Tree work

With hole closures more frequent, and very little growth we have started to carry out some of the jobs that have been waiting for this time of the year. Firstly all the winter tees have been turfed, following on from Eddie Ruddocks work. These will need a few weeks to allow the turf to root before golfers walk over it.

We have also had a tree surgeon to look at a few dangerous trees, firstly the willow at the rear of the 10th green was leaning quite badly.

After we had three tree surgeons to look at the tree, all three agreed it was not immediately going to fall but a section of decay within the trunk would spread weakening one side and eventually it would break off. I decided the safest option was to remove the tree, if it did go it is in an area where golfers pass constantly, also it would have fallen on to the leylandii hedge, ruining its shape. The tree surgeon took it down piece by piece, the only damage a bit of a muddy area where we were working. There was also two dying leylandii (of a different species to the rest of the hedge) that have been removed and will be replanted to match the rest of the hedge. The fence will also be replaced over the next few weeks.

Hers a picture of the rot spreading in the trunk, believed to be caused by an old branch which would have stemmed off the side of the tree.

And a section from higher up the tree, the dark area is the rot beginning to take effect.
We also took down two dead elm trees near the buggy/trolley shed which were dangerous. Whilst at the club I took him to see a number of other trees which I felt were effected by decay. Unfortunately a large ash tree near the 15th ladies tee also needs to be removed because of the angle at which it is leaning. Most of the others can be left with judicial removal of dead and decaying wood.

Finally we are now beginning to look at the irrigation installation, I visited Moortown and Sand moor golf clubs in Leeds to see their installations. Thanks to Steve, John and Rob for allowing me to look around their facilities. Moortown has had a full installation this Autumn and Sandmoor had a full installation 8 years ago. They have parts of their systems which are identical to that being installed at Malton and Norton Golf Club, it was good to see first hand what we are going to get for our money. The installations have been completed by Full Circle which are the contractors we are using. We hope to begin our installation in January 2017 with an approximate 10 week work schedule weather dependant.

This week we hope to get most of the leaves collected, a lot have now fallen and we are nearing the end. We are also going to start slit tining the greens and applying some iron to most surfaces. Next week we are beginning to turf the 16th ditch when we have hole closure on 10-18 Monday -Wednesday

Winter golf

With the recent wet, cold and wintery weather it feels like the winter golf season is upon us, last weekend we had a very wet Friday into Saturday which left the greens and surrounding areas saturated and unfortunately for the first time since the 16th April this year the course was closed for the day. Even though we battled to push off water and get the course playable there was going to be damaged caused that would be detrimental to the course long term. Thankfully the weather improved late Saturday and into Sunday and we could reopen. With more wet weather likely to be coming across the country over the coming months we will start installing the winter cups and cutting out winter holes which we can use on fairway areas should the greens not be fit for play.

After a couple of frosty mornings I have noticed some golfers are still not keeping to the semi during frost conditions, and knocking ice from shoes before walking onto the greens. We try to present greens in the best possible condition for this time of year, however after only a few golfers have played through the first hole the surface can look very poor due to ice impressions from footwear or buggy damage. Below are pictures taken after just one four-ball has played the 10th hole.

Leaf collection is still high on the daily agenda, however it does seem we are getting through the intense fall period. A number of trees are starting to become bare and in these areas we can thoroughly tidy the grass knowing we can keep it tidy for a while. The other areas are still being blown and rounded for collection.

The greens have been sprayed with a preventative fungicide, the current wet and warmer conditions are ideal for disease and left untreated can spread quickly. We noticed a little on a few greens before application, however weather windows for application are few and far between at this time of the year.

Eddie has now completed installation of winter tees for this winter. We now have winter tees on the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 6th, 7th, 12th and 13th holes. Please give feed back to the sizes used and the playability of them during all conditions when in use.

Certain wet areas around the greens have been hand forked to alleviate compaction, these are usually the areas we cant access or work on very easily with the vertidrain due to ground conditions or slopes.

The path down to the 21st tee has now been re-stoned and covered with a cement based product which I'm hoping will stop the stone from being washed down the slope during heavy rainfall as it previously did.

This week due to leaves, rain and lack of growth we have cut the greens and surround only. Other areas are slowing in growth and do not warrant cutting yet.

The trial I did on the driving range regarding the worm cast irritant and leaving an area untreated to see its effects is now shown the effectiveness and need for worm control. The picture below is part of the area I did not spray compared to an area which has been treated (bottom picture). Although the treated area is still a little muddy from cutting there is very few new casts compared to the untreated area.

leaves and lots of them

Recently the daily maintenance centres around leaves, they are coming down thick and fast. The windy conditions over the weekend have spread them all over the course which doesn't make life easy for the staff. We have to concentrate on clearing the greens every day, weather its to cut, roll or simply just to ensure they are playable for golfers for the days play. Following on from that we then have to start rounding them up from tees, fairways and semi rough before collection continues and is ongoing between all other tasks.

Before the recent rain we managed to get all the tees and some of the surrounds vertidrained. We had a demo tractor thanks to Russells ground care, we are looking to replace at least one of the tractors this winter. It worked well on the vertidrain, and overall was a great improvement on our current vehicles. The vertuidrain has now gone off for repair and service as there was a number of issues after a years use. When it returns I hope to continue to vertidrain a number of problem wet areas.

Overall the course is looking good and most surfaces are coping well as we start to get a feel of winter arriving. At the next opportunity we will spray the greens with a preventative fungicide to help reduce the chance of fusarium disease attacking the turf. We are now reducing cut frequencies as growth has slowed due to a number of cold days and nights. Hand cutting is not needed as yet, other than the front putting green, when ground conditions deteriorate then we would look to cut by hand to reduce compaction and wear around greens and tees.

Over the last few days we have had a spell of wet weather which has caused a few problems, generally the course is hold up well, it is the usual wet spots that we have had to put hoops out to prevent long term damage, please do not move the traffic management aids, ie hoops and ropes to access areas of the course that are restricted. We put these in place to ensure the course is in reasonable condition in the spring.

We have washed off sand from the heavily used bunkers, up to 10cm of sand can accumulate over the course of the year, if this is not removed can build up over time and eventually the face will have to be replaced. After the sand is washed off the bunker is left to drain off and the debris is then collected before the sand is redistributed and raked.

Neville Maw the hedge cutting contractor has been to cut all the hedges that can be done by machine, following this the remaining sections are cut by hand over the next month or so.

Now growth is slowing we will aim to start turfing the 16th ditch that was excavated over a month ago. Its good to see the ditch is already running water to the outlet.

Eddie Ruddock and his team are going to install another 4 winter tees next week, we are to trial half sized sections on two tees to evaluate weather this would be feasible for future winter tees.

Worm problems

This time of the year always is the worst period for worm casts. I think this is due to the changing of temperatures and more importantly higher soil moisture content, which brings them closer to the surface. Recently the chemical we use to control casting of worms has been revoked, Carbendazim, used as a suppressant isn't great for the environment due to its hormone disruptive effects, carcinogenicity and its toxicity to micro organisms and aquatic life. This will no longer be available from August 2017.

This will have a massive impact on the way we and everyone else on a soil based sports playing surface can maintain and present their turf. There currently is NO other alternatives for controlling worm casts, we hope that something will be available within this coming year, but at present there is nothing that will effectively control casts for a long period of time.

Many may think that, or take it for granted we don't have a big problem with casts here at Malton and Norton Golf Club, below is an area I have not treated on the driving range to show how bad playing surfaces could get if we have no control.

In this instance there are sufficient casts that cutting alone would be severely effected, casts blunt mowers, build up on rollers and smother grass every time we try to cut. On the driving range, casts build up to a point we are unable to use the collection machine and have to pick balls by hand. From a golfers point of view preferred lies would have to be used a lot more and no golfer would be happy playing from a muddy lie or walking through muddy areas to access tees, greens and across fairways. With the end result of more course closures due to ground conditions. This is a serious issue that is going to have to be communicated throughout the sports industry and to members of this golf club, we are hopeful over time we will find an alternative but there is no guarantee.

We are talking to other clubs and trailing techniques and other products to see if we can reduce casts and improve presentation and cut quality without relying on Carbendazim. I will update the club with any progress or information on this matter over the coming months.