water in already. We will continue turfing when we get caught up on a few jobs next week. 

Leaves will be our main priority, also grass cutting will be done in certain areas. Temperatures are dropping however growth continues slowly. Some areas will get a final topdress with sand before winter arrives. Also we will continue applying worm suppressant to fairways. 

Turf starting to go down

After 20 mm of rain Monday it was a good opportunity to see if the ditch did what it was supposed to do. This was taken Tuesday morning, a good volume of water had collected and was running away nicely into the 17th ditch. 

Tuesday also was the start of the turf laying. I decided to turf as it would have been impossible to get a steep bank to hold seed and soil. 

The team starting the long task of turfing all the banks.

Elsewhere we have been topping up some bunkers with sand. 

The greens, tees, surrounds and areas where golfers travel around greens and tees have been sprayed with carbendazim to suppress worm activity. 

Fairways are being started on today. 

Winter tees are being cut out to get them ready for when they are needed later in to the autumn. 

These are just cut out of the semi rough away from the usual summer routes.

Leaf volume is increasing, daily blowing of greens tees and fairways is needed. Collection of leaves will start next week.

Connection made

After 3 weeks of excavation and around 100 two tonne trailer loads of soil lead away we finally completed the ditch which will be tested in the next few days with a poor forecast in store.

This is the existing pipe work that leads to the 17 th ditch and then to the 14 th where it flows in to the river derwent. We will have no issues in getting water away and will open up a lot of opportunities to do further drainage around 19 and 26. 

The end of the pipe has been filled to stop soil entering the pipe, before the end of this ditch is back filled with soil and shaped ready for turfing. Turfing of the banks and crossings will begin on tues and wed. The ditch and any effected ground around the ditch is GUR until further notice. 

As mentioned the weather is expected to change over the next few days, turning wetter. Emphasising the need to get this project underway early proving it's worth. Very little mess has been created constructing the ditch. We will wait until we have got some other tasks complete before starting the bunkers and new tees on the course. 

We have levelled and compacted the soil where the new 20 th tee will be positioned ready for shaping through winter at some point. 

This week we are starting leaf collection. We are topping some bunkers up with sand, top dressing approaches, tees and walk off areas. Spraying tees, greens surrounds and approaches with carbendazim for worm casts. 

My thanks go out to colin webster our greens chairman who has helped out over the last few weeks to pick up balls and paint some hazard posts which are on the 22 nd hole. This has helped us get on with other jobs on the course.