Winter 2020/21

 

During this latest lockdown the weather has been relatively kind to us, with some decent winds drying the course up considerably. The course though does not recover this time of year as there is very little growth compared to spring/summer. This break has however helped the high traffic areas get a much-needed rest, particularly the 1^st and 9^th fairways.

The wildlife thrives having no golfers on the course, adapting very quickly to this absence. The deer have been spotted most mornings and two buzzards are often seen feeding on earthworms on the fairways. Lots of other birds are feeding on the berries around the course. The resident tawny owls are very vocal on the dark mornings. A negative of this is the badgers are very active and damage has occurred on some greens and tees. We always get this type of activity from the wildlife at this time of year as they are looking to put on weight before the winter. Hopefully this settles down, as it normally does.   

 

The leaf clearing is nearly finished for the year. The strong winds have brought most of the leaves down and only a selected few trees are hanging on. The forecasted frosts should get the remainder down. The leaves on the trees are spectacular but from a maintenance perspective they require lots of man hours and use lots of fuel. The tractor mounted blower and the collector are working every day. The leaves that are collected are dumped in the woods around the course. This leaf mould is an excellent soil conditioner and is added to all the beds around the clubhouse.

All the cutting and collecting of long roughs has been done. This yearly procedure improves these areas by removing scrub and rank grasses, which encourages wildflowers and finer grasses.  Whilst we have been closed two fungi experts came in and surveyed the course. They found over forty different species and a Northumberland first, an agaricus porphyrrhizon, which was located near the 3^rd tee. Amazing what you can find when you have a good look about. They loved the site and will be back to survey the woodlands, next year. 

 

 

 

All the fairways have been slit tined and this will be done again over the winter. This helps get air into the fairways and removes compaction from the high levels of play.

The two greenside bunkers at the 6^th have been rebuilt. The bases will be smoothed out and levelled with a digger, before new turf is put down. This work improves the course aesthetically and helps the golfer get a more consistent lie in the traps.   

 

 

Bunker repairs on the 1^st and 15^th bunkers have also been carried out and are ready for turf.

The 3rd greenside bunker has been filled in and rebuilt to the right. The aim of this work is to make the approach shot fairer without reducing the degree of difficulty the hole presents. The area front left will still provide a challenging up and down and in time will allow improvement to what is one of the weaker greens in agronomy terms. More pin positions will also be available. 

      

The 3^rd tee has been stripped and will be levelled off with new turf laid. This tee really suffers with the lack of light it receives. Other tees with worn areas on them have also been stripped and will be prepared for new turf.  

 

 The trees at the back of the 11^th green have been thinned out. This will allow more light and airflow to the back of the green. The trees that remain in this area will flourish with not having to compete in a crowded space.

 

 

Some trees have also been thinned out at the back of the 15^th green. This again will allow more light to the green. Shade issues on fine turf have a big impact on turf grass diseases. With chemical restrictions getting tougher, we will see more trees around greens having to be removed.  

The greens have been getting slit on a regular basis. Cutting has eased back with no golf being played. The greens were cut towards the end of November and will be cut again prior to play resuming on 2^nd December 2020. Disease pressure has been high this autumn with the mild weather and no golf course is immune to attacks. Fusarium is the main disease this time of year and it thrives on mild temperatures and plant leaf wetness (dews). Products that keep the dew from forming on the greens have been applied, along with acidic products which the fungus does not like. These dew removal products keep the dew off for about 5 days and if sprayed at the right time can really help with disease severity. The only problem with them is they have to be sprayed onto a dry leaf which allows the product to coat the leaf surface stopping the dew from forming. These spray windows are however few and far between at this time of year. With further chemical restrictions these products are important for turf managers, in the continual battle against disease.    

            

Another issue the turfgrass industry has is worm control. Worms are good as they aerate the soil. They like heavier, moist soils and are really helpful for the soil eco system, but the negative side of this is the worm casts. This mud forms the casting and chokes the plant causing it to die. With worm casts on the surfaces you can’t really mow certain areas because the soil gets stuck on the rollers and the blades. This raises the height of cut and dulls the blades on the mowers. This problem affects the fairways here at Hexham. With trying to mow the fairways at this time of year you are doing more damage than good. Should you notice the fairways are slightly longer, this is the reason why.        

            

Hope you have enjoyed the latest information and we look forward to welcoming golfers back and seeing everyone out on the course again soon.

 

David and the lads.                           

 

     Summer Blog

It is great to see the course busy with golfers after a tough start to the season. Golf seems to be booming at the moment with lots of new members and people coming back to the game.

The feedback we have received from everyone who has played the course has been very positive. This season one of the aims was to keep the greens at a consistent standard throughout the summer months. To achieve this Primo Maxx has been sprayed on a fortnightly basis with regular spoon feeding applications. Primo Maxx is a plant growth regulator that works by redirecting the plant growth. The growth of the plant is diverted to the roots, producing a denser, thicker sward. With above surface growth reduced, consistency is improved with less clippings removed when mowing. Once the cooler autumn weather arrives, applications of this product will be reduced and then eventually stopped.         

                                                    Fig 1: 18th green 

The height of cut on the greens is currently at 3.5mm for everyday play. This year a set of brushes were purchased with the new green’s mower. The brushes stand the grass up before it is cut, creating a smoother putting surface which provides a truer ball roll. Brushing is less aggressive than the grooming process which has previously been done on the greens, particularly on the clean up cut.          

Greens have been sarel rolled every fortnight. These are small prick holes (25mm) deep, which break up any sealed surfaces and allow the greens to breath. This procedure is great as there is very little surface disruption. Light topdressings have also been applied on a regular basis. This little and often approach helps dilute any surface organic matter and also improves ball roll.

 

The planned maintenance on the greens in September is

• ·       Double verticut
• ·       Vertidrain to a depth of 300mm    
• ·       Topdress with sand, approximately 30 tons
• ·       Solid tine to a depth of 125mm
• ·       Brush the sand in  

Members possibly wonder why this maintenance will be carried out after the course was shut for nearly two months during lockdown. The greens still need this work as levels of play since the course opened have been high and whilst foot traffic from golf is good for greens the compaction caused still needs to be alleviated. The deep tine holes allow the greens to breath and when the wet weather arrives the soil percolation rates are massively improved.   

 

The greens will then be overseeded with a browntop bentgrass mix. This helps improve the finer grass species of the greens. The two cultivars of bentgrass that will be used in the blend are Charles (40%) and BarKing (60%). Charles is a New Zealand bred variety and BarKing is a European bred variety. Excellent results have been achieved over the years from overseeding.  

                      

Turfgrass Diseases

The two main diseases that attack cool season grasses are Fusarium (Microdochium patch) and Anthracnose (Colletottichum graminicola). Fusarium thrives when the plant leaf is wet for prolonged periods. The fungus lives in the thatch layer and when environmental factors are right the infection takes place. Anthracnose is a stress related disease caused by low mowing heights, low nutrition mainly nitrogen and potassium, wet and dry cycles and a longer playing season, which increases stress on the grass plant. Anthracnose mainly targets annual meadow grass, making it have a yellow appearance and eventually killing the plant. When anthracnose attacks the key is to get some bent seed into the weak turf, replacing annual meadow grass with finer species. Anthracnose is becoming more common on golf greens as turf managers push greens to the limit.           

Fig 2: Top photo is anthracnose on the 14th green. Bottom photo is two weeks later after seeded with bent grass

   

                                                     Fig 3: Active fusarium 

Tees

The tees started off the season in good shape, with lots of grass cover. The dry spells that have since followed have made some tees struggle. The problem we have is not all tee boxes have irrigation to them. All the par 3 tee boxes, the 1^st and the 17^th tees boxes have water, the rest rely on Mother Nature. Once it becomes really dry and hot, some grass cover is lost on the tees and these areas don’t recover fully until the autumn. Water really is the key on keeping turf alive throughout the summer months. A tee with the correct moisture content in the rootzone will look and play a lot better than a tee that is low in water and is hydrophobic. Members may ask why tees are not hand watered during dry periods. The simple answer is that the greens remain the priority for moisture management, than the tees.                   

 

Golf Etiquette

With the ongoing pandemic all course furniture and bins were removed from the course to protect staff and golfers. Over recent weeks myself and the staff have seen an increase in litter been left on the course. This is unsightly and damaging to the environment, particularly the local wildlife. Some members have been picking up litter whilst playing golf. I would like to take this opportunity to thank these members, it shows they care about the golf course. If members could take their rubbish home that would be great.

 

A big thanks to all the volunteers who help out with tasks around the clubhouse and course. Your work is appreciated as it allows us to focus on your golf course. Little things like weeding and tidying flower beds are a massive help. 

 

Hope you enjoyed the update about the course and enjoy the rest of the golf season.

 

David and the lads 

                     Greenkeeping Spring Blog

Following the announcement at the end of March by the government, the course was closed immediately. As greenkeepers we are permitted to work but must follow the guidelines for essential maintenance negotiated by the R&A and practice social distancing. Currently we are mowing greens, fairways, tees and rough during the week. Water management and nutrition to the greens is being carried out, with the objective of keeping the turf healthy and avoiding putting to much feed and water on. This blog though, is about the work that was carried out before the lockdown.   
               

The weather over this winter was horrendous for everyone involved with managing turf in the UK. The wettest February on record, coupled with consistent rainfall since September made it very challenging in presenting a golf course. As I write this blog we are currently in a dry spell and could do with a drop of rain. Who would have thought I would be saying that after this winter. It just goes to show that greenkeepers are never happy with what Mother Nature is doing. 


The course stood up really well to the extremes of this winter. The areas that suffered the most were the walkways that receive high levels of foot traffic. This is a perennial issue in areas like this every winter and they are beginning to recover now the grass has started growing. The winter program was completed despite the bad weather we encountered.  



Following work to the white & yellow teeing grounds last winter, the red 1^st tee has been levelled and then relayed.

New astroturf was put down on the 9^th and 10^th paths, with retaining boards being renewed on the 9^th.  A new path was also constructed next to the 11^th tee. 

Various bunker repairs around the course have been carried out. Whilst on the 4^th the bunker to the left of the green has been completely renovated. 



Rubber matting has been put down on high traffic areas and will be trialed to see if the damage around these areas is reduced.



The pines to the left of the 5^th hole have been lifted to allow more airflow to the green. With legislation ordering the withdrawal of various chemicals, increasing airflow and improving light to greens will help going forward. 

      

All machinery has been serviced and sharpened in house using the grinders.



The high winds over the winter brought down lots of debris; this was picked up and removed from the course. The paths were edged, weeded and tidied. When golf eventually resumes and we have some normality, all the bunkers will be topped up with sand. You will also see some new shapes have been marked out on tees, approaches and fairways.   




Tees   
    

A granular slow release fertiliser was applied to the tees, this lasts for about 24 weeks giving consistent growth. The tees will receive a monthly wetting agent program throughout the season, with small doses of nutrition. With not having irrigation to the tees, the performance is very much dependant on getting rainfall. The introduction of a wetting agent program is aimed at improving the tees. Wetting agents help by making the best use of water, giving a much more even spread and reducing surface run off.            



Greens 


The greens have stood up to the winter weather really well. The percolation rates are phenomenal considering all the rainfall we have had. This is down to the continuous aeration practices that are carried out and have been carried out over the years. Also, the low organic matter content (thatch) that we have in the greens at Hexham is a big positive, as the water moves through the profile quickly. Think of thatch as a bit like a sponge it holds water. Thatch is a layer of dead or decaying roots, shoots and stems which is caused when the rate of the dead decaying organic matter from the active growing turf, exceeds the rate of decomposition. When high levels of Nitrogen, which is the main nutrient for grass growth, are put down, then thatch can be produced as excessive growth increases accumulation rates. 
     

Before the lockdown the greens were verticut aggressively twice, this removes thatch and encourages a more upright growth habit. They were then vertidrained to a depth of about 250 mm, this was then followed up by a top dress and a solid tine to a depth of about 150mm. The last procedure was brushing the sand into the profile of the greens. This maintenance does knock the greens back a little regarding performance and looks, but it is essential and is why the greens perform so well for the rest of the year.





With temperatures rising and daylight increasing, the focus on the greens becomes nutrition. Ammonium sulphate is the Nitrogen source used this time of year and this will be dripped in when conditions allow in small amounts. Seaweed which is a plant biostimulant is added to the mix as well as other nutrients. Soil temperatures and moisture readings are taken on a regular basis, allowing us to keep check on the soils of the greens. People may be mowing their lawns and noticing the longer rough grasses growing, but fine turf takes a bit longer to fully get up to speed. Some grasses on the greens can have a more yellow appearance about them, compared to other species. This is the annual meadow grass coming out of its winter dormancy and is nothing to worry about. As explained in my previous blog, annual meadow grass is a hungrier grass compared to the fine grasses (bents). A good example to see this can be seen on the 3^rd green, the left side as you play the hole is predominantly annual meadow grass and looks a bit off colour, compared to the right side which has a lot more finer grasses and looks more healthier. The left side receives very little sunlight through the winter and any rainfall runs off the bank, making this part of the green ideal for annual meadow grass to thrive.         
                      



Staff


The greenkeeping team is now back to the full complement of five following the recent appointment of Craig Johnston. Craig emigrated to the UK from New Zealand recently with his family who originate from Northumberland. He has worked on cricket grounds around Auckland for a number of years and is passionate about golf, rugby (as you might expect) and cricket. Craig has settled in well.                                               



Hope you enjoyed the update about the course. All the greenkeeping team and I look forward to seeing our members returning to Hexham Golf Club soon.  




Stay safe. 




David and the lads.