The Downs Course

I’d like to start with a thank you to all the members abiding by the rules and restrictions and staying clear of the golf course. I know it must be tough to stay away, however it does reduce the risk to the green staff and operation teams. That said, we all look forward to having you back on the golf course once the restrictions have been lifted.

The playing surfaces are recovering well from a busy year, with the course having in excess of 40,000 rounds on it, making it one of the busiest courses in the country! We have opened up the greens surface with a 10mm solid tine and left the holes open for a week. We would normally roll behind to keep the performance standard at an acceptable level, however we left them open to maximise vital gas exchange in the soil. The greens have also had a winter granular feed of our organic fertiliser to aid recovery of the scaring from the outbreak of disease we had in the autumn months of 2020. Grass has started to grow inside the scars, meaning it is in its recovery stage, which is pleasing to see. We will continue our aeration programme on a monthly basis throughout the year at various depths, to avoid panning of the soil. Soil samples will be taken in late January, to allow us to see what progress we are making with our organic fertiliser programme. We will also be taking thatch samples, so we have a benchmark, with the aim to reduce this over the upcoming years.

The tee’s have been verti-drained and had a full divot to encourage the sward density. The 5th tee has been rotavated, levelled and re-laid with new turf. While completing this project we discovered that during the construction in 2004, there was not enough root zone installed, hence why the tee lays so wet. Now we know this, we can look at a different approach in the future to help aid the problems we have on that teeing complex.

As I am on problem areas, the 18th fairway aeration has worked extremely well. This year we will look at doing it earlier, so we can reduce the compaction levels before it gets too wet. We will also be over-seeding the fairway throughout the year to increase the sward density, as this currently is poor. We have also had a lot of bird damage on the 7th, 10th and 14th holes whilst in this lockdown. With no golfers, the wildlife increases on the course, due to the lack of human activity.

The bunker project is ahead of schedule and when golf returns we would have completed the 14th right greenside, 16th and 17th bunkers. Deputy Head Greenkeeper, Scott Peterson, has done a great job re-shaping the bases with the digger, so that we can produce a more consistent sand level. All the team have played a part in some way with the new bunkers and have worked hard to produce a good standard of work. We decided to do all the work in house, therefore a lot more pride is taken to get them correct.

Our ecology plan is coming on well. We have planted 125 trees over the winter period, on the 2nd, 8th, 13th, and 16th. Also we have started to raise some canopies on some of the woodland areas. We have already done the 13th and left side of the 3rd. We will be looking to also raise the left side of the 5th fairway and if time allows, the right side of the 3rd hole.

Our bees are alive and well, which is pleasing to see and are in good health for this time of year.

We can't wait to see you back on the course.
Rob Dyer, Head Greenkeeper, The Downs Course

The Park Course

Sadly, the flags have had to be brought in once again with our third lockdown. With no guidelines set by our governing association and no golf distractions, we are able to work very productively with only the weather causing us any concerns. Frozen ground conditions and heavy rainfall on what was already saturated ground have given us a challenge.

Greens

The greens cutting heights have been raised to 5.5 and we are only cutting them once a week. They are in good health. We have aerated the greens using a verti-drain with 12mm tines going to the depth of 300mm to break up deep compaction, get air through the profile and aid root development and drainage. We have also put a 10mm tine across the green going to the depth of 100mm to help break up thatch and compaction in the top layer and promote root and plant health. We also put down our organic granular fertiliser which will strengthen the plant and help promotes better root development.

Tees

The tees have also received extensive aeration work with a deep verti-drain tine and a 10mm tine across the surface. They have all been divoted with a soil and seed mix on any imperfections. The tees also have been fertilised with a granular to help with recovery, enhance sward density and promote growth and root development.

Aprons

These have had a 10mm tine and have been fertilised. Once the course has dried out and we can get machinery back out, we will be creating better run off areas and getting more creative with the shapes of the aprons around the green.

Woodland Work

When the weather hasn’t allowed us to be on the course, our attention has been to continue with our woodland maintenance. As part of our ecology programme, we have been thinning out some of the wooded areas on the course which has included raising canopies, removing ivy and clearing all brambles. This has made a real difference and has created quite a feature. With light getting to the woodland floor, we hope to see the bluebells flourish. As part of our ecology plan we have started to plant more trees around the course in rough areas. The species consist of beach, oak, hazel and maple.

We look forward to seeing you out on the course soon,

Simon Berry, Head Greenkeeper, The Park Course