Update & Renovation week.
Firstly, Apologies for the lack of news on the blog, I know it's not really an excuse, but we have been quite busy.
It seems a lifetime ago that the liner on the Irrigation storage tank split and left us without water for over 5 weeks. But in hindsight, this has has been a really good thing for the greens. I had always intended to dry the greens out this year, as the soil profile had been so wet since July 2107, but I would have liked a bit more control over moisture levels!
As it was, we all witnessed how hardy fine turf grasses can be. The finer Bent & Fescue species hung on by their finger nails, while the Annual Meadow grass curled up & died.
This gave us a great opportunity to increase the amount of fine species in the greens by over-seeding into the bare ground and spaces. This has been highly successful with huge increases in population levels. This also leads sadly to some slower putting speeds while the seedlings were growing in & maturing. It seems pointless and a waste of time & money to over-seed greens then remove the new seedings with low heights of cut or verti-cutting.
Now the greens have recovered, we can maintain the surfaces as normal and the finer species will offer better surfaces throughout the year and help keep them disease free.
We have also been busy removing course grasses right across the course, with the approaches, collars & tees all being treated with "Rescue" a graminicide which kills course species such as Rye grass, Yorkshire fog & Couch grass. The collars have been over-seeded, while the approaches & Tees will be renovated during the coming weeks.
The fairways have regularily been sprayed with a growth regulator to reduce grass clippings and this has been extremely successful. The new fairway mower has also improved the quality of cut and the fairways & approaches are currently being scarified and swept to further improve them.
It is intended to spray these areas this Autumn with Sulphate of Iron to acidify them and reduce worm activity.
The 12th hole has been hollow-tined, over-seeded with Fescue & top-dressed with pure sand to reduce fertility and discourage worms.
Added to this is the tree removal during the winter, which has improved air flow & reduced shade. This should improve the playability of this hole throughout the year. It is intended to carry out similar work on all the approaches in the future.
Renovation week is nearly upon us and this year a few changes will be made to the program. Due to the level of over-seeding carried out thru the summer, we will only be seeding selected bare areas on the greens. They will also be tined to a depth of 300mm and top-dressed with pure sand. The purchase of the Turf Iron will help quickly restore the surfaces.
As stated previously, the Tees will be aerated and over-seeded extensively. Water was in short supply through the summer and they have suffered badly during the drought. The approaches will be over-seeded with Fescue and the scarifying work will be completed.
The fairways will also be slit and this will continue right through the Autumn & Winter as weather allows.
Our winter work programme will start early this year to take advantage of the firm ground conditions. 1st job is the removal of the Willow trees on the R/H side of the 8th hole and the creation of a large pond. The material dug out from this area will be used to create moundings around the course & re-profile the start of the 9th fairway.
We have more tree removal, drainage & construction work planned throughout the rest of the year.
Watch this space for more info.
Thanks, Mark & the Greens team.
It seems a lifetime ago that the liner on the Irrigation storage tank split and left us without water for over 5 weeks. But in hindsight, this has has been a really good thing for the greens. I had always intended to dry the greens out this year, as the soil profile had been so wet since July 2107, but I would have liked a bit more control over moisture levels!
As it was, we all witnessed how hardy fine turf grasses can be. The finer Bent & Fescue species hung on by their finger nails, while the Annual Meadow grass curled up & died.
This gave us a great opportunity to increase the amount of fine species in the greens by over-seeding into the bare ground and spaces. This has been highly successful with huge increases in population levels. This also leads sadly to some slower putting speeds while the seedlings were growing in & maturing. It seems pointless and a waste of time & money to over-seed greens then remove the new seedings with low heights of cut or verti-cutting.
Now the greens have recovered, we can maintain the surfaces as normal and the finer species will offer better surfaces throughout the year and help keep them disease free.
We have also been busy removing course grasses right across the course, with the approaches, collars & tees all being treated with "Rescue" a graminicide which kills course species such as Rye grass, Yorkshire fog & Couch grass. The collars have been over-seeded, while the approaches & Tees will be renovated during the coming weeks.
The fairways have regularily been sprayed with a growth regulator to reduce grass clippings and this has been extremely successful. The new fairway mower has also improved the quality of cut and the fairways & approaches are currently being scarified and swept to further improve them.
It is intended to spray these areas this Autumn with Sulphate of Iron to acidify them and reduce worm activity.
The 12th hole has been hollow-tined, over-seeded with Fescue & top-dressed with pure sand to reduce fertility and discourage worms.
Added to this is the tree removal during the winter, which has improved air flow & reduced shade. This should improve the playability of this hole throughout the year. It is intended to carry out similar work on all the approaches in the future.
Renovation week is nearly upon us and this year a few changes will be made to the program. Due to the level of over-seeding carried out thru the summer, we will only be seeding selected bare areas on the greens. They will also be tined to a depth of 300mm and top-dressed with pure sand. The purchase of the Turf Iron will help quickly restore the surfaces.
As stated previously, the Tees will be aerated and over-seeded extensively. Water was in short supply through the summer and they have suffered badly during the drought. The approaches will be over-seeded with Fescue and the scarifying work will be completed.
The fairways will also be slit and this will continue right through the Autumn & Winter as weather allows.
Our winter work programme will start early this year to take advantage of the firm ground conditions. 1st job is the removal of the Willow trees on the R/H side of the 8th hole and the creation of a large pond. The material dug out from this area will be used to create moundings around the course & re-profile the start of the 9th fairway.
We have more tree removal, drainage & construction work planned throughout the rest of the year.
Watch this space for more info.
Thanks, Mark & the Greens team.
Thanks for the concise information regarding work planned over the coming months..
ReplyDeleteThe members I speak to are very supportive of the works already done & yet to be done, so where funds allow please keep up the great work..
Lets hope for a decent winter after the constant rain of last winter so you can get the things finished that you have planned..🤞🤞