From tee to green ‑ May

The Downs Course                                                                          

Playing Areas

Finally some growth on the greens. We ended April with frosts and sleet showers and reached the first weekend of May with 25 degree sunshine. This was great for improving the soil temperature quickly enabling the greens to start growing at a ‘normal spring rate’ but we did have our work cut out to keep the surfaces moist. Irrigation at night and hand watering in the mornings was required as the surfaces were under a lot of stress from the heat. I would compare it to us exposing our skin to 25 degree sunshine for the first time in six months with no sun cream and wondering why we look a little red….!

With the greens sufficiently watered and with the rising soil temperatures we had a sudden flush of growth around the 10- 11of May. The fertiliser applied in April had kicked in and the whole appearance of the greens changed in a matter of days. Unfortunately, the greens became much slower for a week or so and were still not running true as the annual meadow grass was growing quicker than the bent. We applied a light sand dusting to the greens three weeks running and this has smoothed out the surfaces and brought the levels much closer together. We are now cutting the greens at a height of 3.25mm and will continue through the summer. Regular foliar and soil feed continue to be applied and this has helped keep the plant healthy and improve our root depth and strength.

The tees have also had a growth spurt and this has improved their appearance and recovery time. We continue to cut by hand as we feel this gives a better appearance. We have also seen a big improvement from less rutting on the outside edges that used to be caused by the ride on mower.

The fairways have been brushed and cut at the start of the month. This task stands the grass upright and allows us to get a cleaner cut. It also stands up any stalks that are on the fairways and we can cut these down using a rotary mower then follow with the regular fairway mowers. Once again the sudden growth has seen days where the fairways are a little longer than we’d like but we are slowly getting them back down tight.

The natural areas that were treated in April have looked a little sorry for themselves but the fescue is now flourishing and has given the course its definition again. We have also seen a large increase in cowslips and purple orchids this year especially in areas we cleared out in the winter. The oxide daisies that frame the tunnel pathway are now starting to flower and will look stunning in the next couple of weeks.

Projects

We have spent many hours spraying areas with selective weed killer. We needed to hit the daisies, dandelions and buttercups on the playing areas. The natural areas have been left so the wildlife can enjoy these flowers.

All the tees have been drilled with seed to improve the grass coverage. We hope to see some big improvements to tees such as 4^th and 5^th yellows which get very worn through the winter and into spring.

Worn/dry areas on the aprons have been solid tinned and dressed with a root zone & fescue seed mix. These areas get very stressed during hot conditions due to the shallow depth of soil before reaching the chalk base. The roots have minimal growing conditions so they dry out very quickly. These areas will continue to be hand watered.

Current Conditions

All the bunkers are now in play. The new bunkers and turfed areas look amazing and have grown in really well. Sand levels will continue to be checked on a regular basis to ensure the correct depth in all bunkers.

The greens are rolling well and are getting better every week. The start of June sees us undertaking our second maintenance of the year but with the poor performance of the greens to date this will only be a light operation to allow us to overseed with velvet bent and remove some thatch from the top 10mm of the profile. Recovery should be very quick and with some big competitions coming up they should perform very well.

Andy Brown
Head Greenkeeper

The Park Course

Playing Areas 

The soil temperatures on the course have increased due to May’s warm weather. It seems like the spring flush albeit four weeks late has finally hit. It’s great to get some definition and the course looks an absolute picture this time of year, but it’s not without its problems.

We have increased our cutting programme to keep on top of the rate of growth. Sometimes it is more beneficial to cut surrounds and semi-rough in the afternoon rather than dewy mornings so we can get a dry cut to avoid excess grass clippings. We have continued with our folia feeds which result in the greens having a more uniform growth and consistent conditions. Folia feeds are absorbed rapidly by the plant so the turf gets the nutrients it needs quickly and efficiently.

A light greens maintenance took place middle of May and this included sorrel rolling which is a small tine into the surface of the green which aerates the surface and also gives us little seed plots for our colonial bent grass to germinate in. Our over seeding programme in time will out compete the poa annua that invades the turf. The poa species is not an ideal grass type, it is shallow rooting and has a coarse leaf which produces seed heads which are unsightly and can reduce green speeds.

A light sand top dressing was applied and brushed into the surface the benefits to the green is to keep the surface rolling true, firm and fast. As well as reduce compaction and increase the efficiency of fertilizers.

All areas on the course have received an application of selective herbicide to keep the course weed free.

Projects

The Historic wall alongside the 14^th, 15^th,17^th and 18^th has received some well needed maintenance. In recent years the growth of brambles and unwanted shrubs have made the area very unsightly. The first task was to hire in a hedge cutter to deal with the brambles along the top edge, this will be kept clear through the playing season and during the winter months where we will start to remove the larger shrubs.

All in all, I am pleased with the condition of the course, the greens are improving after the inconsistent growth and with the mowing heights being reduced to 3.25mm and regular brushing we are confident the speeds will increase.

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

Simon Berry
Head Greenkeeper Park Course