This week it was the turn of holes 10-18, we started with solid tining the greens, just to emphasize why we vertidrain, here's a great example, below is the 12th green which has always had drainage problems due to the shape of the surface of the green. We have installed drains which have helped with the general health of the turf but do still struggle to remove the volume of water the surface collects. This puddle on the 12th green was one of the few on the course after some heavy overnight rain, The second photo is the same green 5-10 minutes later following verti-draining, the vertidrain removes any compaction and opens up the surface so any water can penetrate more easily through the soil and drain away. Once the surface gets sealed up water will be slower to penetrate again. Regular aeration is therefore very important to allow the greens to remain playable.
All the greens were cored with 6mm tines and collected, unfortunately this was the worst day of the week, with 26mm of rain falling, the heaviest rain started around 10am with 5 greens left to collect, the team did a fantastic job and continued in the deluge to finish the work so they were ready for sand the following morning.
Fortunately the following days weather was much better so the greens were top dressed with sand and brushed in. The bunkers on 10-18 were edged and tidied, making the most of the closure on 10-18.
The greens on 1-9 are getting back into shape. We are cutting them daily and rolling when time allows, they have also been sprayed with a mix of mirco nutrients, fertiliser and growth regulator. As you can see from the video below they are rolling great for just 7 days after deep tining, hollow coring and an application of sand. Proving the point greens maintenance at this time of the year is far more beneficial for all concerned. We are very lucky to have 27 holes giving 18 good greens all of the time. Following the maintenance we will apply another light dressing of sand to ensure any minor imperfections are dressed out to improve smoothness.
This weekend we will roll 10-18 following the work and start cutting regularly from Monday next week.
