Greens Update - Oct 2024
The course has been standing up to the recent wet weather not too bad at all, however the last few days has seen a definite turn for the worse with two inches of rain falling in the first week of October. (And since writing that, on Wednesday we experienced two inches in a day! 24mm fell during our time at work, and after we left, a further 24mm fell in the evening and overnight). So the ground has become softer, but the soil temperatures are still up, meaning the grass is still growing especially the outfield areas.
It has been very difficult since Wednesday to cut any large areas of the golf course, but we did try and cut as much of the course on Monday and Tuesday. Unfortunately, with the strong growth for October it dies mean that the golf course presentation levels are not as we would like, but it is very understandable this week. We would rather err on the side of caution, than have machinery stuck or make a mess trying.
It has been nice to hear some positive feedback from the members regarding the greens recently, testament to the hard work that goes in to trying to create the best possible surfaces. In recent weeks we have been trying out demo mowers from a couple of dealers, and this has clearly helped. I think due to this the height of cut has been slightly lower than where we would normally have it for this time of year, but with decent growth they are performing well.
Some areas of certain greens are still a bit weak and so they will receive extra nutrition next week, in a bid to make them all more consistent in appearance. Worm casts are a real problem for the whole of the sportsturf industry and we are no different. They are all over the tees, fairways, surrounds and the greens do have their fair share. There is no effective chemical control anymore, however we are looking into some other methods to hopefully help with our situation.
The handmowers have been sharpened during this bad weather week and the greens were cut with them today (Friday). The height of cut has been raised by half a millimetre, and so the pace will slow up a touch, especially after all that rain. These mowers will be used to cut greens, tees and approaches, when it is not fit for the triple mowers to safely travel around the course. Next week we will work on the tees, approaches and collars to improve playability.
The old winter tee at the second has had a revamp. Last winter the old tee was dropped in height and enlarged. With the success of the wildflower area between the two tees, a new grass tee has been laid which can be used to give an alternative drive to the hole. It has also been lowered with a maintenance friendly slope at the front, removing the need for steps. A larger synthetic tee will be constructed at the back of this new tee, giving extra length as suggested by the STRI in their most recent visit.
The steps at the 7th tee have been removed, as several members had commented on how slippy they were, as well as always becoming full of weeds and looking untidy. Some old material taken for last year’s bunker project has been used to create a slope down to the path, so that the tee is safely accessible for all. A wooden curved edge will be installed so that the turf and path edge are separated. Also the path to the 7th tee has been edged all the way along to the side of the 6th green. We will now expose the drain on the path so we can install some gully pots to take away excess rainfall, before any future path material is added.
