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 As mentioned last month the contact fungicide active ingredient iprodione has been withdrawn, the dates have been released and we will have up to the start of June to use all remaining stock.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.