16th ditch update

The start of another week and we are now well underway with the ditch that is crossing the 16th hole. Last week we started the piped in section, this runs across the front of the 15th ladies and then will connect to the outlet pipe which is underground at the rear of the ladies tee and runs tot he 14th ditch. The outlet pipe is the same pipe which takes the water from the ditch at the 17th and the 18th tee ditches.

The reason we are installing the ditch is to aid the drainage potential in that area. We have had serious drainage issues, not just in this particular area but across the 14th, 15th tee 16th green 17th green and 18th tee. The reason for this is a layer of heavy clay around 400mm below ground level, above and below this layer of clay the soil is fairly sandy. Unfortunately through winter as the soil reaches saturation point due to increased levels of rainfall, the water has no where to drain off to and sits on top of the layer of clay and the water table rises quickly. We have made great progress into draining other areas such as the 17th green area and the 18th tee area. There we installed similar ditches which has given the excess water some where to go and allows the water table to remain lower than before. Those areas have certainly been more playable through the last couple of winter and we are confident this ditch will do the same. It also gives us the option to install more lateral drains into the ditch where needed.

Alistair and Sam are making a great job shaping the initial levels, from this we will finish the sides with rootzone and it will be turfed when time allows. We have now filled in 3 more bunkers with the waste soil. The 3 bunkers between the 18th and 27th fairways have been removed, trees will eventually be planted here and a bunker re-positioned somewhere on the 18th.

Tomorrow Eddie Ruddocks company, Energytek are installing two winter tees, one on the 3rd tee and one on the 7th tee. These are the 2 worst winter tee areas during winter as they are both on slopes making it difficult to find a level teeing ground. They are taking control of all of the installation, using some of the practice outdoor tee this year to trial and gauge feedback before committing to others.

Else where all the fairways and tees have been sprayed ( apart from the 4 driest ) for weeds, combined with a liquid feed. They were well overdue an application of selective weedkiller but due to the weather and time we have not had the chance up to now.

Construction update

The weeks are going by way to quickly, it seems like the summer is coming to a close, last week brought us lovely warm weather however this Sunday morning we had temperatures down to 7 degrees. The leaves on most trees are starting to change and before we know it we will be on the leaf collector daily. The grass is still growing readily and we are finding it difficult to keep on top of all areas. Many might say why have we taken on so much when the grass is still growing. The answer is simply during the winter when we have more time the areas where we are working are simply inaccessible or would cause to much damage to the rest of the course trying to get the work done. We hope to get all the heavy work done, leading soil, in the next 3 weeks, after that we will slow done the pace and catch up on all other work before finishing off the construction projects.

So a catch up on the work first far, the 20th hump at the back left of the green is finished and has been seeded. The back of the 25th tee has been reshaped and seeded. The area outside the green keepers shed has been stoned and leveled. The 22nd tee has been graded and topsoil has been added, just needed root zone and turf. The 16th ditch has been started, the enclosed section dug started to be dug out ready for pipe, we hope to continue this section this week coming. The rest of the ditch has been marked and levels taken to ensure flow is correct.

The 2nd, 3rd and 5th green are still showing signs of anthracnose disease, the 2nd the worst effected, they have been treated with extra fertiliser to boost there recovery and health but the damage has been done and will take time to recover. Dews on a morning and high humidity are a recipe for disease, hopefully we can limit the damage to these greens. As temperatures drop and humidity decreases the pressure will also decrease. Entering winter its important we limit disease damage, fungicides are sprayed preventatively however anthracnose is very difficult to prevent and cure using fungicides. Stress caused through renovations are the main contributing factors to sparking outbreaks.

Start of the construction work

This week we are stating some of the construction jobs planned for this winter, this reason we are starting now is the ground conditions in the areas we are working can be unsuitable for leading soil to and from the site.

The area where it is most likely to flood is next to the ponds on the 21st and 24th hole. The first project was to remove some matting that had become very uneven and slightly dangerous, we used the excavator to remove and dispose of the matting and we have now refilled the pathway with stone. The same stone as we have used on other paths around the course. We are unsure how the stone will work next to the pond after flood events, but its the most easiest and cost effective solution.

The next project which had to be done at this time of the year is the 22nd tee, this tee has been problematic for a number of years, it was too narrow and very uneven, we have taken the height of the tee down around 600mm, with the banking reduced has given us around 3 meters extra width. We have repositioned the sprinkler heads to the side of the new teeing area and will relocate the yardage posts. Under the tee was very heavy clay, excavated originally from the ditches on that area of the course, this was removed and used to fill in the bunker back left of the 20th hole and built up to create a mound which can be seen from the tee. This helps golfers know where the left hand edge of the green is. 

Both have yet to be completed, but hopefully by the end of this week we should have them tidied and marked off as GUR. They will remain as GUR until the winter when we have sufficient time to complete the projects.

We are continuing to collect long rough around the course, concentrating on all the 'in play' areas.
After we have finished the construction work all other areas will be cut down and tidied up.

The tees have been sprayed for worms, we have also put in the mix some iron which will help to green them up coming into the end of the summer season. Growth is still really strong due to high day and night temperatures coupled with some heavy rain spells, we are reluctant to put too much fertiliser omn any area as we are struggling to keep on top of cutting as it is. When the night time temperatures dip we will feed tees and approaches. We have however put on the regular application of fertiliser and seaweed on the greens and surrounds.

long rough

With the maintenance on the greens done we are now back to focusing our attention to the rest of the course. 19-27 greens have been slow to recover after tining as its been drier than I would have liked straight after aeration. The sand applied is still causing problems with cutting, the sand gets picked up by the mowers blunting the blades. These have had to be changed on one mower to ensure the 1-18 greens are cut with sharp blades. As mentioned before its vital to cut the grass with the sharpest possible units, a poor cut will tear the grass leaving it prone to disease. 

Hopefully now we have had some rain the greens will be less sandy and will be able to be cut on a regular basis. Following there second cut the recently tined greens were sprayed with a fungicide.

On the course we have started to cut down all the long rough, this is an annual job which we like to do before the leaves start falling. Firstly the rough is best cut when it is dry, and when the leaves start to fall we need to be able to collect them with out the long grass hindering the process. The cutting of the rough doesn't take too much time, however collecting all the in play areas needs to be done to help thin growth for the following years. This needs to be picked by hand as we have no other means of collecting it. 

Cutting the rough also allows us to spray those areas for weeds if needed. Some of the tees, fairways and rough need to be treated for weeds, worms and fertiliser at some point in September, these weren't done in the spring due to the poor weather and growth conditions at the time.

We are about to start on a couple of small projects before the 16th ditch gets underway towards the end of September. Firstly the matting at the bottom of the 25th tee needs removing as it is very uneven and is getting dangerous, this will be replaced with stone. Also the front section of the 22nd tee was damaged severely after the flooding last winter, moles working on it and a very uneven surface has made it virtually unusable. We aim to remove the top 600mm of the tee to lower the whole playing area, this will make the tee bigger and more usable. We struggle to work in these two areas during winter as it floods very easily from the River Derwent. If we can get the soil taken away and the rootzone in place the rest of the tee can be finished during winter where we could access it on foot.

Growth on the course is slowing due to shortening day length and cooler overnight temperatures, This is also causing heavier dews which makes morning cutting messy, most areas are brushed to remove the dew first, this gives a much cleaner cut, but does take more time

Over the next week we also hope to get on top of a few breakdowns, the hand mower, deck rough mower and the semi rough mower all needing repairs