Greens update
Greens Condition
As many of you may be aware, the greens are currently not at the condition or presentation levels that we are used to or require, which is very disappointing for me, and I wanted to update members on my thoughts as to the reason why, as well as communicate the plan going forward.
I have recently spoken with the STRI during their recent performance testing visit (which produced very good results indeed), as well as industry professionals about the greens, their nutritional needs, and their current condition, to make sure we forge a plan going forward. Since joining in April I have found the greens to be very hungry indeed, as they do not hold on to nutrition of any kind for too long. Products which traditionally have given a 6-8 week response, are not lasting a month etc.
Basically, once you are past the organic matter levels in the soil, you are into inert sand, which is great for free draining greens, but it’s not great for holding onto nutrition.
Crucially, not having the irrigation system up and running in the late spring for weeks on end, unfortunately weakened the Poa annual meadow grass somewhat. This biotype of grass species never really covered and has been weak all season. It wasn’t necessarily hot during that period, but it was reasonably dry and that is when I first noticed signs of the plant stressing out.
No matter what was used for nutrition, granular or liquid, nothing seemed to help long term. And, like many golf courses this season, this weakened plant developed anthracnose disease, which spread through most of the greens. The disease further weakens the plant, and despite further nutrition, only really perked up on a short-term basis. We have also applied a fungicide to tackle that disease. In order for us to be more sustainable in our nutritional programme, we need to adapt our thinking. If you think of it as weaning the greens off a diet of Red Bull and sending them down a healthier diet path.
We have now carried out our summer renovations, which were scaled back due to the weakened greens, and recovery is underway. As part of that recovery, we have taken a few steps to help them along the way.
Firstly, the height of cut has been raised from 4mm to 5mm. In theory that’s a large percentage jump, however with the new seedlings emerging after a week of germination, it is important to protect them as much as possible while they establish further. They can get a bit bobbly this time of year, especially with some weak areas, however we will try to keep it to a minimum. It also helps the fertilizer applied not to be picked up by the mower when cutting. This fertilizer went down on Monday and is slowly breaking down to give us the response needed. We have also given the greens a liquid feed with seaweed to give the new seedlings and existing turf plants a more rapid boost during this time.
We are also having our greens units resharpened. Having a sharp blade at this time of year is incredibly important as it helps fight off disease. A sharp cut will help stop the disease fungus from entering the grass plant
Some greens like the 13th look in excellent condition after all the recent work, however there are greens at the other end of the scale which visually look very poor. We will continue working on these greens to improve the situation. Further localised overseeding will take place, as well as localised aeration. As we head into Autumn, the immediate plan going further forward consists of the following.
Firstly, keeping the surfaces as dry as possible to help fight against the disease. Removing the dew early is crucial. Applying products such as seaweeds, iron and phosphite which will harden the plant against disease ingress.
With the irrigation system working as it should now on the greens, the spring should not present the same issues as this year. And plans are being put in place to use better suited nutritional products next spring, ready to load up the grass plant ready for the conditions that may greet us if we have another dry spring.
Steve Hemsley
Head Greenkeeper
