The Downs Course

Moving from the end of June into July the course has been the most consistent it has been in a long time. The greens have been true, which is pleasing to see and encouraging that the agronomy work we are doing is starting to pay off. The weather has been pretty diverse, with the irrigation system being switched off for 27 continuous days. The course has benefited from all the rain and has helped improve the definition of the golf course. As you would have seen when we did start up the irrigation system we had a few bursts around the course, one of which was under the pathway though the tunnel. If you happen to see any wet spots on the golf course, please do let us or the reception staff know.

We granular fertilised the 3rd fairway this month as it was struggling with grass density. It now has a thick sward and we sprayed a growth regulator to control the excess clippings on the fairway.

We continue to work on our sustainability on the golf course by recording species seen but also we will be adding recycling bins soon, so please use them where available.

At the end of August we will be carrying out greens maintenance on the course to improve the greens going into the later months of the year. We will be using a new machine which injects sand into the greens with minimal disturbance. This will improve the percolation rates which will improve playability especially in the winter months. We will then follow this up with a 10mm hollow core, removing more of the thatch in the greens. This again will improve drainage and improve firmness. We will also overseed with creeping bent whilst the course is shut. With all this in mind, I would like to ask members to help us with this maintenance by supplying sand for the DryJect machine, as it is a heavy process resource it will really improve the greens. We will also be continuing with our sand dusting and brushing programme to keep the greens consistent.

Please remember to repair all pitch marks on the greens and replace any divots taken.

See you on the course!

Rob Dyer, Head Greenkeeper, The Downs Course

The Park Course

We took advantage of the course being closed during the Festival of Speed to undertake some Greens Renovations. The team hollow cored the greens with a small 8mm diameter tine and then top dressed with 30 tonnes of sand.

What is it?

Hollow coring is the removal of plugs/cores from the playing surface, this can be various diameters and depths depending on how aggressive the task needs to be.

Does it need to be done?

With the volume of golf that play on our greens, the ground becomes compacted meaning drainage is less efficient and the root system becomes a lot shallower due to being starved of enough oxygen. Creating the core holes allows air, moisture and nutrients to be absorbed more easily. This task also helps the reduction of thatch.

What is thatch?

Thatch (organic layer) is a layer of grass roots, stems and debris that accumulate over a period of time. A thin layer is acceptable but too much thatch will hold water like a sponge.

Top dressing

Once the hollow cores have been cleared from the surface, sand will be brushed into the holes to replace the removed material and dilute thatch plus it will restore levels and firmness which will improve drainage and the overall quality and health of the greens profile.

We can now leave the greens to recover over the next few days allowing growth to push through the dressing.

After 10 days we applied another five tonnes of light sand dusting to fill in any imperfections.

After Festival of Speed renovations

Due to the nature of such a big event it is inevitable that some damage will accure. On the 10^th fairway, renovations started as soon as the breakdown was finished.

See you on the course!

Simon Berry, Head Greenkeeper, The Park Course