Summer Blog 

As I write this blog it’s the first heavy rainfall the course has had in a while. The ground is that dry and hard the water is running off causing surface puddling. The rain will be great for the course as fairways, tees and approns have been under severe drought stress. July was a really brutal month for the grass plant as very high temperatures, lack of rainfall and high evapotranspiration (ET) were persistent for most of the month. For July most sites in the North of England lost 100mm of moisture vs rainfall. What this means is 100mm of moisture was lost by evaporation. Moisture management on the greens is one of the most important jobs carried out during the summer months. The automatic sprinkler system is used overnight, and precision hand watering is carried out using hosepipes early in the morning. A moisture meter is used to record the volumetric water content (VWC) of the rootzone. This probes the rootzone giving a percentage, the lower the number the drier the greens. When the number gets below 20% (VWC), the greens become dry and show signs of stress. The greens are predominantly made up of sand, so the water holding capacity is pretty low. Poa (annual meadow grass) when stressed goes into survival mode and produces seed heads. 

                                         Fig 1: Rainfall totals 2022

The greens are mown most days and the height of cut is 3.5mm. The greens iron is used about twice a week if conditions allow. This improves the smoothness and consistency of the surfaces. The feed back we receive regarding the greens is that they run consistently. A video below shows a holing out test to see how smooth the greens are. This time of year, the greens are ready for some deep aeration. Daily play and the cultural practices that are carried out, compact the surface a little. The solid tine holes will break through this top layer, allowing the greens to breath.        

                                                                                 

                                                Fig 2: Holing out test on the 17th green  

The annual greens maintenance will be carried out on Tuesday 6^th September. The work will be as follows:

• ·      Vertidrained to a depth of 320mm
• ·      Topdressed with approximately 40 ton
• ·      Solid tined to a depth of 150mm
• ·      Brushed using the sweep and fill
• ·      Overseeded using our dynaseeders 
• ·      Nutrition application to aid recovery

 

As explained in previous blogs this work is essential for the long-term health of the greens. The recovery will be good as growing conditions are ideal during this time of the year. Winter greens will be used when the work is carried out and main greens will be reinstated once the work is complete. The aim going into the final part of the season is to keep the greens healthy and consistent. Over the autumn/winter regular slit tining will be carried out when conditions allow. This is another great form of aeration with very little disruption to the surfaces.

      

The overseeding program over the years has seen a big increase in bent grass in the greens. Recently I had a visit from an industry expert on grasses. He was very impressed with the species composition of the greens at Hexham and said the bent grass was the dominant grass.   

   

                                             Fig 3: Bent grass germination on the 17th green  

Tees and approaches will be aerated and some overseeding carried out. The aim is to improve the approaches and particularly the collar cut around the green. As you can see from the attached photo the aesthetics of the collar need improving. You go from a healthy green into a mixed sward on the collar. The aim is to make the collars more uniform by aerating, scarifying and overseeding with a better grass species. Tees and approaches will be sprayed at every opportunity when its raining with an intensive wetting agent. This will rehydrate the dry soil, allowing moisture to pass through into the profile. At the moment the soils on most tees and approaches are hydrophobic (they repel water). 

                                                     Fig 4: Collar showing rank grasses 

Once the season is finished competition wise protection measures will be introduced. Ropes, hoops, white lines and winter tees will be phased in. These measures are here to protect the course long-term and are one of the reasons we have a good consistent course during the season.

 

The new Toro rough cutter which was purchased at the start of the season, has been a great addition to the machinery fleet. A Wiedenmann Terra Rake was also recently purchased. Over the last three years a rake was hired in. The new one will be used to rake out thatch on fairways, improving the grass species and aesthetics. Over the autumn fairways will be slit tined and some areas will be vertidrained. The fairways have lost some grass cover during the recent hot spells, but will recover once the soils re-wet. Some overseeding may be necessary during the autumn. A second fairway divot will be carried out before the season finishes.                  

 

The team are in good spirits and have worked very hard this year as always, producing a good consistent golf course. A big thanks to them for all their hard work.   

Also a big thank you to all the members who support myself and the team, it's very much appreciated.

 

David and the lads.