A Catch Up

With all the work that has been going on it feels like the blog has been dominated by the irrigation works, I feel its important that all members, visitors and just blog followers for that matter are kept up to date with the progress of the installation. As its one of the biggest investments the club has made since my time here and certainly one that will see the efficiency of our water application improve massively. Before I cover all the other projects the greenstaff are working on just a quick update of the irrigation work that's happened in the last week.

The pipe installation has been stopped until some of the holes that are on the course have been filled, its also given the contractors a chance to tidy some of the mole lines. All the remaining loop on 10-13 was completed last week. Hopefully the weather stays dry next week when ploughing will continue. The positive side of the work is that the work so far has left little long term damage and there is a lot of drier areas where they can work should the conditions decline.

So what's been happening on the course? Firstly the Air2G2 aeration work has been completed, all the greens have been decompacted using high pressure jets of air released deep within the soil profile. Overall the work has resulted in much better drainage rates across most of the greens. The worrying issue it's raised is that a couple of the greens, the 2nd being one of the worst, still have water infiltration problems. After the 2nd green had been done there was a period of rain, which again stood fairly easily on the surface of that green. Since I have been here we have always had problems with that particular green due to the shape and poor soil used in construction, leading to standing water. In the most extreme circumstances the 2nd hole has to be taken out of play to restrict damage. After decompacting the lower profile its evident that the soil beneath the rooting structure is very heavy and poor to drain, looking forward, this is one that drainage would be of a district advantage to improve the health of the putting surface.

When we check the course on a morning its a great time to see golfer patterns that are left in the dew as it gives a good idea of how traffic is concentrated into certain areas around greens and tees. That helps us decide where to move hoops and ropes to change wear patterns and direct golfers to areas that would allow previously worn turf to recover. Its also highlights the issues we face with golfers bending the rules of etiquette, below is a great example.

Clearly two golfers have taken their trolleys across the GREEN. We often see that golfers remove hoops to allow access through to the next tee or simply to play their shot, and often we have to put hoops back which have been left out. We only use the ropes and hoops to try and prevent damage around the summer use areas, so when it comes to spring the areas where golfers would walk and play from are less damaged and therefore more enjoyable than they would be otherwise. Obviously taking trollies across the green is unacceptable, however please try and abide by the traffic management aids (hoops and ropes) as they are there for the golfers to protect YOUR course. The same applies to buggy use, please stay to the semi rough as much as possible, when it is frosty, at all times. Again frequent use of buggies does cause damage, especially when the course is wet and the surface is greasy due to expected thin sparse growth at this time of the year.

Hedge cutting is continuing, they are currently working on the 19th leylandii, following that the range and a few bits of thorn are all that remains. The remaining, non flowering shrubs around the car park have all been pruned. The flowering varieties will be done later in the year.

The bins that were made 'in house' are all out on the course. They look great and will hopefully solve the issues with litter. They have all been put on a concrete slab to finish them off. This should make it easier to maintain around them.

The greens have all been cut, we have put the greens mowers up to 4.5mm bench setting, which is 0.5mm higher than the previous cut. This is simply to allow a little more top growth, which increases health and reduces the risk of scalping during softer conditions. Overall the greens are looking reasonably good. The next application of fertiliser is due in the next few weeks. We will also be starting to apply a slow release fertiliser to all tees, approaches and worn areas. This should aid recovery when the grass starts to grow. The tees and approaches will be sanded next week, this will help fill in divots and help reduce the wear. Now carbendazim has been banned, this was the chemical we used to treat worm casts, applying sand will be a lot bigger part of maintenance to most areas. We simply cant afford to sand everywhere so the main playing areas and wear points on the course will be prioritised. We have already been sanding any areas that are getting messy due to general wear, through both golf and irrigation work.