Testing weather

After the last serving of snow around a week ago we were treated to another very light covering, only a cm in total but enough to cause issues once again.

With the course being partially closed for the last week we have taken the opportunity to start pruning and removing dead and dying trees. Travelling around the course has been a real issue as we don’t want to cause any damage. We have been working around the 11^th, 12^th, 13^th and 14^th holes, where we are near to the fire and minimises travelling. All trees are being assessed and pruned with maintenance and playability of the course in mind.

The team have worked hard to continue in some pretty bad conditions, however just as the course is closed it doesn't mean we take it easy. Sometimes the poor conditions on course can be used in your favour, for example the soil conditions are very wet across the course but after a severe frost travelling with heavy loads are not so much of an issue due to the frozen ground.

On the negative side, the severe frost has had a big impact on the condition of the course, the freeze/thaw pattern has left the greens waterlogged and covered in ice. The shorter the grass is cut the less insulation the sward provides to the soil. Greens for example have the least insulation, therefore after the recent overnight temperatures of -6 Celsius the frost went into the soil around 25-35mm, whereas the semi rough only penetrated down to 5-10mm. Any rainfall on top of frozen ground hasn’t anywhere to go, this is when the conditions deteriorate quickly. The surface water then refreezes creating sheets of ice and dangerous golfing conditions. It also poses a greater threat to the turf. As temperatures rise during the day the surface will begin to thaw slightly, with the lower profile remaining frozen, any play or maintenance on the turf during these conditions will create an issue called root sheer. This is when the top surface moves from the lower surface breaking all rooting from the grass. No roots = no recovery for the grass plant, resulting in long term and potentially severe damage. Obviously, the greens are the highest priority areas, and these must be protected during these circumstances, however we need to make a judgement regarding the playability verses long term damage for the rest of the course.

Normally at this time of the year we expect to see a little wet weather and even some closures through  the amount of rain, however the relentless summer rainfall totals have taken its toll.

The total rainfall we have had this year isn’t the highest I have personally recorded but it’s the timing of the rainfall which has had a significant impact to the playability of the course. The year started off really dry with only 175mm rain through to the end of May. From then on, we received the average winter’s rainfall throughout summer and into Autumn. This created several issues, firstly the grass growth through summer was at times uncontrollable, but secondly and the problem we have now got, the soils were saturated going into Autumn. Normally after a relatively normal summer the soils are dry and can absorb the rains of Autumn and Winter, this year they simply could not.

The information regarding the leylandii hedge changes is now on the website and in the locker rooms for all to see before work starts on those in January.

An overdue round up

Apologies for the severe lack of updates during the last 3 weeks, very little time has left me unable to keep up with all that is going on around the course. So here goes a full round up of all the happenings, firstly we have had our first taste of a real winter with around 50mm of snow falling on the course and around the region around a week ago. This was short lived but did close the course for a few days.

The snow fell on already saturated ground so when the thaw came there was a lot of water standing. We have managed to dry out now and all 27 holes are back open after a period when we were only 14-18 holes.

During the thaw period there were some cold nights, freezing the wet soft snow and saturated ground, perfect conditions to  cause long term damage to the turf should the course have been near playable. In those circumstances we will have to apply restrictions to prevent damage.

As you can see frozen surface with a very soft top layer on the turf.

The thaw also brought the first flood event on holes 21-24, this section of land is only around 1m above the River Derwent's natural level. As soon as excess water and snow thaw enters the river the levels soon begin to rise. When this happens the 21st and 24th greens become unplayable and we have to use winter cups to keep play going.

Once dried out our focus has been on collecting the last of the leaves now all are off the trees. This is a time consuming task but worth it in the long run to ensure the turf is in the best condition possible come spring. The ditches have also been cleared of debris to ensure all drainage can work as efficiently as possible.

Around tees and greens get a thorough back pack blow to remove any leaves settled in the grass, below is the finished result, the 5th green /6th tee is notorious for leaf issues, but the team have spent a long time ensuring all are blown and collected.

Some tees like the ladies 9th take a lot longer as they are surrounded by trees and permanently have leaf clearance issues, however now all leaves have fallen we should start to see these being tidied.

The team have also been busy starting pruning trees around the course, working where we can due to the ground conditions

All the range divider wires have been replaced as they were rotting from being exposed to the elements for so long, we have also started to replace the bolts holding the mats down and turn them to ensure they do not wear from play.

Before the wintery weather arrived we managed to get some winter fertiliser on to the greens after they were cut. This should strengthen the plant going into winter and help resist any further disease attack. Most of the greens are holding up well, we had a bit of disease on a few of the wetter greens, such as the 5th, 10th, 12th and 19th, this has been treated however a few scars remain. We hope to do some aeration to the worst greens before Christmas, they will benefit from aeration as the soil is so saturated. This is as long as the weather conditions allow.

Hopefully I will try and update again before Christmas

Trees and leaves

After a long run of mild/wet weather it would seem that the normal weather for November is finally here. It looks like we are in for a spell  of colder, windy and potentially settled weather. This is going to slow growth right down. Not only that should reduce disease pressure and remove the last of the leaves clinging to the trees.

Initially the week started colder with a couple of grass frosts. The frost didn't penetrate into the ground so went after around 9am each day. The picture below highlights why the front putting green is prone to disease. 

The edge nearest the clubhouse is clearly not frozen like the rest of the green. I believe this is because the clubhouse reflects any heat and light creating a slightly different microclimate in this region. As this strip is always slightly warmer and therefore more dewy and less likely to freeze disease pressure is higher. 

Other reasons we find problematic greens on the course is shade. Whilst working around the 5th green it was an ideal opportunity to show the problems we face. At just past midday this is as much sun this green gets at it's highest point. 

With high disease pressure in mind we have applied another preventative fungicide to greens and surrounds. We will apply another application in December to limit disease through until spring. As mentioned last month the contact fungicide active ingredient iprodione has been withdrawn, the dates have been released and we will have up to the start of June to use all remaining stock. With this in mind we must now face the difficult challenge of balancing preventative and cultural strategies to minimise disease. This is going to be a difficult one, as already on the wet and shaded greens we have seen unbelievable disease pressure resulting in fusarium patches on roughly 6 of the worst greens. Clearly we want improve the environmental conditions to allow as much natural resistance as possible, this could be more aeration, improved drainage, tree removal or resorting to unnatural measures like more frequent chemical applications.

Most of the leaves are now down and are still being collected regularly, the breezy conditions are blowing what's left around the course which then have to be blown clear of playing surfaces. The team are still out daily ensure we can keep the course in the best condition possible.

Obviously greens, tees and fairways are the priority areas so bunkers have been raked less due to time, and the fact that all debris needs to be removed first. So we are currently doing them once a week. When debris and leaves reduce then we can then rake more often.

Greens and surrounds have also been sprayed with calcium, iron, potassium and bio stimulants to strengthen them going into this cold spell. We hopefully will apply a winter granular fertiliser to greens, surrounds and tees next week.

The only cutting we have done this week is to greens, surrounds and the Derwent fairways, just to keep them tidy. 

This week we have had Neville Maw our regular hedge cutting contractor here to cut all hedges and ditches on the course. Following the 3 days he is here cutting we then have a number of areas that will need hand cutting.

We are making a start to tree pruning right across the course along with continued removal of dead, dying and weak trees. This is a long process which involves assessing each tree and removing low and hanging branches. This is to ensure machinery can access all areas and golf can be played without to many restrictions. 

Start of some winter work

Over the last couple of weeks we have made a start on a few winter jobs, grass growth is slowing slightly and we getting on top of a number of smaller tasks. First up was aeration of greens, the last couple of years we have used a machine called an Air2G2. This machine basically injects air into the soil at around 300mm below the surface. The great benefit we have found in using this machine opposed to the conventional vertidrain method of aeration is the reduced disruption to the surafce. The vertidrain machine punches thousands of holes into the turf, depending on tine size, ranging from 8mm to 15mm wide. The tines create spaces within the soil profile for new roots to develop, with the added benefit of providing air into the soil. The Air2G2 has 15mm tines but as it injects air there are a lot fewer holes. So few that after a roll it is difficult to see where the machine has been. The air is injected at high pressure, this fractures the soil structure creating horizontal airpockets, and those that break up to the surface. This again provides the soil and more importantly the grass roots with the air they need for healthy growth as well as increasing the drainage potential.

Some of the greens are struggling more than others due to the continual wet conditions we have seen this year, the 2nd, 5th and 10th are the wettest and softest on holes 1-18. Greens 21-24 are also soft but these are generally softer due to the position in a flood plain. We are thinking of trying to improve them over the coming years by installing drainage. We have to consider all the options, and provide a solution which is affordable. A new system has been launched called PC Duke drainage. This system is being installed in 3 greens at Hull GC. Adam and myself took the opportunity to go and see the installation for ourselves, with the intention of considering it for the greens at Malton and Norton GC. It was very impressive, very little disruption, the green was fully complete within 4 hours and playable immediately after. The system compromises of sand bands every meter apart, the difference to a normal sand band installation is the machine also pulls in a hollow fibre glass rope, which is then linked to an exit drain. The fibre glass rope absorbs all moisture within the sand drawing it away to an outfall. This allows the sand to continue absorbing water from the green. We will return to Hull GC to see how effective it has been over the winter. This method has a couple of advantages over a normal drainage installation, one is the cost, around 50% cheaper, and secondly the disruption is very minimal, the green is out of play for 4 hours, a conventional drainage system could take the green out of play for up to 4 months.

We have started an bunker improvement programme. The most comments I receive currently is regarding the bunkers, specifically balls getting stuck under grass lips. I fully understand the issue, to explain the reasoning the bunkers are designed as they are is to reduce labour needed to maintain the bunkers. Bunkers with flat bases are far easier to maintain as the sand remains in situ after heavy rain. As we are looking to increase staff numbers this gives the option to experiment with the bunker style and hopefully improve the playability of some bunkers on the course. To show how we are looking to present the new style of bunkers we have completed 4 of the practice bunkers, please have a look and give some feedback.

We have also started some tree work, removing some dead and dying trees across the course, there are number of trees on the course in very poor and sometimes dangerous condition. Below are a few examples of some of the trees that we are working on currently. They have rot and are structural unsafe. Other trees will be pruned to ease maintenance and increase playabilty in some areas of the course.

Wet Wet Wet

After the wet summer we have had it was only a matter of time before the course gave in to the relenting weather. More rain through October has left us with saturated surfaces, the rain has causes us many headaches not just with the amount of wet areas across the course but has not allowed us to cut grass or collect leaves as we would have wanted to. Access across the course is limited to only the driest of areas. Where we have been able to get to has made more mess than i would have liked but again we are working to a needs must philosophy until the ground conditions improve.

There are a lot of leaves falling at the moment and the new amazone machine is working great (if we could only get on to the course to use it), as soon as we can get on to the course we will have a full round up of all in play areas. It only takes one man a couple of days to cover the course, by far easier and quicker than the previous machine we had. The time saved has allowed us to spend more time on other areas. It's mainly been swallowed up by the amount of time we have to spend switching and brushing casts, and to be honest I don't think I expected the damage to be quite as bad as it currently is. The worm casts are worse in some areas than others but most areas are seeing visible damage and some turf loss. The amount of rain coupled with cutting and general play from golfers is making the damage more evident.

To limit damage we have been out with hand equipment only, back pack blowing leaves from around greens and tees, using hand mowers to cut banks and wet areas around greens and tees.

We have a number of areas roped off to prevent long term damage, please could I ask all golfers to abide by the restrictions and to not move hoops and ropes to allow access. If a ball hits the ropes and hoops then you are entitled to retake the shot.

As we go into winter and the weather deteriorates further we may have to adopt a more sensible approach to the course playability. If we feel there is going to be long term damage caused to the course we will have no option but to limit play in some areas.

I have to thank the buggy users, so far the new restrictions we have applied this year seems to be working and the buggy users are sticking mostly to the semi rough.

All 1-18 fairways have been sprayed with iron, in an attempt to slow worm activity, but will help strengthen and add colour to the sward. The greens have been sprayed with a preventative fungicide, this was done on Monday of this week, thankfully before the weather took a turn for the worse. This will help limit damage to the greens turf caused by turf diseases such as Fusaruim. Another big chemical taken off the market this week has been announced. This is an extract from the Bayer press release which can be found online

''Products containing the chemical iprodione are to be withdrawn from sale following an EU ruling by the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed banning use of the substance.

Bayer makes iprodione products Chipco Green, which controls fusarium patch, red thread, dollar spot, anthracnose, leaf spot and rust, and Interface is used on microdochium patch, red thread/pink patch, dollar spot, anthracnose, leaf spot/melting out and rust.

Bayer professional product manager Steve Bishop said the company would update industy in the coming weeks with timescales for the sell-out and usage periods of iprodione product based registrations.

Bayer professional product manager Steve Bishop said: "We have a large regulatory team based in the UK who’ll keep the industry informed on all of the latest updates."

Earlier this year, Bayer launched Exteris Stressgard, which increased the available number of fungicide groups from five to six, with the new turf SDHI fluopyram. 

"Unfortunately the loss of iprodione will reduce the available turf fungicide groups back to five, meaning that rotation strategy remains a critical element of integrated disease management," Bishop said.  

"With other chemicals also due for assessment, a further reduction in the total number of products on the market, and therefore the number of available groups for rotation, for turf disease control is not out of the question.

"This is why we’re constantly investing into the research and development of new chemistry, to continue to deliver solutions to our customers well into the future."

This is another bitter pill to swallow for anyone who has to manage turf, especially after the withdrawal of carbendazim. This fungicide active is the sole contact/curative left which can be used once active disease is visible. As greenkeepers we now need to be proactive, rather than reactive. Most greenkeepers will already be on a preventative fungicide strategy of some sorts but now we will have to be more careful both culturally and chemically, with more focus around preventative measures to keep the turf in good order. To now say we can keep the turf disease free is a stretch, even with all the products available it would be expensive and sometimes difficult to implement given such factors outside your control such as the weather. We still hope other alternative effective chemicals will become available over time.

The team have started to edge some of the practice bunkers, we are looking at ways to solve a recurring piece of feedback ive been receiving over the last year, the ball finding its way under the grass lips around the bunker edge. On the practice ground we are taking the grass edge a lot further up around the perimeter of the bunker, shaping the ground beneath to allow the ball to run into the center of the bunker. This style requires more maintenance as the sand constantly works its way down from the bunker edges, needing to be pulled up on a daily basis. Please try and view the bunkers in question and give us feedback.

Autumnal tasks

Below is a great link which discusses some of the points I have previously made on this blog regarding the trees on the course.

http://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/clubhouse/2017-ungated/10-17-ungated/five-things-to-know-about-trees-on-golf-courses.html

This week we are making great progress with the rough management, nearly all the long rough has been cut down, along with some longer areas of intermediate rough. Leaves are starting to fall thick and fast, so we are out on a daily basis with the back pack and tractor mounted blowers. The leaf collector is also being used as and when possible on a morning.

We had another period of windy weather which brought down a number of larger branches and a couple of smaller trees, fortunately one of the trees was dying and probably the reason why it was weaker than it should have been.

With most of the debris tidied we are now concentrating efforts on tidying uncut bits of long rough and around trees which cant be accessed with the amazone. These areas are strimmed or will be cut with a smaller mower. This is a long process but will ensure we keep the course in the best possible condition going into winter. Leaving areas of rough makes leaf collection difficult. A long reach pruning saw will be needed in some areas to make collection easier in the future.

We are also starting to spray fairways with soluble iron, this will help deter worm activity, also strengthen the sward heading into winter. I'm normally not over keen on applying high amounts of iron to turf as it can lead to black layer as high iron levels limits natural aerobic activity, however it does lower the pH as iron sulphate is relatively acidic. The lower the pH the less worm activity we will hopefully see. I have tried a number of expensive worm suppressants with very limited results so applying iron is a very inexpensive way of trying to improve the turf. We will continue to apply treatments until weather conditions deteriorate. The greens have also been sprayed with a mix of amino acids and biostimulants with a very small amount of Nitrogen mixed in.

Unfortunately there are a number of areas that are getting a little sticky and cutting is making them look even worse. At the moment we cutting on a needs/ must basis, picking dry days and ground conditions to cut where needed. Its a difficult balance to keep the course tidy without making more damage than we need to, the team are doing a fantastic job to deal with an ever changing challenge. On a positive note the work we do to the greens on an annual basis seems to proving a success as the greens surfaces are healthy and performing ok. Due to the wet year there is a little moss on some of the wetter/shaded greens and the remnants of a little fusarium that was knocking around a few weeks ago. We have since sprayed a fungicide so there is no new activity, this will be monitored over the coming weeks. Nights and mornings are drawing in so most mornings the team are out with torches and lights on the machines, its essential we still start work early to ensure the course is checked, set up and ready for the days play. Please note the course information line will be updated at 7.30 at the latest from 1st November (currently 7.00am)

Here comes the leaves

As the temperatures begin to drop the trees are changing colour and the leaves are beginning to fall. We are gearing equipment up to start collection, the new amazone machine should make a real difference to the labour involved in the annual task. To make collection easier we have to cut down all the long rough on the course, again utilising our machine we are cutting and collecting all areas and composting the grass in our designated areas across the course.

The weather has been good for this task, dry and windy for a change. It certainly helps when the long grass is dry, it compacts better and makes the job quicker.

However the wind has been causing chaos on other parts of the course and causing a few issues for even simple tasks such as cutting greens and fairways. The wind has gusted at 40mph at times, fortunately no damage has been done to the course. However the strong winds have brought many small branches down and quite a number of leaves, there has also been a lot of pine needles, keys and bits from leylandii and other trees close by to greens and fairways. We have had staff out clearing areas so cutting can be carried out, adding time to all jobs, it is critical that debris is removed so damage to the turf doesn't occur.

Cutting is going to be a real test, one that is going to have to be thought about carefully as we head into winter, worm casts, as previously mentioned cause damage to the machinery and to the turf when cutting occurs, the drier the ground conditions and casts the less damage occurs, especially to the turf. Picking days to cut is going to be the key to minimising damage. Unfortunately they can be few and far between as we head into November and December, making the decisions ever more difficult. To help the cast smearing we can brush and switch areas, however sometimes this just isn't possible. Other measures we are trying, to prevent long term damage are; minimising traffic to cast prone areas such as fairways and high wear areas, buggies will cause a lot of damage to turf once grass growth stops, smearing casts on to the turf which then can't recover, so please try and keep buggies to the semi rough as much as possible. We are putting out the usual traffic management hoops and rope, we will be trying other chemicals and acidifiers to reduce general castings and sanding areas which we feel are getting to severe. Please appreciate that worm casting is a problem for most clubs now so we are not alone, its a very frustrating issue we need to deal with on a daily basis, and hopefully something we can strive to improve over time.