From Tee to Green ‑ January

The Downs Course

Playing Areas

Hard frosts, fog, snow, ice and some beautiful sunny days have greeted us for much of the month. Unfortunately, it has meant there have been many days when we have been unable to carry out any work on the playing areas. The greens were frozen solid for 9 days in the middle of the month, during this time we were unable to even change holes. We have had 3 fog delays with one day seeing no play at all, these days are frustrating for everyone but please do be patient as it is for your own safety why play is suspended.

With the temperatures picking up towards the end of the month we were able to cut, roll and spray a soil feed on the greens whilst also cutting the tees, aprons and fairways. The tees will be solid tinned early in February to relieve compaction and improve oxygen availability in the soil.

Weather dependant, we will continue with our foliar and soil feeds on the greens throughout February. We will also verti-drain all the greens again using 10mm tines so disruption to play will be minimal. It’s really important at this time of the year to get aeration work done when possible. It will help keep the greens draining freely during rainfall, help to keep the plant healthy by allowing oxygen into the profile of the green and gives the roots a deeper channel to grow into. The deeper the roots can go the stronger the plant will be.

We have trialled some different techniques for raking bunkers. When the sand is damp we have smooth raked the whole bunker then tine raked the centres. This has improved presentation whilst still allowing the ball to roll off the banks and into the centre of the bunkers. 

Projects

The contractors returned on the 4^th of January to complete the bunker renovation work. The 12^th hole was the only hole to finish and due to the dry conditions the job was done in just over two weeks. The standard of work looks exceptional, please reframe from walking on the newly turfed areas as these areas will be very soft and will cause unnecessary repair work. Please note that the 12^th hole will be out of play now until the spring. Once the turf had knitted in and is strong enough for play the hole will reopen.

We have started to turf many of the worn path edges. Areas such as alongside the path leading to the 8^th tees and alongside the path by the 9^th tees have been completed. Some of the other worn corners will be dug out, cemented and painted to create our rumble strip effect.

The escarpment bank has been cleared for the 2^nd winter in a row. The self-planting ash and dogwood have been bladed down and raked away along with the brambles that had re-established. This will start to create a much tidier area with wild flowers.

During the cold spell we have started our woodland clearance work. Some birch trees have removed from left of the 5^th green to improve air flow. We have removed some small pine and ash trees from between the 4^th green and 5^th tees. There are still a couple bigger pine trees to be removed from this area to improve sunlight and air flow to the tees. We will also be working along the left-hand side of the 5^th hole removing ash and raising the canopy of the silver birch.

Current Conditions

The course continues to play well with only a few areas starting to look worn from traffic. The aeration work on the greens will see greens such as the 1^st continue to improve. The 17^th green continues to strengthen so we hope to get this green back in play very soon. We will start by bringing it back into play three days a week, once we are happy the newly turfed area at the front of the green and the surrounding areas are strong enough it will be back in play full time.

Please follow any traffic management signs and keep off the new turf around the bunkers as these areas are still being damaged. The edges are not strong enough yet to take the weight of an adult so please keep off these areas and use the ball retrievers provided.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your support and feedback over the past 12 years as I move on to a new challenge in my career. It has been an honour working on the Downs Course and I know the team will continue to deliver an excellent course for you all in the future.

Kind regards,

Andy Brown, Head Greenkeeper Downs Course.

The Park Course

The Course

All our attention has now focused on our woodland maintenance programme due to the turn in the recent weather conditions. The team are busy thinning out copses and raising all the tree canopies around the course which has allowed better air movement and light to the surface enabling better grass coverage. This work has given the course a real face lift.

At the end of the month we were able to pencil tine the greens which will allow oxygen into the profile. We have kept up with our soil and folia feeds to aid turf density and root strength.

When ground conditions allow, our focus will be once again turn to course presentation putting more definition and character back into the course with our various mowing regimes.

Away from the day to day running of the golf course the team took the opportunity to enhance their knowledge and to understand best practices and techniques in attending B.T.M.E. (British Turf Management Exhibition), attending various seminars including a Leadership talk by our Manager Phil Helmn.

In recent weeks, it has been noticeable that unrepaired pitch marks have got a lot worse! So, when your ball kicks off line or jumps in the air it’s not always the greenkeepers fault. So please repair your pitch marks.  

Kind regards,

Simon Berry, Head Greenkeeper Park Course.