Pitchmarks

 

 

            Autumn Blog

 

As we reach the end of another season of golf here is an update on what’s been happening and what will be happening on the course.

This season the feedback we have received regarding the course has again been excellent from both members and visitors. The greens have been maintained to a very good, consistent standard all season. The work we do to the greens during aeration week remains a huge contributing factor to them been good throughout the main playing months. The addition of the turf iron (roller) has negated the need to be aggressive with the height of cut on the greens and still achieve performance. As we are now well into October, cutting frequency has reduced as daylight, temperature and therefore growth decrease. The greens are currently cut at 5mm and rolled when conditions allow.               

The greens aeration went to plan at the start of September with the following work carried out:

• ·      Vertidrained – 325 mm depth
• ·      Top dressed – 35 ton
• ·      Solid tined – 125 mm depth
• ·      Brushed using the sweep and fill
• ·      Overseeded with bent grass- 65 kg in total   

The subsequent warm weather we experienced really helped the greens recover. The bent grass germinated after only eight days. 

                                   Fig 1: Bent grass germination

Everything from a lean nutrition program to aeration practices helps promote the perennial grasses over the annuals. The greens at Hexham are a mix of bent/poa with the bent grass now having the advantage. The main turf grass diseases that I have talked about in previous blogs have made an appearance lately. An attack of Fusarium came in on some greens at the start of September, but with good growing conditions the grass plant recovered well. Anthracnose attacked some edges of greens. This is a stress related disease and it mainly targets weak annual meadow grass (Poa). Bent grass is hand seeded into these areas. 

                       Fig 2: Bent grass germination in some anthracnose 

Work to the right hand side of the 7^th green was recently completed. The following work was carried out:

• ·      Area dug out with a digger
• ·      Rotavated
• ·      New soil added
• ·      Turfed
• ·      Coverlawn layed on top

The coverlawn helps to protect the grass from the high levels of play and wear.  The natural grass will grow through the holes from the underside and the combination of the two provides a surface to play golf from.

                                                        Fig 3: Area dug out 

                                                              Fig 4: Area turfed

    

                                        Fig 5: Coverlawn layed  

                                              Fig 6: Before and after 7th hole project  

 

With the digger on site we made time to fill in and landscape the 10^th winter hole bunker. 

Recently ropes, hoops and mats have been phased in as we prepare the course for the transition into winter. Golfers often ask why we need to put so many measures in place. These measures are done to protect certain areas of the course and are one of the reasons conditions are good throughout the main playing season. If areas were not protected, then grass cover would be lost. It would be great to be able to keep grass tees on all winter, but these playing areas are too small to take the wear and would be destroyed for the main season. Grass seed doesn’t germinate in the colder months so tees would be bare soil from the high levels of play. If members could follow all the measures in place that would be great.

Another concern this time of year as the greens become softer due to wet weather, is the number of unrepaired pitchmarks on greens. An unrepaired pitchmark affects the roll of yours and other people’s putts. If members could take time to repair their pitchmarks, this helps keep the greens at a high standard.          

 

The tees and approaches have been aerated with the Toro Procore. The wetting agent and nutrition these areas have received over the last few years has helped. They still suffer from drought stress through the warmer months as they have no water to them. Wetting agents and nutrition will be applied to them over the winter months to help rehydrate the soil. The fairways will be slit tined over the autumn months when conditions allow.   

The remaining sprinklers will be replaced over the coming months. Half were done last year and have been a great addition to how water is distributed to the greens during hot spells. They have a lower trajectory, so the wind does not affect them as much as the older ones. During the summer our irrigation contractor increased the bar (pressure) to the system. This work really helped us water the greens a lot more efficiently.

Over the last few weeks, the badgers have been foraging for earthworms and grubs. This damage is now starting to occur on the edges of some greens. 

                                Fig 7: Badger damage on the 2nd green  

There are no insecticides that can be sprayed to stop the turf from getting pest damage. Crane fly are now a big problem in all sports turf, from racecourses to football pitches. They lay their eggs in the turf and the larva (leather-jacket) eats away at the roots of the plant, which can seriously damage the turf. Meanwhile birds such as crows and other wildlife damage surfaces searching for the larvae. Nature at it’s finest.        

         

Staff      

We are now back up to full strength as Craig recently returned to work. Over the summer months we have had help from Jimmy Richardson and Steven Riley. This has been a massive help to the greenkeeping team, a big thanks to them both.   

                              

And finally, a big thank you to all the members who support the greenkeeping team, its greatly appreciated.

David and the lads. 

 

                Spring Blog 2021

 

As I write this blog it is less than a week until members will be playing the course and the perfect opportunity to provide you with an update on where the course is condition wise and the work that has been carried out over the last few months.

The planned winter work has been completed and now the focus is getting the course polished up, ready for the return to golf. A couple of jobs still to do are:

• ·      The practice nets will be renewed next to the Pro’s Shop
• ·      Grey dust will be added to the paths
• ·      A stump grinder will be hired in to remove tree stumps

The first crop of leylandii next to the 5^th Medal tee have been felled and the stumps dug out. The second crop next to the Leapers oak were left, allowing some protection to the ancient tree. Leylandii don’t support much wildlife, are bad for blocking light and pull lots of moisture out of the ground. This area has been prepared for seed and will be cut as rough. The plantation right of the 6^th green was thinned out, these trees were tall and skinny, reaching for the light. As well as felling trees we have planted over sixty saplings this winter. Some were kindly donated by members and where the big oak at the 2^nd was felled, fifty oak and rowan were planted.  

     

The irrigation system has received some updates this winter. Thirty five sprinklers around the greens were replaced with a more modern unit. These sprinklers will improve efficiency of the irrigation to the greens this season. The remaining sprinklers on the course will be replaced next winter.

                   

 

With having no golfers, I decided to bring the greens maintenance forward to February. This work is normally carried out about now, but a nice mild spell of weather in February following the many weeks of snow coverage, then what seemed like perpetual rain, allowed us to push on and complete the tasks.

First, the greens were double verticut aggressively. This procedure removes a lot of organic material and creates a more upright growth habit. The greens were cut and then vertidrained to a depth of 250mm. Following these procedures approximately 40 tons of sand was applied to the greens. The greens were then solid tined to a depth of 125mm, this really packs the sand into the tine holes. The final procedure was the sweep and fill brush, which works the remaining sand into the holes and is a great piece of kit. The greens were then left to recover and with no golf being played, we didn’t have the urgency to cut. 

 

 

This week the greens are getting cut and rolled, ready for the return of golf. March is not a good growing month especially for fine turf. I follow and record data for a model called ‘Growth Potential’. This model estimates how grass potentially grows, using the minimum and maximum daily temperatures which are then put into a formula to give a figure.

0 = no growth

1 = maximum growth

0.4 (40% of the plants optimum) is a good number for spring growth and as you can see on the attached graph, only a few days in February were above this number. This model is really good for this time of year, as the greens slowly start to transition from their winter dormancy. This model is used also as a tool for when to apply nutrition, which I will discuss in a later blog. Obviously, you can’t beat your own eyes and being on the greens on a daily basis tells me what I need to know about where they are condition wise, but this science does have a place alongside that and reaffirms our thoughts and plans.             

 

       

Over the last two weeks we have started to cut the course to get some definition back. The fairways, tees and approaches have had a couple of cuts. The rough and tee banks have had a trim, along with both practice fields. This year the worm casts have been exceptionally bad on fairways, tees and approaches. Speaking to other greenkeepers this is one of the hottest topics and becoming a real problem in the industry, as more chemical restrictions have came into place. The worms smear the surface and can kill the grass, so cutting has to be carried out when its dry. Even then the build up on the rollers when dry is bad (see attached photo). Once the first few cuts have been carried out it does however get easier.     

          

All the bunkers have been fly mowed, edged and topped up with sand ready for play resuming. Small turf repairs were carried out on some bunkers, as erosion has appeared due to sand splash.  

From this time of year onwards the course does get better on a weekly basis as daylight and temperatures improve. However, even though no golf has been played since the start of January, some worn areas do not recover until the grass is fully growing, which is generally May.

As members return to the course the main tees will be phased in over the coming weeks as the weather improves and conditions allow.

 

One of the negative aspects of having no golfers is animal damage around the course. We enjoy and encourage wildlife but we have had badgers digging tee boxes and green approaches for worms. The crows are pecking at some greens for grubs. I think with no human smells around the course from golfers, the animals have the place to themselves. Let’s hope this activity stops once golf starts, as some of the digs on tees are quite bad. 

 

 

Last year I showed two people from the local swift group around the clubhouse carparks, as swifts are often spotted flying low around the buildings. They identified that the old buildings could be suitable swift nest sites and recommended that we put up some swift nest boxes. If any members are good with wood and have the time to build a swift nest box, that would be greatly appreciated. Here is a one we received from a member and this will be put up in April, before the swifts return.  

              

 

Hope you have enjoyed the read. The lads and I are looking forward to seeing members out playing on the course again.

 

All the best,

David Thompson and the greens staff.