The Downs Course

As we come to the end of the month I think the extreme weather we have had this month is worth a noticeable mention. We have had just over 10 inches of rainfall so far this month. To put this into context we have now shut The Downs Course five times this month due to the amount of flooding the course has had. From memory we have only shut the course due to flooding five times in the past seven years. This just shows how weather patterns are changing and become more extreme in recent years. However, where the course struggled in the summer with holding moisture in the drought, it now comes into its own when coping with the amount of rain we have had. The chalk profile really does help with moving the water through the profile. Although this helps, we still struggle with pinch points and areas which get worn quickly in wetter conditions. Therefore please follow traffic management and go around the post and rope we have put out. This will really benefit the golf course in the next playing season.

We had a fairly bad disease outbreak at the start of the month, however, this was checked. We then applied a tank mix of seaweed, iron and carbohydrates to recover the greens which worked really well and currently have minimal scarring. We will keep up with our disease prevention programme and hopefully go into the New Year relatively disease free.

We will also verti-drain the greens using a deep tine in the upcoming months, followed by a smaller needle tine to help move water through the profile and create air space for the greens to dry and encourage root development whilst the weather is still warm(ish!).

All the playing surfaces got fed last month with granular fertiliser going down on Tees, Aprons and selective fairways. All the fairways got a liquid feed to help aid in recovery. Although we are still struggling with some fairways, the 4th and 7th for example, we will look to carry out decompaction in some form in the near future.

In the upcoming months we will look to cut down and remove the natural rough to a height of six inches. This is being done a bit later than normal, however, it has been a lot thinner this year allowing us to do this.

We will also look to recover the 11th bunker faces as they are very unsightly and have not recovered from the damage in the summer. We will decompact, re-seed and feed these areas, then add a grow cover to establish the seed, hopefully before the weather turns too cold. These bunkers will possibly come out of play, depending of the severity of the work.

Look forward to seeing you on the course!

Rob Dyer, Head Greenkeeper, The Downs Course

As you can imagine it’s been a tough month with the weather down The Park this month, as we have recorded over 10 inches of rain so far. We have had to close a few times, as the amount of rain we have received made the course unplayable. However, the main playing surfaces have remained pretty firm throughout the course, showing that our cultural practices are working well.

The greens are disease free and are in great condition. We look to continue with our preventive disease programme throughout the winter and aim to keep the greens as disease free as possible over the next few months. This month the greens received a deep verti-drain with 12mm tines going 200mm into the greens profile, followed by a 10mm tine to a depth of 75mm to aid in water movement, decompaction and increase gas exchange in the soil. We will do this a few more times over the winter months to continue to improve the greens.

Fairways have been aerated using a slitter, and from previous years we have seen a significant improvement this season in the quality of the playing surface. They are more consistent in sward density and firmer than in previous years. We will continue to use this programme throughout the winter months to keep improving the turf.

Most of the long rough areas have been cut and collected. So we are now concentrating on flailing in the woodland copses, as part of the courses ecology programme. Also the right side copse on the 3rd has been thinned by our forestry team, removing any dead, damaged and diseased trees and limbs. This will be cleared up once we can get heavy machinery back on the course.

Look forward to seeing you on the course!

Simon Berry, Head Greenkeeper, The Park Course