Greens Update - September 2023
Hi everyone!
Finally we have some nice sunny weather to enjoy, after most of the summer was a complete washout! Both July and August had 18 days of rain in each month, which with warm and humid conditions has meant the grass growth has been very strong throughout. It has been tough to keep on top of it, especially when we have tired machinery, some of which breaks down on a regular basis. I have had a few comments about certain areas of the course and so hopefully this report will address the issues a little further.
The staff have been flat out trying to keep the course cut and this means that quite often other areas of the course do not receive the care and attention that they should, especially when short staffed for a large period of the summer. The bunkers are a prime example. Bunkers, paths, trees and out of general play areas are the main talking point at most golf clubs, and we are no different.
In terms of cutting, from the start of the season until now, we have dedicated 92% of our time to the main cutting areas of the course, greens, tees, rough etc, including aeration. The bunkers have received a further 3.5% of our time, equivalent to about 10% of the time on greens. They are an integral part of the golf course, however they are an area which take a huge amount of resource to keep in the best possible condition.
They are an area of the course that change their characteristics on a daily basis, and need constant attention if we are to have good quality bunkers. Playability changes if the bunkers are dry or wet, some have more sand than others, some have loads of sand at the back and very little at the front, and the sand in the bunkers is so contaminated after years of raking, weather damage, and soil and silt ingress from below. The only bunkers that have original “bunker sand” in are the ones which contain a liner, such as the 3rd and 7th greensides. Take a look next time you play and look at the difference in colour, consistency and playability of these bunkers compared to others.
So how are we to improve the bunkers? Well the obvious answer is to spend more time and resources in them. We can do that - but it will obviously mean that some other areas of the course may take a step back while we commit effort to them. But I understand that the bunkers are currently in very poor condition and I can only apologise for that and we will as staff try and make them better over the coming period of time, however it is not a quick turn around, especially with all the other work to be carried out.
We are going to look at the way the bunkers are raked, how often they are raked and weeded. How often the sand is moved around in the bunker, and how much we need of new sand to make their playability better for everyone. This process has already started with all the bunkers being sprayed with weedkiller. This takes a little time to process through the weeds and so the bunkers were not raked straight behind, as that would mean the work boots would have been contaminated and could have spread to other areas.
The fairway bunkers have been made GUR for a very short period while we work on them, as they are the worst ones on the whole course. They will be worked on asap and brought up to speed very quickly.
For the future I believe the club must look at a bunker improvement plan, which may involve full to part reconstruction, and the introduction of a liner and drainage system so that bunker sand is not contaminated like present. Liners come in different materials these days, with a better version of the old liner that’s in the 3rd bunkers, also a concrete liner, a rubber crumb type and a plastic Astro turf type. These all have their positive and negative points, and they will be investigated over the coming period to fully appreciate the cost which would be needed should the club want to invest in the future. This would have to take place over several years, but the end result would mean that a lot of the complaints we are currently hearing about will reduce over time.
Another area of concern is the paths around the course and again serious investment would be needed to bring them up to speed for the long term future of the paths. It is clear that small path material on slopes and torrential rain do not mix and so other options are being looked at to see what options the club has to take the paths forward. Again, there are different types of path, rubber crumb, resin, concrete etc and they all need to be evaluated moving forward so we can decide which way we want to go. As part of the winter plan in the short term, we are going to try and work on the paths as much as we can.
In terms of the main golf course, an area of concern for some members is the height of cut on the various areas, such as tees, approaches and fairways. On this point I would ask, what height of cut do you want? What height of cut is normal for tees and fairways? Some courses cut tees at 7mm, others at 14mm. Some courses cut fairways at 10mm, others 18mm etc. Some golfers prefer more grass for the ball to sit on so they can hit woods better, other golfers prefer much tighter lies so they can hit their ball more crisply off the turf. What height of cut we set the mowers at, and what the height of cut is out on the course is totally different.
The biggest concern for me on this topic is the quality of cut in these areas. A sharp mower cutting blade provides a much better cut, a healthier cut and a better presented golf course. However, at the moment as we come towards the back end of the playing season, many of the blades on the mowers are rather blunt and in need of sharpening. What we are finding is that if we set the height of cut on fairways to 14mm for example, the mower is ripping the turf rather than cutting it, resulting in a very poor quality cut. The height is probably more like 20mm and more because of the lack of cutting quality. This has been a problem for a while, however the new set of grinding equipment will arrive in about 6 weeks time and so things can improve moving forward. Having our own equipment allows us to sharpen when we want, as often as we want. This equipment, for many years to come, will mean that our surfaces will be presented much better.
We will continue to work hard to present the golf course as best we can moving forward, despite the challenges we face with machinery and the good old fashioned summer weather!
