December Blog.

Welcome to our December blog, the team have been busy on various projects.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Greens team for their workmanship and enthusiasm in delivering great surfaces at Haydock Park this year.

 The weather in December made some of the work difficult with periods of heavy rainfall and the end of the month we seen significant snow fall.

                          The view down the 9th hole with the club house in the distance.

              The picture above shows the trench dug from the clubhouse to the colonels wood.


13th Green Bunker Work

The pictures below show the green side bunkers at the 13th, we positioned a new drain in the left  hand side bunker, the picture shows the dig ready for the pipe to be positioned and stoned.


                                                                                 

Below you can see the bunkers sanded turfed, and shaped ready for play in the spring of 2015 when the turf will be rooted.

Both bunkers had a bunker mat positioned in them to aid drainage, reduce stones from effecting the sand quality,stop discolouration and washdown of the sand in periods of heavy rainfall.

They now match up with the cross bunker on this hole.

January 2015 will see us cleaning up the lower branches on the trees, continuing turfing worn areas, and edging up bunkers.

Thanks for reading the blog, i hope you find it interesting.  

 Have a happy and peaceful New Year from all the greenkeeping team.


                                                                                 Terry Wharton  Head Greenkeeper

November Blog

Welcome to our November blog.

Over the past few weeks we have been busy removing leaves from around the course. The leaves first started falling around the end of September, this work can continue through to December,depending on the wind speed and temperature throughout the period.

November was quite dry with an overall rainfall figure of 55mm.

We sprayed the greens with soluble Iron, to harden the plant against disease going in to the winter period.

The picture below shows the bottom of the hole cutter taken from the 6th green,a good root structure is visible at a depth of ten inches .Its great to see, showing the benefits of the continuous aeration programme.

 In December we will reshape and drain the 13th greenside bunkers,and continue with the aeration work on the greens. Throughout the month, worn and weak areas around the course will be turfed.

 A trench will be dug for an electric cable to be positioned from the supply at the club house to the Colonels wood for a water pump to be positioned in the pond.

                                                                              Terry Wharton  Head Greenkeeper.

Welcome to our October blog.

On the 29th of September we commenced work to re-drain the 3rd green and to level and extend the 4th tee. This work ran into October and is therefore covered in this blog. 

The 3rd green has performed well and over the past few years contour adjustments have been used to move the water off the surface, however the percolation rates of the moisture moving through the profile were not adequate.

It was decided to re- drain the green in late September, to take advantage of the dry soil conditions, that would enable good recovery and settlement of the surface before winter.

The main drain was marked out alongside eight laterals, the turf was lifted and boards were placed down to protect the green, a mini digger was hired to excavate the trenches to a positive draining outlet.

We dug the trenches and removed the upper profile of rootzone, below this was a thick layer of clay  sitting at a depth of 300mm. The clay (pictured below) was removed allowing adequate depth for the drainage pipe and stone.              
                                                                                       
   

         
This picture below shows the green with the laterals and main drain excavated. It is now ready for piping stoning, and turfing

     

                                                          

  The picture on the left shows one of the laterals dug out and the drainage  pipe in position, The trenches are backfilled with hard 2-6mm grit which is laid in 100mm layers to within 300mm of the surface.  The picture on the right shows the trench filled and firmed with rootzone ready to be turfed
                                                                                             

The picture below shows the turf iron levelling the surface of the relaid turf. Over the next few months we will monitor the levels to achieve good ball roll and smoothness.

The 4th Tee

It was decided to extend and level the 4th tee as part of our winter programme.Sprinkler heads were made visible and the turf was removed. The levels were marked out along side the extension to the tee

     The usable pieces of turf will be saved and used to repair weak areas around the course.

Special thanks to one of our members, Mr Ian Moore for the use of his machinery in this project,it greatly assisted us to speed up the work and remain on track. It was important to get the levels and preparation of the tee in place before the weather changed .

The picture above shows the tee extended levelled,and prepared to be seeded.We decided to seed the tee using Johnsons Pro 40. It was felt that the south facing location of the tee and the soil temperature at the time of sowing would give us strong germination.

Germination of the seed took place after fourteen days, and the mild weather conditions allowed us to apply a granular 4.0.8 fertiliser to aid the plants development.

It is hoped with a mild winter and good growing conditions in spring, alongside good surface preparation the tee will be fine for the start of the season 2015.

Special thanks to the greenkeeping team in showing great workmanship and enthusiasm in delivering these projects on time.


  Our November blog will highlight our maintenance work throughout the Autumn period.


                                                                       Terry Wharton  Head Greenkeeper.

September update 

What a difference in the weather, August produced a rainfall figure of 127mm and in September the total monthly amount was 13mm.

The dry conditions allowed us to vertidrain the fairways achieving excellent results the firm profile was shattered with the tines.This action reduces compaction aids better drainage,develops stronger roots,and allows air into the profile.

The vertidrain from John Mallinson pictured above is used on all the fairways and walk ways,and over the past few years it has greatly improved the turf quality and effectiveness of the drainage system on the course. To keep the fairways in good condition we have also held monthly divoting parties, special thanks to all the members who have helped throughout the year.

     The picture above shows the divoting party in action, it really helps to improve the surfaces .



To continue on the aeration theme it was critical throughout September that the greens aeration was carried out regularly, the warm / dry conditions were ideal for disease.

If the plant was allowed to be stressed it would create ideal condition's for turf disease to attack. The Moisture levels were monitored and cutting heights checked along side daily visual inspections of the plants health.

 Numerous fungal diseases have been reported throughout September, these being Microdochium Patch  Anthracnose, and Thatch Fungus. These diseases will kill the grass species they attack and will greatly effect the smoothness of the surface. It is important to address these conditions early,so we applied a fungicide to prevent the disease and keep the the greens clean.

 It is hoped we go in to Autumn with healthy greens,pictured below is Daniel Gildea using the procore.

The October blog will cover the work carried out on the 4th tee and 3rd green.



                                                           Terry Wharton                 Head Greenkeeper

Welcome to our August Blog.

August was a very wet month with a rainfall figure of 127mm.

 You will of realised in reading these blogs that the weather plays such an important part in how we prepare the course, the weather pattern is so unpredictable and we don't seem to get a balanced period of conditions. However most of the summer has enabled us to produce good surfaces.

Aeration work on the greens is carried out on a regular programme, in August we used the Soil reliever to create depth and fracturing of the soil profile to relieve compaction and create air movement in developing a stronger root system and plant.

The greens have really benefited this year from a full programme of Farmura's (Porthcawl ) and Aquatrols wetting agent( Revolution) sprayed on a monthly cycle, disease and dry patch have been controlled with the addition of these products.  Farmura is a turf conditioner that supplies beneficial nutrients to the soils and  Revolution enables the rootzone and soil structure to retain  moisture levels in dry conditions allowing  the plant to remain healthy.

Our top dressing programme is close to being completed with the team delivering in excess of ninety tonnes. In September we will reach our target of one hundred tonnes.  We have recently procored top dressed, over seeded, and brushed the dressing in to the shallow tine holes on the greens.The regular practice of over seeding will allow the desirable grasses to develop enabling us to achieve play throughout the year on the greens.

The benefits of reaching these top dressing target's are, that the soil profiles beneath the greens allow good drainage properties,reduce and break down any fibre from the plant,and the greens remaining firm in wet conditions. The dressing also creates smooth ball roll over the sward.

The September blog will cover maintenance work on the fairways.


                                                                               Terry Wharton  Head Greenkeeper.

July Update 

The weather's been glorious throughout most of July enabling the team to achieve good presentation on the course.Areas are starting to brown off giving that summer look that we haven't seen for a few years.

Correct water management is important in this dry period.We don't want the greens to dry out and stress leading to surface weakness, yet we don't want to over water leaving them to be soft and spongy. Through experience the visul look of the surfaces show the early signs of stress,and when to apply irrigation, however the application of water as become more accurate with the use of the moisture meter, it measures the volumetric water content in the upper profile.We work within a range of between 15% and 30%, when taking readings it allows us to target specific areas and apply correct amounts. Pictured below shows the moisture meter.

Feeding the Greens. 
We recently fed the greens after a period of ten weeks with a low Nitrogen feed, the grass plant needs nutrients to stay healthy. The warm weather has created good growing conditions along side the feed, this growth will reduce and with regular ironing and sensible cutting heights the surfaces will be fine.

Machinery Maintenance.   


Regular maintenance takes place on the machines to achieve minimal down time we have a check list for every machine to be ticked off before it goes on to the course.The check list covers basics like water oil, and fuel levels. All machines are regularly greased up and belt tensions checked.

In August we will look to increase our aeration work on most areas of the course and start preparing winter greens!!!!


                                                                                    Terry Wharton    Head Greenkeeper

Welcome to our  June blog.   

Over the past month we've been busy preparing the course and have managed to spray the fairways with a selective weed killer to control mostly clover. The application timing was good with great growing conditions allowing the chemical to be taken up by the weeds.However we've held back with the plant growth regulator due to a recent dry period,the growth's slowed down on the bunker banks and this would reduce the effectiveness of the product. We will monitor the growing conditions throughout the next few weeks to see if it can be applied.  

The picture above shows the results of the selective application clearly showing the clover under control. 

Aeration on the greens has continued with the use of the procore, to reduce surface disturbance we used 6mm tines with great effect.After the greens mower follows up it is difficult to see any holes on the surface. 

The pictures below show the procore, and the tine action through the root zone upper profile.

Grooming the Greens.

With cutting heights top dressing applications, and weather conditions favourable we've groomed the greens over the past few weeks. This practice enables the prostrate growth to be lifted along side any annual meadow grass seed heads.

 This practice really cleans up the the sward without putting the plant under any stress, we applied most of  our top dressings early in the season which allows us to groom without lifting the dressing.


Open Championship.

We visited Royal Liverpool Golf Club three weeks before the start of the Open to look at the course set up. It was a beautiful evening which helped to show how stunning the course looked,every aspect of the course looked tremendous and was ready to challenge the worlds best golfers.


Over the next month we will look to apply a greens fertiliser, continue with aeration and start planning for our winter work.

                                                                      Terry Wharton    Head Greenkeeper                    

Welcome to our May Blog.

The months are flying by and the greens team are busy with these excellent growing condition's.Many members have commented on how early the course has come on this year,with the course shaping and definition noticeable already.Greens top dressing targets are on track and regular aeration is in place,conditioners and wetting agents have been applied.

The application of slow release fertiliser that was applied to the tees in February is still creating good colour and controlled growth.

The fairways are growing well and the regular divoting parties are helping to create a good surface, the fairways are cut with the Toro 5610 machine pictured below with Greenkeeper Daniel Gildea delivering great presentation.

 

Regular edging,raking and checking sand depth is keeping the bunkers in shape, however, periods of heavy rainfall wash the sand off the faces and creates discolouration of the sand. This problem is reduced on the bunkers that have grassed face's and the new cross bunker on the 13th that has a bunker liner in it. 

On Thursday the 29th of May we had our Annual Agronomy visit from Mr Alistair Beggs who is Head of Agronomy and Ecology at the Sports Turf Research Institute and Agronomist to the R&A Championship Committee.Alistair is the Captain of the Royal Liverpool Golf Club this year which hosts the Open    Championship in July.

During the visit advise is given on ongoing management and project work alongside performance data taken from three indicator greens. We look at firmness, moisture levels, trueness, and speed.More information on the performance data will be on our June blog. 

The picture above shows the greens team at Haydock Park.

From left to right  Daniel Gildea  Terry Wharton (Head Greenkeeper) Chris Lewis, Alistair Beggs STRI

Jack Hosker, David Traynor (Deputy Head Greenkeeper) In addition to those mentioned we also have  Ken Bennison on the team who was unavailable when the photograph was taken.

We will be busy in June with preparation for the Victory Trophy which is a competition between Haydock Park and six other local golf clubs those being, Ashton in Makerfield, Dean Wood, Gathurst, Hindley Hall, Leigh and Wigan. The June blog will explain our work programme when we will look to apply weed control to the fairways and plant growth regulators to the bunker banks, along side the regular course presentation.

                                                         Terry Wharton    Head Greenkeeper.

April Update.

Welcome to our April blog,the weather has been kind to us and allowed us to create good presentation and set up to the course. Cutting heights have been lowered and top dressings on greens and tees are on target.The greens have been fertilised and received their monthly application of conditioner and wetting agent.

Aeration as continued on the greens with a pass of the pro core fitted with eight mm solid tines, we time this practice to coincide with the application of top dressing enabling the dressing to access the root zone profile.



We recently had a demonstration of the Air 2G2 air inject machine, pictured below.The machine injects a probe in to the soil structure at a depth of between 175mm or 250mm.At the required depth it injects compressed air in to the soil profile creating fracturing and reducing compaction.This action  helps to develop a strong root structure, and a great exchange of carbon dioxide and oxygen with no surface disruption.The machine was very impressive and will be in demand throughout the year on many courses

 Special thanks to Ian Cambell from Campey turf care systems  for arranging the visit.

 

Regular dressing and over seeding of the tees is so important in keeping the turf density. The tee's have received  an application of wetting agent this month to enable them to retain moisture in the soil  profile.  

The greens are coming on nicely, with the good spring temperatures.Cutting heights need to be controlled to enable good surfaces to be played on throughout the year and not just the summer.With sensible cutting heights and rolling along with top dressing / aeration and controlled nutrient in put, we look forward to delivering good smooth surfaces. 

In may we will continue to maintain the course presentation with most heights of cut on the machines already set at summer heights. Divoting on the tees and fairways will be increased due to more play as the day light increases.

 Special thanks to the members who attend the divoting parties as seen below. This work really keeps the fairways in good condition, it would be difficult for the greens team to keep on top of this work along side all the additional work at this busy time of the year.

                                                                      

                                                                         Terry Wharton            Head Greenkeeper

March update.

Welcome to the blog, we've managed to complete most of the work that was planned for March.Greens, tees and weak areas have been fertilised to strengthen the grasses.Top dressing of the greens as started with us aiming to deliver one hundred tonnes over the next few months. The start of our monthly applications of wetting agent, sea weed and micro nutrients as also been applied.

 Compared to last spring we've noticed earlier signs of leaf growth on the horse chestnut trees and hawthorn bushes around the course. And in monitoring soil temperatures we are gradually seeing the temperature rising.

                                                 Early signs that spring is on its way.

                                         The first application of greens fertiliser.

                                                      Top dressing the greens.

                                 Application of wetting agent, sea weed and micro nutrients.

 

We targeted small  areas on a couple of the greens with the pro core fitted with 8mm hollow tines.  Cores were removed at a depth of 25mm to reduce any potential fibre build up.The area's were top dressed, rolled and back in play with minimal surface disturbance.

In April we hope to get in to a regular pattern of cutting and course presentation along with the top dressing, aeration and spraying applications.

                                                                                Terry Wharton    Head Greenkeeper.

Welcome to the February blog.

The Weather as continued to have a massive impact on our work programme throughout February with ground conditions dictating the various work we have undertaken. The met office have produced data that confirms it has been the wettest winter on record. The table below shows our rainfall figures for the winter  period.
                                   
                                       December 2013        80 mm
                                        January    2014      144 mm
                                        February  2014        91 mm
                                         
                                                                      315 mm  Total
                                                                                               
Considering the above data we have managed to complete various work, the photographs below will show how we have progressed throughout the month.

Aeration to all parts of the course as been continuous this month. We used the services of John Mallinson to vertidrain our fairways. Mallinsons are a leading company in sports ground management and construction.
Aeration to the soil is a recognised technique for breaking up compaction, allowing better water peculation to the sub soils and drainage systems, it aids better rooting, and enables the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the soil structure.


Mallinsons heavy duty machinery allows us to use our soil reliever on greens and tees, it is hoped this practice will prolong the life of our machine. The picture below shows our soil reliever in action on the 18th green.

We regularly use the procore throughout winter relieving surface tension and allowing the turf to breath, this machine creates minimal surface disturbance.

After the various aeration machines have been used we follow up with the turf iron to settle and smooth out the surface.

Course Presentation

With the arrival of spring!!! we have started to edge up the paths and prepare them for resurfacing with shale.Whilst this is a time consuming job it improves the presentation of the course. As shown in the picture.

The path at the side of the 10th tee looking good.










Golf course ornithology























We really encourage wildlife on to the course it adds so much interest for the members and visitors as they play the course.In positioning bird boxes we feel we are contributing in creating additional habitats in a landscape that offers great nesting opportunities.


It's that time of the year again, when the bird boxes get cleaned out ready for their new inhabitants , Daniel Gildea is cleaning out the box, Chris Lewis is footing the ladder.



Special thanks to Mr Derek Walkden, Mr Brian Wakefield and Mr Stephen Reynolds who have generously supplied additional bird boxes this year.

I conclude in the hope that my next blog will inform you that we have commenced;  top dressing greens and  tees, applying fertiliser and wetting agents and yes you've guessed it continuing aeration work........this is of course, all dependent on the weather!!!!                                                              
                                                                                   Terry Wharton    Head Greenkeeper