As summer slips away our days are becoming shorter by the day and temperatures are dropping. We are seeing changes in growth rates
August proved to be consistent with previous years regarding rainfall with well over 90mm falling across the month including a few quite heavy downpours causing a few issues with bunkers.
We took a different approach for greens renovation from previous years by integrating our bentgrass overseeding into the topdressing applications. Following hollow coring we applied two applications of topdressing to fill the core holes using a sand/seed mixture.
Ensuring that the holes were completely filled allowed the existing turf to knit over quickly and we saw the first signs of germination of the bentgrass seed six days after it was applied.
Our sand input was heavier than the last two summer applications with over sixty tonnes being applied to the greens. The key factors that have ensured that recovery was prompt, a combination of both management technique and seasonal conditions which is of course why we choose to do this work in August, are:
Our hole set-up has been the topic of conversation for some time as it is different to most other clubs but there is a clear reason for each of the elements which have been decided upon to make your putting experience as best it can despite the restrictions that COVID has brought.
I have been asked many times about the lifter type options and as such I have asked around my colleagues at other golf clubs for their feedback on these. From these discussions there are three points to consider with these lifters:
Every option out there for setting up holes and cups through this time is a compromise and I am sure that if we used a different system, we would encounter problems. Our system is aesthetic and predominately performs very well. I have taken the time seek feedback and set up the system so that it works for you. Oh, and remember that just because a ball gets a sniff of the hole there was never a guarantee that it would drop.
All hazards have been defined with herbicide spray which gives us a long-term boundary solution. The number of stakes on the course has been reduced to reduce clutter on the course. All stakes are placed at locations that are prominent to provide visibility of the hazard, they are simply indicators. Please use the permanent line to when ruling on all lie in hazards.
Pitchmarks on Greens
The incidence of un-repaired pitchmarks is currently at the highest level that I can remember. It is worth noting that 80% of our rounds are currently being played by our members and their guests.
See you on the course.
Jaey Goodchild
Head Greenkeeper
