Tee To Green August

The Downs course

Firstly, it’s nice to see the course still green at this time of year. The playing surfaces continue to improve in playability and health, which go hand in hand and we are seeing the benefits of the new feed programs across greens, aprons, fairways and tees. We have also started adding cold pressed seaweed into all our tank mixes which we see and this has had a huge impact on the health of the plant, especially in dry stressful times, where we have managed to keep areas alive and reduce burn off. We have had some burn off on greens and collars towards the end of the month, this was mainly due to the irrigation system not working correctly, with the electrical side of it causing problems. 
Next month we will look to get an organic granular feed out on the aprons, tees and bunkers to improve grass density and colour.

The greens continue to be consistent and are averaging 9.4 to 10.0 on the stimp meter throughout the month. However, we have seen the greens slow in the afternoon as we continue with a higher growth rate than normal for this time of year. We have increased our plant growth regulator rates slightly, but the grass is growing so quickly it seems to get removed from the plant within a week by cutting on a daily basis. These are things we just need to tweak in the future to get the desired longevity of the product. The greens are 100% true when we record the date in the morning, which for me is the most important factor when recording Key Performance Indicator data. Moisture movement is also key, but with our higher than average thatch levels, water takes more time to move through the top 20mm of the greens profile than required. This is improving with our bi-weekly sand dustings, however we still need to carry out cultural practices to reduce these levels.

All bunkers have now been topped up at least once since the spring and we have added over 110 tonnes this year to improve levels. Stones and chalk are still an issue, as our bunkers do not have a lining in them and when constructed we used upside down turf, which is a living product and degrades over time. This is something we need to address in the future, however its not an over night fix. When we remove any stones etc, they normally re-appear again in a few weeks with raking and sand movement by wind and wash down.
The natural long rough areas have produced a variety of wild flowers this year and the ecology value is very impressive. You can hear all the sounds of the insects in these as you walk past them and the amount of moths and butterflies that come out when you walk through it is pleasing to see. These areas will start to get cut down at the end of September, hopefully the farm will assist in the cut and collecting of the rough and use it on the farm, however this needs to be confirmed by the farmer. If it's not suitable, then we will start cut and collecting it in house, using the Trilo collector which is shared between The Motor Circuit and the two golf courses.  

Rob Dyer, Head Greenkeeper, The Downs course

The Park course

Finally, after what seemed like months of unsettled weather, we have now had a settled period. Warm, but not overly hot, and a few scorchers in-between.

The Park course has held up well with some rain now and then, the fairways have been burning off a bit but overall, we will take this in August. The Festival of Speed areas have recovered well during the month with a lot of man hours and water gone into repairing these areas as well as keeping the course in good condition. Car parking areas on the 3^rd and 12^th have recovered quickly as well as the walkways on the 14^th/17^th. The back of the 8^th green has come back great and is back in play – 4 weeks ago we had no grass there!

The 10^th fairway has come back well, with lots of water during the day – our apologies if you have been caught by one of our sprinklers, although nice and refreshing in the heat! Thank you for your patience with us whilst the hoses were out, not ideal but essential in getting these areas back to you as soon as we can. I have realised that the 10^th is a dangerous place to be with balls coming at you from not just the 10^th tee but the 9^th and 15^th as well!

The reseeding on the 10^th carry is coming through well, considering we started 4 weeks ago with no grass. Some areas on the 10^th fairway and rough have been Terra raked to remove the dead grass – a process that could not have been done in the early stages after Festival of Speed as the grass would have been too weak and more damage would have occurred. We are in a good place going into the Club Championship.

During the lead-up to Club Championship week, we put plans in place to get the course in the best possible condition. The fairways and aprons were sprayed with foliar feed 2 weeks before to add some colour and ensuring it was presenting well.

Our focus of attention is Greens. We sprayed with foliar feed 2 weeks before the Club Championship, but we want the growth our before the championship. We would like the greens on the edge as that way we can get speeds up. We do not put the irrigation on leading up to the Championship to get the firmness and speed we want. The Ladies and Seniors Championship greens were stimping around 9.5 with speed increasing during the day. The rainy conditions encouraged growth so was a bit slower than we liked. On the Men’s championship day, the greens were at 10.6, for context, the greens for the Open were at 10.8 and Augusta are 13-14!

The greens were double cut and double ironed to get there for 3 days, unfortunately, something we cannot do every week and sustain as it would be too much stress on the greens. The week after the Club Championship will see us raise heights on the mower for a week, spray foliar feed and 10mm tine aeration to relieve the stress of the past week, and continue our light dressing.

The Copse had its first event since opening, with a very good turnout and we hope to see more of you enjoying the course and practice facility.

A huge credit to the team for getting the course ready for the Club Championship with their work in the run-up and everyone coming in on the weekend. We have received some lovely positive feedback and we hope that everyone enjoyed the day.

See you on the course!

Scott Peterson, Deputy Head Greenkeeper, The Park course