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 5th 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 6th 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 2nd 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.
