Tee to Green

The Downs Course

In June we finally had a drop of rain which helped the course a great deal. Unfortunately, 48mm of the June’s 72mm came in club championship week. Although this was much needed, the greens got a lot more water than needed. This made them slightly softer than desired, however, the speeds during the Sunday Championship were only 1” slower than the year before. 

The poa seed heads are still about, however, we have trialled a new product which stands the grass up more so the seed heads can be cut off. This has helped slightly but also foliar feeding the greens at half rate twice a month has seemed to reduce the production of seed heads from last year. We also applied 10 tonnes of topdressing to the greens at the end on the month which has increased the greens trueness and speed. In the upcoming month we will be verti-cutting the greens (removing lateral growth), overseeding with bent grass, applying 20 tonnes of topdressing and needle tine to a depth of 100mm to get air into the lower profile. The dressing will be brushed in and fertilised then applied to aid recovery, increase germination rates of the overseeding and increase the Nitrogen levels to hopefully prevent the turf disease Anthracnose from attacking the plant.

The new bunkers on the 11th are settling in well and so far we have had positive feedback from the playability side and aesthetically as well. We continue with work on the existing bunkers by moving sand daily and topping up bunkers where needed. I’m sure you can appreciate this is not an easy quick task as the sand moves on a daily basis especially in dry and windy conditions.

We have also fertilised the tees and aprons this month. This is to aid plant health and increase germination rates of any divoting carried out. We now micromanage the par 3 tees using a different fertiliser, which is more instant compared to the slow release fertiliser used on all the other tees. This is because they get worn out a lot quicker as it is only an iron shot compared to a driver. So far the recovery rate is extremely pleasing and the tees look in great condition at the moment.

The natural rough areas have also been sprayed with a selective weed killer in the worst places. Some areas were left as they have wildflowers and some great specimens of Orchids in them. With wildflowers in mind, it was nice to be able to stand on the 13th green looking towards the 14th tee and see a field of poppy’s making the ground glow red. Hopefully, you have seen this before they start to fade.

In the maintenance window, we will also aim to terra rake the fairways to cut into some of the dead areas from last year’s drought. We will then apply a trial wetting agent to try and re-hydrate the soil, apply seed and fertiliser to increase the chance of recovery. These areas will then be top dressed later in the year to level out any undulations.

Look forward to seeing you on the course,

Rob Dyer, Head Greenkeeper, The Downs Course

The Park Course

Playing Areas

The course is presenting very nicely, with green speeds being consistent stimping at 10. The month of June certainly kept us on our toes with a bit of a late spring flush, with warm temperatures and 82mm of rainfall.

Greens Maintenance

Within the next couple of weeks, the team will take full advantage of the course being closed for the Festival of Speed to carry out some essential greens maintenance. Here are the tasks that will be undertaken and what they involve:

• Scarifying – Slicing the surface in two directions on the green to the depth of 13mm. This operation removes thatch and creates a seedbed for our colonial bent seed.
• Overseeding – We broadcasted 4kg per green of colonial bent into the channels created by the scarifying. This will increase our seed bank of bent to try and compete for the annual meadow grass. 
• Sand Dressing – Once the seed has been applied, we then dress 30 tonnes of sand across all greens, the sand is drag matted into the surface. The amount will be enough to fill the channels and the tine holes, smoothing out any imperfections. 
• Solid Tines – Aerating the surface using 13mm tines going into the depth of 3”
• We expect a quick recovery. The greens are in good health and with applying a recovery fertiliser to give the greens a boost, this will help the plant push through the sand dressing.
• Double Brush Apron/Fairways – Brushing the surface to stand the plant up for a cleaner, tighter finish. 
• Brush the Fairways - Our cutting programme continues three times a week and regular maintenance with brushing to stand up the leaf blade up to produce a cleaner cut and a more uniformed finish. Spot treatment of selective weed kill was carried out to eliminate small patches of clover and daisies.

Look forward to seeing you on the course,

Simon Berry, Head Greenkeeper, The Park Course