Woodland update

For the next post and like to offer an insight into the recent woodland management work we have been carrying out.
Let me try and explain the reasoning behind the removal of the bush on the 11th hole. To begin with the bush was actually a willow tree that had split and then regrown from the branches that had split. Overtime this has obviously been left and had grown to quite a size. Added to this there was a lot of invasive bramble that was growing in the area.
A couple of years ago we attempted to cut back & trim the area but this has since grown back more vigorously and also allowed more bramble to take hold. The decision to completely remove the split tree was taken with a couple of reasons in mind. Firstly to stop it encroaching any more onto the golf course, if left this would seriously have altered the way the hole both played and looked. The area is in need of draining and clearing the area now allows us, moving forward to drain the area more efficiently. It will also spread the wear area accessing the bridge crossing the stream.
Removing the damaged tree has also allowed to expose the cherry tree that was in the area, that can now become more of a feature for the hole.
The area will now be turfed and once the grass establishes be maintained at rough height.

In regards to the tree removal the majority of the work has been carried out to thin out copses and remove tree's with stunted stems or poor form. All our woodland management program is aimed at preserving the tree's we have at Muswell Hill that are so integral to the way the golf course looks and feels. We are aiming to sustain continuous cover of woodlands around the golf course so this means removing some tree's to allow younger, better species to grow and flourish. 

The copse to the left of the 11th tee has been worked on and cleared. We can now work on establishing grass cover in these areas whilst maintaining the tree's that are in this area.

Putting only

We've recently put into place a 'putting' only policy on the putting green I'd just like to explain the reasoning behind it. The position of the putting green is very significant at the club, with it being right in front of the clubhouse & too many the first view of the golf course they get. Recently damage has been caused by chip shots played around the putting green, both with damage to the green surrounds and pitchmarks on the green itself. With this in mind, and to protect the playing surfaces, especially during the winter a putting only policy has been introduced. The short game area is only a short walk away and is the perfect place to practice the 'money' shot's and keep the putting green for the 'big money' shot's.....
Thanks for your understanding.

The wheel's back in motion....

Writing this next blog post it occurs to me that every post so far seems to have started with a thread about the weather. Being something of a traditionalist at heart I'll continue in the same vein. So as the frosts have finally arrived & a cold snap seems to take hold its a time for the grass plants around the golf course to have something of a well earned rest. When soil & air temperatures drop below optimium growing point's, 7 degrees for air & 10 degrees for soil, the grass plant will conserve it's nutrient stock pile and won't put any other energies into leaf or root growth. This has positives that we don't need to cut as much, causing stress to the grass plants but no growth means no recovery on areas that have suffered through the winter. The recent weather patterns suggest that these cold spells in February & early March are now becoming a  permanent fixture on the 'season fixture list'. So what does this mean for the golf course? In terms of managing the playing surfaces, we are still trying to protect the playing surfaces so that when the weather improves the playing surfaces will be in better shape for the forthcoming season. We've managed to continue with some aeration work across all the surfaces, it's important this time of year to try & stimulate the soil's as this improves the plant's ability to take up nutrients present in the soil.
The recent spell of poor weather has also led to the implementation of a trolley ban. Now this is something I did as a last resort but a combination of the saturated playing surfaces & the damaged caused by trolleys being used led to the implementation of the ban. One thing I'm very conscious of as Course Manager is giving us the best possible playing surfaces around the golf course once spring arrives and limiting the wear & tear, especially around green surrounds, meant limiting the use of trolleys and the damage they cause. The decision was taken to implement a total ban as the conditions dictated even restricted use would have caused considerable damage. I appreciate for some people this meant no golf could be played, and I thank you for your understanding, and to others who have dug out there pencil bags and started carrying a thank you also. As I stated when the ban was implemented I reviewed the situation daily and reversed the decision as soon as ground conditions allowed. Hopefully the trolley ban won't be needed again this season but that will be dictated by ground conditions.
The Woodland Management work has continued throughout the golf course with thinning the out of copses been the main recent focus. This will allow for better tree specimens to thrive and help is achieve continous tree coverage with different aged strands allowed to grow & develop. Work has also been carried out reducing the height of the the tree line behind the 2nd green to allow more light onto the playing surface.
Keep a look out for the next post, here's to some dryer golf.

The Battles Of Winter......

As we enter the New Year it is a time to turn our attention's to what lies ahead and set ourselves goals & targets to aspire too. Or if your a Greenkeeper pray to whoever that it is going to stop raining soon.
As I write the first blog post of 2016 on the 11th January, 90mm of recorded rainfall has fallen onto the golf course this year. I wont lie to you, the course is struggling to cope. Fairway drains, ditches and outlets are overflowing just with the shear volume of water that is moving across the course. This level of rain has meant some days of course closures. To have to close the golf course is one of the worst feelings for a Greenkeeper, and especially for me as course manager. It is a feeling of defeat, that there must have been something else we could have done to help drain the course quicker, in this instance we have to admit mother nature has beaten us down but not defeated us. The course closures have been implemented to help minimise course damage, it's a tough call but I don't wont to cause even more damage to the playing surfaces when we have still to enter a period of cold weather with no recovery available to the surfaces. So as I have said we have suffered, not as bad as some, but progress is being made. The greens that were drained in the autumn are performing really well and the aeration & topdressing that has been carried out is helping the water move through the soil profile's quicker so we can hopefully be open, with less damage caused, that little bit quicker. The air flow round the course has been improved with the woodland management practices that we have been carrying out so that too is progress. The recent wet period has again highlighted areas that we need to tackle with more drainage. And that is what we must continue to do, install more drainage and provide playing surfaces that are able to drain quicker. So the greenstaff will be out repairing pathways, bunkers and general damage caused by the weather, but hopefully you will be able to see all this work going on because the golf course will be open.....

 

Can't see the wood' for the tree's.....

I'd like to post some information about the recent tree planting exercise that has been undertaken on the 3rd hole this week. Firstly the reasons why? This summer we have been faced with some issues of errant tee shots entering neighbouring properties on the 3rd hole. After consultation with a  Health & Safety expert, a golf course architect & members of the greens committee a number of measures have been introduced to try & help reduce & minimise the risk that these errant shots may cause.
One of the proposals was to plant more trees on the left of the hole. The thinking behind this was to try and influence the tee shot that people play off the tee. By making the left side of the hole less appealing to golfers, we can try and reduce the number of incidents of balls entering properties and potentially causing damage. Alongside the new planting we will also be removing some old silver birch tree's down the right hand side of the hole to give golfers more confidence of playing down the right. Now of course nothing can stop a bad shot, and the likelihood of balls still entering properties' remain high, due to the close proximity of the properties to the golf hole, but the club has to be seen to act in a reasonable manner and we have a duty of care not only to our neighbours but also to the members and golfers of Muswell Hill Golf Club. To not act on the incidents could ultimately end with a dramatic redesign of the golf hole with it's length being reduced.

So to the tree's that have been planted. Working with tree expert John Nicholson a selection of pines, oaks, birch and lime have been planted. Over 200 tree saplings were planted. The reason for choosing these tress was to give us the evergreen coverage with the pine, to help with some quick growing species the lime and birch and to ultimately have some oak as final specimen tree's.

One of the most important factors to remember about new plantings is that some of these tree's, potentially up to 70% of the ones planted, will be removed in time as the tree's mature and develop. This style of woodland management will give the golf course a continuous coverage of different age species and ultimately lead to the establishment of trees that will last for well over 150 years.

The work to thin out copses all across the golf course will begin, with the long term aims of providing better trees on the golf course in terms of golf strategy, tree health and preserving and enhancing environmental and wildlife habitats.      

Where's the winter?

Normally by this time of year on the golf course the mowers would be taking a well earned rest whilst we would be hard at work on our winter project's. But this year the slow down in grass growth hasn't happened yet, and although it's been very windy of late, Storm Desmond the  current 'named' force of nature to batter down on us, temperatures have been regularly above 10 degrees which means continued grass growth. A long side the wet weather we've been experiencing has made presenting the course that little bit more challenging. We've been using the handmowers a lot more, less traffic across the golf course & the cutting heights have been raised to help protect the plant going into winter. It's very important we keep the plant 'green & healthy' as environmental stress, low temperatures, reduced sunlight, increased rainfall can all lead to a weakened grass sward and at this time of year recovery is minimal. Having a healthier plant coming into the spring will give us the best possible start for next year's golfing season.
We've started some of our winter maintenance programmes, the first of the paths have been added to the 2nd, 7th & 17th and some tree work has begun around the course. Drainage has also been installed into the problem wet area in between the 16th bunkers on the right hand side of the green.
This work will carry on through the winter as will  the course presentation but with course protection a major factor in all the work we do.
Enjoy your golf. 

Back on the Greens

As I write this next chapter of the blog I'm  pleasently pleased to hopefully see a frost forming outside, I'll explain more shortly, and the fact we have been able to get 4 of the greens we drained back in play today.
The greens drainage project was completed in 15 working days with the greenstaff putting in over 930 man hours, a highly commendable effort.
Since we finished the drainage works on the greens four weeks have passed, four weeks of seasonally unwarm & wet weather that have been perfect for the greens recovery but have also been a perfect breeding ground for fungal turf disease & and meant we've had to try & catch up on the course presentation while trying to prepare the course for the onslaught of Winter. The initial period of recovery was to let the greens rest after all the work that had gone on. Then came a micro management program of liquid feeding, cutting & rolling.
The greens were handcut & rolled to help the drain lines settle in, some localised lifting will be required and works will need to be carried out in terms of topdressing & hollow coring but the greens have settled down really well. One of the most challenging aspects of the recovery was to provide an environment we're the grass plant was able to produce root's that would allow the turf to knit together & begin to take in nutrients. This was achieved by carefully managing the height of cut, when was constructive to roll and a balanced nutrient program.
We were also helped by mother nature. So thank you mother nature.
Once the final turfs were layed on the 18th green we could turn our attention to maintaining & presenting the golf  course. The warm weather that was proving so beneficial to the recovery of the drained greens meant other areas of the  course
still required cutting several times a week. And there was the small matter of the annual autumn leaf fall event that proves ever challenging. But the greenstaff have taken all this in their stride, and hopefully not too many balls were lost..!!!!
As I mentioned earlier hopefully the first signs of frost this winter will single a slow down  in growth so we can concentrate our efforts on  tidying up the  course and beginning our winter maintenance programmes.
I'd like to thank the membership for their understanding whilst we carried out the drainage works. The benefits will be there with drier putting surfaces that will enable us to produce better, more consistent surfaces throughout the year.
And as you may have noticed, all the recent rain has provided a good early test to see how the greens perform with the drainage installed, and the good news is all the outlets were flowing with water taken from the greens.
Enjoy your golf & good luck to the incoming captain's of Muswell Hill Golf Club.