As I write this blog we have had a
week of warm weather. This winter has been a test for the golf course as
we have experienced some harsh weather conditions. The course was under heavy
snow for eight days after the beast from the east, followed by lots of frosts, then
heavy rain which saturated the course on more than a few occasions. The experts
in the sports turf industry say we are a month behind this year compared to
last year in terms of growth and soil temperatures.
We were asked to, and delivered
improved winter greens this year and the feedback to this has been very
positive. Like the majority of golfers I don’t enjoy playing on winter greens but
having them allows the course to stay open when conditions are at their worst.
The aim now, with the cold weather hopefully
behind us, is to improve the course aesthetically. A full cut of the course was
carried out last week. The majority of tees were put back onto main tee boxes.
New flags and hole cups and all golf course furniture was put out. Unfortunately the majority of ropes and hoops will be
staying out for the time being as the course needs some protection and the traffic
still needs to be managed around walkways and slopes.
Greens
maintenance
We took advantage of a break in the
weather, which allowed us to get our maintenance done to the greens. A double
verticut was carried out in March. This removes any thatch that has built up
over the winter months and smooths the surfaces out long term.
A week later the greens were vertidrained,
solid tined and 30 ton of topdressing was applied. An application of sulphate
of ammonia and ferrosol (liquid iron) was applied as doing this mechanical work
can put added stress on the grass plant. A granular fertiliser was applied two
weeks ago and got watered in nicely as the forecast was right, it never stopped
raining. The height of cut on the greens is now 4.5 mm and I will be bringing
that down as cutting frequency increases.
The benefits from the ecology work
carried out recently can clearly be seen around the course. Lots of colour is
now visible on banksides which were previously thick of scrub. A big thank you
to all members who donated bird boxes as part of the national nest box week.
They have been put up in various locations around the course and many are
already in use.
We were pleased to welcome Paul
Walton, who joined our team a few weeks ago and he has settled in well. Paul is
a greenkeeper/mechanic and is a great addition to the team. He has already
fixed some machines which would have been done in the past by an outside
mechanic. Paul is also very keen on the turf side of things. We are now up to a
full-strength team of five, ready for the season.
Finally, I would like to thank
everyone for their support and patience over recent months and wish all our
members a great golfing season.
David Thompson
Head Greenkeeper
