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.
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.
