The season has started :-)

You may have noticed out on the golf course there is a hive of activity from the greenkeepers at the moment. This is because it's that time of year when we are trying to finish all those winter jobs off our snag list, we are setting up for the season ahead and the golf course is starting to grow like crazy. 

Now don't get me wrong we are busy all year round but this is a transition phase and all transition phases make it feels like we have millions of jobs being done all over the place. 

It's been great seeing the golf course come back to life and to see the work carried out through the winter taking shape. 

Greens 

The greens are performing fantastically well considering the winter. Our latest visit from course agronomist went well with a Phillip Armitage testing the greens for agronomic and playability performance. We still have work to do to increase infiltration and percolation rates on one or two of the greens but the OM levels are down to a good level. Firmness was good, speeds over 10ft were just where we want them at this time of year. Moisture levels were pretty consistent over the majority of the greens with one two localised areas need some work. 

Phillip was very happy with the greens performance and we will carry on with our micro managing of individual greens with regard to their make up to give us a consistent performance across all 20 greens. 

We looked at the 12th green which doesn't perform as we want it to during very wet periods. If you look at the two soil samples below one from the front of the green and one from the back. 

You will see a distinct clay layer (the old green make up) at two different spots one at 120mm the other 180mm. 

The rest of the profile is made up of top dressing and rootzones added to the greens over the years (the top four inches work well on both), but the difference between the two causes the green at the back (shallower rootzone) to get wet quicker. This is caused by the clay soil profile slowing down the water going through the profile and it's nearer the top compared to the front. This is when we get that line of two half's through the green. This will be addressed as we look to even up the flow of water through the green. This us just one example of the things we look at on our way round during a visit. We like to share ideas on how to correct any issues. 

Back to the daily greens work. Cutting, brushing and rolling have increased with the warmer weather.  

Light top dressing have been the order of the month plus alot over seeding of small areas ( pitch mark damage etc) see photo above of light dressing and bent seed (looks white). 

We have now applied over 67 tonnes to the greens already this year. 

When over seeding we spike/slit the area (see below) as the seed must have soil contact and be set a certain depths. This is why we use a rootzone in a divot mix rather that just adding seed. We could just add seed but would have to open the surface up first with little holes or slits. These jobs are done by hand and are very time consuming. 

Also weekly venting or aeration of the surface have been carried out, along with a light Verti cut to help smooth the surfaces. 

We are now liquid / folliar feeding as this helps us keep growth rates at a manageable level. 

Bunkers

Topping up the old fashioned way! 

Firming in before raking

Topping of bunkers has been carried out. Extra sand has been added to those that need it, to bring them in line with the others. We used over 40 tonnes of sand. We will be giving a final top up in the coming weeks. 

The new tees 

The new tees opened for the captains qualifier with additional works being carried around the tees. This included lifting of trees now that they have come out in leaf. Doing these final touches allows us to take out only the essential limbs of trees effecting ball flights or sun light. 

The tees all got another top dressing to help smooth them out and help break down organic matter. 

Other works included changing rotten sleeper steps and then astro turfing. Replacing the yardage stones and adding our new course furniture to the tees. 

Bits and pieces 

The course has been sprayed with a selective weed killer. 

Disc seeding has been carried out to areas of rough and all the tees. The grass species used varied from area but mostly dwarf rye, fescue and bent mixes. 

Tree stumps have been dug out and soil and seeded in the roughs. 

Clearing the piles of wood shreddings from the winter has also been done. These were moved into woodland areas and used as a mulch.

Our old course furniture has been replaced with new flags, pins and markers. We might even see the odd marker post for fairway lines added in the coming weeks !!!! 

Worn areas around the golf course have been rotavated, soil and seed added. These were then pressed down to dim the grounds up. 

Within days some of the seed has started to come through (let's hope the weather is kind and it continues). 

The mound to the left of the 18th has never quite sat right since we built it during the chipping green construction. The plan was the bank would protect golfers on the chipping area. David Wilton our pro found it hard to see people on the chipping area but found the mound didn't protect as planned. It was decided to reduce the height and shape with a more natural shape. This improved the line of sight for the pro, he can now see and shout should he need to during a lesson! 

This area was stone buried and over seeded with fescue. 

Once the grass sward come up this will be cut when required bit should make a huge difference to presentation of the hole. 

We also had a visit from a Health and safety consultant. He looked at various areas including the nets. All of which he was very happy with. 

We only 18mm of rain in April (so much for April showers) but on the 1st May we had 18mm overnight! That's the british weather for you :-) 

I hope this explains just some of the jobs that have been getting done lately during what seems to have been an endless four day week period (which I don't like) but the greenstaff have been putting extra hours to help get the work complete. I would like to thank them for their efforts. 

 

The golf season is underway, I hope you enjoy it !

Matt