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.
