From tee to green ‑ February

The Downs Course

Playing Areas

On the whole the playing areas have been ok during the month. More heavy rain, some frosty mornings and Storm Imogen have kept us on our toes. Thankfully the Storm didn’t cause too much damage other than a couple of fallen limbs.

The greens continue to be cut or rolled two to three times a week. We’ve even managed to get the greens iron out when the weather has allowed. This has resulted in smoother, faster greens for a few days. We have sprayed both a Foliar & Soil feed this month. The foliar feed aids the plant leaf during the cold/wet weather and keeps the plant healthy. We also use a product in the foliar feed that improves the density of the grass which helps reduce the scar damage and allows the greens to take the wear and tear that occurs when the course is busy. The soil feed is sprayed after light aeration takes place to allow the product to reach the profile of the green quicker. These products along with our aeration work help us to keep the roots and sub surface healthy, improve drainage and keep the greens as firm as possible going into the spring.

The fairway growth has slowed right down now thanks to the occasional overnight frost. On the main they are holding up well for this time of the year and with the grass coverage still good we are very confident of producing excellent surfaces in the spring. 

Due to remarkable four day stint with no rain early in the month we were able to get the majority of the Semi Rough cut for the first time in two months. Hopefully this has made your game more enjoyable when you have strayed from the fairways. Areas of the Fairways and Semi Rough have continued to be damaged by Badgers but fingers crossed this is coming to an end now with colder night time temperatures. 

The majority of the Tees continue to hold up well with the exception of the 4th, 5th & 6th Tees which have caused us some issues. Our main problem on these holes is the lack of space on and around these Tees to move traffic. We will continue to aerate and overseed these Tees as we approach spring. We will also spray Iron on the Tee surfaces in the next 5-10 days to improve the strength of the plant and kill of the moss that has appeared on the Tees that receive less foot traffic. 

Projects

The area to left of the 11th green has been strimmed and the canopy raised. The bramble was removed and the ivy stripped off the trees. This area now looks much better allowing more air flow through and enabling new growth to flourish.   

Continuing from there we have now also cleared along the pathway running down the right hand side of the 12th hole. This area had become overgrown with brambles, ivy and elder trees. With the removal of these we have now exposed the holly, brush and yew trees which are much easier on the eye. The air flow and light through this area should help improve the walk on area by the tee which notoriously sits very wet.  

Our final strimming project of the month was to clear the rough and cut back the hawthorn trees to the left of the 3rd tees. Like many of the other areas this had become overgrown and the trees had started to encroach on play from the White and Silver tees. We have also removed the front row of dogwood which run parallel with the path by the red tees. This will enable players with a buggy to have more room when driving along the path and ladies more room to get out of a buggy when pulling up alongside the tee.  

Escarpment Clearing. This was a big job for us as it has to be carried out by hand because of the severe slope. All the self-planting trees and shrubs have been removed and the area is now ready for treating in the spring. We will spray weedkiller to kill the docks, plantains & bramble roots. Then once the area has died off we will overseed with a wild flower/fescue mix. This should add more colour to this area and will look great in the summer months. 

The fairway bunker on the right hand side of the 15th is now back in play. The base of the bunker needed to be dug out using a mini digger to get the levels back to a dish shape. We then laid upside down turf to act as our base, this will stop chalk coming through into the sand and also retain some moisture for the sand to hold on to. Sand was then added to a depth of 1.5” on the face and 2” in the centre of the bunker.

Current Conditions

A dry week to finish the month has really made a difference. Buggies have been back on all 18 holes now for the first time in many weeks. With Easter only three weeks away and the competition season soon to hit full flow we are in a pretty good position with regards to the playing areas. Some more dry weather with temperatures starting the rise throughout March would be ideal. In the meantime please continue to follow all traffic management signs. This really does help spread the wear and tear of the traffic around the worst worn areas.

Andy Brown,  Head Greenkeeper.

The Park Course

Playing Areas

Finally, a couple of dry days opened a small window to put some character and definition back into the Park Course. Fairways, Tees, Aprons and surrounds were all cut and most of the semi-rough could be tidied up, which was pleasing after weeks of frustration. Light bunker maintenance continues with keeping neatness across the course, carrying out flymo-ing and edging to improve tidiness.

Greens continued to be worked on with hand cutting two to three times a week and when conditions allowed we were able to put the turf iron across the greens to improve speed and trueness.

Projects 

Aeration work is a must through the year on all our surfaces and due to the very wet ground conditions we opted for slit tining our greens, tees and aprons. This process has many advantages. The main one being it’s light so not to disrupt the surface. With a slit going up to 6” deep to break up soil compaction and provides optimal conditions for a healthy root growth it also increases air movement within the soil and cuts through lateral root growth promoting more growth.

When the weather allows, we continue with both our soil and foliar feeds on the greens. The foliar feed helps the growth, density and enhances resistance to stresses through the winter months. The soil feed provides multiple benefits most importantly the availability of nutrients in the soil to improve conditions for root growth.

Storm Imogen kept us on our toes with some time taken up with clearing branches and debris, but thankfully no trees suffered.

Our woodland work around the course has finally come to an end with the results there for everyone to see. A fantastic ground covering of the early bluebells and snow drops making an appearance. The past fortnight has seen the snow drops showing nicely and through the cleared woodland is an early sign of what a wonderful carpet of colour we can look forward to seeing in the coming months.

Hopefully the worst of the wet weather is behind us and we can start to look forward to longer, dryer days with more golf to be played. Please continue to follow all traffic management signs and remember to repair your pitch marks.

Simon Berry, The Park Head Greenkeeper