December Blog

Welcome to our December blog.

We saw a period of heavy rainfall throughout the month with one day registering 25mm.

The greens team continued aeration on greens / tees and walkways, we finished off the last of the leaf removal before Christmas.

The right hand side of the 8th hole was opened up to bring in play the tee shot to the temporary green.

 Below are various pictures showing our work.

In January we plan to continue aeration and pick up turfing any weak areas around green surrounds and tees.

November Blog

Welcome to the November blog.

November was busy with various projects taking place on top of the usual course preparation.
We fitted a new drainage pipe in the middle of the 14th green to try to drain the water away more quickly.

The 2nd tee turf was stripped off and the tee was relevelled,some of the old turf was reused and new turf was laid to finish off the surface. leaf blowing continued has we kept the leaves off the course.

 In the middle of the month we sprayed a preventative fungicide on to the greens to reduce turf disease from Microdochium patch. The greens were deep aerated with the soil reliever and rolled to maintain surface smoothness.  Aeration continued as we use the slitter weekly to keep the greens open and aid drainage.

In December we hope to continue with aeration on greens and tees. We will start tree work on various holes to reduce trees that are closely planted together, to enable air flow and sunlight penetration to dry out the areas around them, and enable the trees that are left to grow into specimen trees.

October Blog

Welcome to our October blog.

The good weather continued as we drained the 17th green. The green had been slow to move surface water from it and after investigation we found minimal drainage. It was decided to install a full system on the green with seven laterals running in to a main.The pictures below show the various stages of the work.

Great work from the greens team to complete the job alongside course preparation in the mild conditions when grass growth continued.

In the later part of the month, Mallinsons came in to vertidrain fairways. This is essential aeration work that was really highlighted in the dry summer, when it was noted that the fairways coped well in the prolonged dry spell due to the deep root system assisted by the vertidrain program.

September Blog

Welcome to our September blog. 

As we move into September we see temperature return to near normal and rainfall reducing the need to irrigate.

We overseeded the greens to continue to increase the desirable bent grass in the sward.

Height of cut have been raised along with the front mounted brushes on the greens machines which have been lifted until the new plants become established.Towards the end of the month the greens were sprayed with conditioner and iron to harden the plant going in to autumn.

Temporary greens have been cut this is a sure sign that winter is on its way!!!!!! 


Below are pictures showing the work carried out throughout the month.

August Blog

Welcome to our August blog.

We continued with water management for most of the month and included deep aeration on the greens followed up with our last top dressing of the year bringing our total up to 120 tonnes.

Aeration continued in the latter part of the month with the procore,and with the soil reliever on the tees which were also fed. Turf conditioners were applied with the monthly wetting agent.

Photographs showing some of the work carried out throughout the month.

July Blog

Welcome to our July blog.

The weather really hotted up throughout the month with the team focusing on irrigation on the greens and tees. one of the pictures below shows the theta probe that we use to measure moisture levels in the upper profile of the rootzone showing 24.8% .We work within the range of 15% - 30%. this range enables us to keep the turf healthy in dry conditions.

It should be noted that the fairways held up really well in the prolonged dry period showing the benefits of deep aeration with the vertidrain. This work enabled deep roots to develop in the plant enabling it to cope with the heat stress.

Below are photographs showing the work carried out in the month.

The picture above shows Rob Lucas who is the new addition to the greens team. Rob has a wealth of greenkeeping experience and will be a valued member of our staff. We wish Rob every success in his new position. 

June Blog

Welcome to the June blog.

The weather has started to warm up as we move into June,wetting agent applied to greens along with aeration and top dressing We.started using the irrigation system and watering by hand.

We had our annual visit from Mr Alistair Beggs from the Sports Turf Research Institute to review conditions on the course and to offer advice on management  and various works. The visit was very positive with the work programme aiming to raise the quality of surfaces and course presentation.

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Below are photographs of the work carried out throughout June.

                                                firmness reading with the clegg hammer

The picture above shows the greens team on Chris Lewis's last day at Haydock Park. Chris has continued in greenkeeping moving to the Worsley Marriot in Manchester.  Chris is pictured third in from the left of the picture. We wish him every success in the future.

                           Mr Alistair Beggs pictured with the course management committee.

May Blog

Welcome to the May blog.

We move into May with an early morning frost accompanied with the regular rainfall.
Heights of cut are gradually being lowered on most cutting machines, with aeration and top dressings on the greens continuing. Greens have been fed with 4 0 8 invigorator and wetting agent applied, moisture levels are being monitored.

Pictures below show various work.

April Blog

Welcome to our April blog.

The beginning of the month showed regular periods of rainfall, however we continued our greens top dressing program. Greens were procored to continue the regular aeration work along with the continued applications of Revolution wetting agent. Paths were shaled along with general course preparation being raised as the days started to become longer.

Below are photographs showing the works.