Start of annual maintenance

On Monday this week we started the annual maintenance, don't panic we haven't touched the course greens as yet, this is still planned for 1st August. We have done the two putting greens (leaving) a small area to putt on. The rest of them have been hollow tined with 12mm tines, followed by 12mm solid tines. We are experiencing a few issues however, the dry weather we have been having for the last couple of weeks has created a hard pan near the surface, this creates excessive heave around the tines and where rooting isn't as strong, can actually lift the turf. We were hoping to get 3 passes, one hollow tine, one solid tine and one cross tine. The third pass has had to be left for the time being. Immediately after the work the greens were sanded with straight sand and brushed into the holes. With the soil being very dry we were able to get a lot of sand down the holes, improving the soil structure. We put around 2 tonnes on per 500 sq/m. 

The greens were then soaked to prevent the sward drying further. The aeration work naturally dries the soil as air can now penetrate below the surface, it also can get water from the surface, drainage and water penetration should be greatly improved. The green will take around 10 days to get to a puttable state, even then they will still be sandy until the sward has grown over the tine holes. The dry weather will unfortunately not help recovery as growth is stunted in these conditions. We are also in a position where we cant apply any more water than we are due to the irrigation system.

On other areas of the course we are edging around all bunkers once more, this should take us through until after the annual maintenance, when if needed they can be done again. We also have the tree contractors in finishing off the last bits in the copses to the left of the 26th hole. The debris will be cleared in this area in the Autumn.

Tree work

Over the last week or so we have been trying to get on top of all the irregular jobs as we have our maintenance period fast approaching.

All the deck rough has been cut a few times as this is the area that seems to be continuing strong growth, opposed to the shorter grass which has steadied. This last week we have had temperatures of over 30 degrees at times, this has certainly tested our irrigation system, without repeating myself, a lot of which has been covered and discussed in previous blogs, the system is old and is not fully operational, hand watering in these temperatures has been priority to get water on to the greens which aren't receiving any water over night. The big issue regarding the tees, is that these aren't receiving any water due to the strains put on the system simply watering greens. At the moment they are standing up to the heat fine, and should the intensity of the heat continue I wouldn't be surprised if we were to have a thunderstorm before the week is out.

Overall the course is looking great and the team are doing a fantastic job. Last week we had another barrage of compliments, one member said ' I've been a member 25 years and this year the course is the best it has ever been'. Personally I'm really happy with the course, the weather does play a big part in the overall appearance, a wet and warm spring its not the ideal situation at the time, but it helped enormously to winter wear recovery ( which there was a lot, ironically due to a wet and warm winter). The downside to the amount of growth is the long rough. This is a lot thicker this year than some years, however it is where you would only see poor shots and therefore those type of shots should be punished to some degree. Another month and all the long rough will be cut down ready for the leaf collection season.

In the last week we have been busy with tree work on the course. Firstly Adam used a stump grinder hired from Beaver Plant Hire to grind all the stumps left over from the winter work. We usually grind these off earlier in the year, however this year we have left them until Glenn Holiday started work on the 17th/26th pine copse. K and L hardwood have been brought in to thin out the pine trees between the two holes. The copse was last thinned out around 4 years ago, pine trees once there canopies touch will struggle to stay healthy as they all compete for light, any shaded branches will die off and will not regrow. Thinning out the trees will give the remaining trees more chance of getting light and be able to grow out into the spaces left. Around 50 trees have been removed and once the brash is chipped will leave that particular copse in a better state that before. After another 4 years it will have to be revisited to assess if further trees need to be removed. They are also thinning out a few trees to the left of the 26th hole, these are not as bad as the other copse however if left they will become an issue.

As mentioned above we are now only 2 weeks away from greens renovation.
Here is what we are preparing to do to each green:

Hollowcore- single pass with 12mm tines at 50 x 50mm spacing
Sand to fill holes
Brush
Solid tine- single pass with 12mm tines at 50 x 50 mm spacing
Brush
Sand to fill any remaining holes
Cross tine -  single pass to close in any remaining holes
Seed
Brush

This combination has been adapted from last year, this year I want to remove some of the organic matter within the top 100mm, the only way to do this is to take a core, the previous years we were happy with the organic matter content, however due to growing winter where the organic matter accumulations are not diluted with sand they can accumulate and slow water penetration. This is also the first time we are trying the cross tines as the last pass over the green, I tried them in the spring and was very impressed at the disruption they caused to the surface given the benefits beneath.
Overall we are looking to incorporate 100 tonnes of sand to the 30 greens. The overall benefits of doing the work maybe will not be apparent immediately as the greens for the first few weeks will be bumpy and sandy. However over time the work we do will help drainage, help root development, reduce mowing and playing stress, keep the surfaces firmer during wetter weather, deter weed and pest invasion, reduce organic matter content, create a denser sward and ensure the greens are in good condition until next august when they will be done again.

Once again a reminder that the annual intense aeration programme on the greens will start 1st August. This will be on holes 1-9 and they will be closed from 6.00am Monday Morning to 6.00am Friday morning. The following week we will then repeat the process on holes 10-18
More details will follow on the schedule of work during the week.

Rain

Last week we had very unsettled weather for the time of year. Heavy rain showers left water standing across the course. This came first thing in the morning on Friday and we had to close the course until the rain had stopped and we had chance to push water from the putting surfaces.

 It is nearly a year since the major renovation was done to the greens, this is now evident when it comes to the surface drainage. Over the year there is a number of reasons why the drainage is effected, firstly and the most damaging to the overall health of the grass is compaction. This is caused by machinery and foot traffic, the wetter the conditions the more compaction is caused. Playing on the summer greens through winter is the main contributing factor. Generally we try to carry out some type of decompaction in the spring, however this can be a difficult time of the year to get recovery from the work so we tend to do minimal surface disruption work. In August the recovery is a lot faster as the temperatures in the soil are a lot higher. In the spring soil temperatures can be erratic due to the night time lows.

The second reason for surface drainage being compromised is the maintenance routine we follow during the playing season to try and present the greens as best as we can. Rolling seals the surface, as does cutting to some degree, the weight and vibration of the units we have can prevent water from getting through the top surface of the greens. Recently we have borrowed a spiker from Ian Levelle at Complete Amenity Turf which has helped break up the surface tension, this has to be done regularly to make any impact. The machine itself is great and is very fast to complete all 30 greens.

The renovation we do to the greens breaks up the soil profile right from the surface to a depth of 250mm, this aids water movement from the surface and also helps provide the roots with the air that they need for healthy grow through the rest of the growing season. Towards the end of the year we then carry out more aeration to continue the surface to soil drainage and create air in the soil.

Elsewhere on the course we have just been trying to keep on top of all cut grass as we are 2 staff down for the next few weeks due to holidays. Next week we have Glenn Holiday coming to start some tree thinning work on the 26th hole. The pine trees in the copse to the right of the hole have become crowded and this is starting to effect the health of the trees and the grass coverage beneath them. Once they are thinned we should see the remaining fill in to the gaps. The long term benefits will far out weigh the short term damage. If you see us carrying out the work and you are playing in the area please be mindful when hitting shots near personnel and machinery.

Topdressing

Last week the weather was a little more unpredictable, thundery showers for most of the week ruled out any chance of continuing spraying for weeds across the course. We did however get the opportunity on Monday to groom the greens. Just to remind anyone that isn't familiar with the process here's what we use to remove lateral growth from the surface of the greens

The vertical blades cut and lift the ends of the grass that is laid, this if left would cause grain and poor putting surfaces. However it can also be detrimental to over groom or scarify, this process if done too regularly will stress the grass plant leading to poor and thin surfaces, which can be prone to moss and weed infestation, along with higher disease pressures given the right conditions. It is a difficult balance to maintain surface quality and reduce grass stress. The groomers are on the greens cutting units on the old mower. We use this mower simply to groom greens as it often can pick up sand from the surface which blunts the cutting blades. Following on behind the grooming mower is another greens mower which tidies up any mess and long ends left from grooming. One measure to reduce stress to the plant, especially after grooming is to apply fertiliser which gives the plant the means of recovery, not just from the process but from general wear through machinery and foot traffic. Last week we applied an application of porthcawl ( a bio stimulant ) and urea (fertiliser) along with seaweed. This mix is applied every 2-3 weeks and watered in using the irrigation system. 

Unfortunately during the process of spraying the fertiliser on the greens the sprayer has broken down, to be more specific the pump bearings have deteriorated to the point where they need replacing. Unfortunately the sprayer is near 30 years old and this is not the only thing that is deteriorating on it, the chassis is rotten and the control system is also leaking under pressure. This November a sprayer MOT has been introduced to ensure sprayer and the quality of spray they deliver meets a standard. This is just like a car MOT, it ensures poor spraying is not leading to environmental issues that can be avoided. Unfortunately for us our sprayer in its current condition is no where near the level it needs to be at. The cost of repair is far greater than expected, the sprayer is not worth spending too much money on as it is very old. The decision has been made to replace the sprayer at a cost not much more than the repairs. Plus we are 100 % guaranteed that we have a sprayer that complies with all legislation.

This week we are spiking and topdressing greens again. The demo spiker has been a great tool to speed up aeration on the greens, in just over 3 hours all the greens (30) have been spiked. If we were doing that with our wiedenmann, it would have taken over 13hours. The spiker has tines of 8mm but only to a depth of 50mm, however the weidenmann has a wide range of tine widths and can go to depths of 300mm if needed. The spiker is simply designed to relieve surface compaction allowing water and air into the immediate surface area.

Speaking of aeration, this is your first reminder that the annual intense aeration programme on the greens will start 1st August. This will be on holes 1-9 and they will be closed from 6.00am Monday Morning to 6.00am Friday morning. The following week we will then repeat the process on holes 10-18
More details will follow on the schedule of work during the week.