Greens Report
Greens Report October 2021
I am pleased to report that the excellent condition of the greens that I reported in July has continued and we have now had high quality greens throughout the season. This has been due to the success of the early season treatment and good green keeping during this period. Recent treatment has been the application of fertiliser and fungicide. We recently had an attack of fusarium which was promptly treated and did not cause a great deal of damage but due to the climatic conditions we can expect further attacks. You can apply fungicide for two reasons, one of which is to kill off an infestation once it has become apparent. The other is to apply the treatment when there is no apparent attack so that you can kill off the spores before they germinate. That is the purpose of the recent treatment so we will see if it largely prevents the appearance of disease over the next few months.
The Autumn treatment is due to begin on the 18th of October when we will see over 10 million cores taken out of our greens. This will be followed by over seeding and then the application of 45 tonnes of top dressing. This essential treatment is designed to ensure the quality of the greens throughout the winter and hopefully if the weather remains mild the disruption will be minimal. The purpose of the treatment is to relieve compaction, promote soil aeration and gradually improve the grasses present on the greens. It is important that this treatment is carried out when the conditions are not too dry and the temperature remains moderate. Probably the best time for the treatment would be September when conditions are most favourable and in the future the intention is to reserve a week in the diary during that month to carry it out.
Following the greens treatment there is to be extensive work carried out on the rough. Starting on the 1st of November all the rough is to flailed and then the cuttings collected from the areas of rough that are mostly in play. This will cause some disruption as during the flailing golf balls will be ejected from the cutter at great speed which could cause a hazard and areas will have to be closed during the procedure. The objective of this work is to gradually remove the course grasses from the rough and over time we hope to see less dense and wispier rough which should make finding balls easier and shot execution less onerous. Clearly the treatment will have to be repeated over the next few years for its effect to be seen but it is a clear demonstration of the commitment to continually improve the course.
Many of you will have seen contractors on the course working on the irrigation system. The first phase of this work is complete and we now have a fully functional pumping system. This has involved reconditioning two of the three pumps, installing an effective pressure release system and synchronising the pumps so that they can work as a team. More recent work has been on the evaluation of the control hardware to move towards the reinstatement of the automatic operation of the system. They have now established where all the faults lie so the next stage will be to replace faulty hardware and controllers. We can still expect further issues once the system is brought back into operation but we are now much closer to having a fully operational automatic system.
The work on the fairways has continued with several applications of growth regulator completed during the season. The objective is to increase the density of the growth and encourage better grass coverage. The initial signs are encouraging, as we can see better growth on the fairways, but in order to be fully effective further applications will be necessary next year.
The use of divot bags is slowly expanding and there are now 35 bags in circulation, which will have a positive impact on the course. My thanks go to the members who are participating but it is still disappointing that the majority of members seem to be reluctant to help in the improvement of the course. Hopefully with some peer group pressure we can expand the use of the bags and see a real impact on the condition of our fairways.
The Autumn treatment is due to begin on the 18th of October when we will see over 10 million cores taken out of our greens. This will be followed by over seeding and then the application of 45 tonnes of top dressing. This essential treatment is designed to ensure the quality of the greens throughout the winter and hopefully if the weather remains mild the disruption will be minimal. The purpose of the treatment is to relieve compaction, promote soil aeration and gradually improve the grasses present on the greens. It is important that this treatment is carried out when the conditions are not too dry and the temperature remains moderate. Probably the best time for the treatment would be September when conditions are most favourable and in the future the intention is to reserve a week in the diary during that month to carry it out.
Following the greens treatment there is to be extensive work carried out on the rough. Starting on the 1st of November all the rough is to flailed and then the cuttings collected from the areas of rough that are mostly in play. This will cause some disruption as during the flailing golf balls will be ejected from the cutter at great speed which could cause a hazard and areas will have to be closed during the procedure. The objective of this work is to gradually remove the course grasses from the rough and over time we hope to see less dense and wispier rough which should make finding balls easier and shot execution less onerous. Clearly the treatment will have to be repeated over the next few years for its effect to be seen but it is a clear demonstration of the commitment to continually improve the course.
Many of you will have seen contractors on the course working on the irrigation system. The first phase of this work is complete and we now have a fully functional pumping system. This has involved reconditioning two of the three pumps, installing an effective pressure release system and synchronising the pumps so that they can work as a team. More recent work has been on the evaluation of the control hardware to move towards the reinstatement of the automatic operation of the system. They have now established where all the faults lie so the next stage will be to replace faulty hardware and controllers. We can still expect further issues once the system is brought back into operation but we are now much closer to having a fully operational automatic system.
The work on the fairways has continued with several applications of growth regulator completed during the season. The objective is to increase the density of the growth and encourage better grass coverage. The initial signs are encouraging, as we can see better growth on the fairways, but in order to be fully effective further applications will be necessary next year.
The use of divot bags is slowly expanding and there are now 35 bags in circulation, which will have a positive impact on the course. My thanks go to the members who are participating but it is still disappointing that the majority of members seem to be reluctant to help in the improvement of the course. Hopefully with some peer group pressure we can expand the use of the bags and see a real impact on the condition of our fairways.