Welcome to our July blog.

The time is flying bye, we've been busy on various jobs throughout the month. As usual i'll  touch on the weather, and we all know it was disappointing with cool temperatures and heavy periods of rain!!!!

 We hope, August can give us some decent days.

We recently applied a top dressing to the greens, bringing our application amount up to 80 tonnes, our yearly target is 100 tonnes. We will reach our total over the next couple of months after deep aeration followed up with the applications.

 In previous blogs i have explained the benefits of top dressing and how it enables the greens surface to firm up , break down layers of fibre in the upper profile of the root zone, and creates soil conditions that drain well and allow the desirable bent grasses to develop.

The picture below shows member of the green's team Jack Hosker using the Toro 3250 greens machine towing the sweep and fill brush which was demonstrated by Cheshire Turf Machinery.

The brush system was brilliant and really worked the dressing into the sward leaving the surface great to putt on after the top dressing application.

Sweep and fill Brush System.

 Fairway work.

The Fairways have held up well this year.

 The regular vertidraining and the early season application spray of soluble iron checked any moss, they were scarified with the wessex machine, with this work setting them up nicely for the  season.


We constantly monitor areas of weed on the fairways surfaces, and try to produce a total grass sward to aid greater presentation.



The presentation of the fairways is so important, and this has been aided with the use of  divot bags which are positioned  at the 1st and 10th tees.

 The bags contain compost and seed that enable the golfers to fill in their divots and any others they may come across. The sign above the frame allows us to target various fairways throughout the week.

Pictured  below is our frame and divot bags at the 10th tee.

In August we hope to Vertidrain our greens and tees,top dress, apply our monthly applications of  plant growth regulator, conditioner and wetting agent. We aim to over seed our greens and continue with course presentation.


                                                                                    Terry Wharton  Head  Greenkeeper

Course update.

                                                                   

 Welcome to our June blog, we've had some warmer weather throughout the month, which has enabled us to catch up on our work programme.

 We have received our annual visit from Mr Alistair Beggs , Head of Agronomy and Ecology at the Sports Turf Research Institute.

Alistair reviewed conditions of the course and offered advice on ongoing management .















Performance data was taken from three indicator greens testing for soil moisture,organic matter content,firmness,speed, trueness and smoothness,and the chemical status of the upper profile.

Our aim is to produce greens that receive approach shots correctly then provide smooth/true and well paced surfaces for putting throughout the year.

 Regular rolling has been carried out on the greens with sensible cutting heights to enable us to achieve good green speed and surface smoothness.

Plant Growth Regulator

We are using a plant growth regulator on the greens and tees to improve the sward texture and density. The chemical encourages lateral rather than upward growth, producing a tight grass surface and a reduction in top growth. These applications will be applied throughout the growing season and be monitored.



July work programme.


We hope to solid tine and top dress the greens, apply our monthly applications of conditioner, wetting agent and plant growth regulator.The tees will be fertilised and the out of bounds trenches will be sprayed with a total herbicide to give them better definition.





                                                                                      Terry Wharton  Head Greenkeeper.

Welcome to our May update. 

The weather is certainly making it difficult to manage fine turf. The cool temperature is holding back growth and making it feel that we are at least three weeks behind in course presentation.


In the past month our work programme has allowed us to groom the greens, the grooming units raise the lateral growth and help to smooth out the surface.

The weather in May has been conducive to creating fungal disease ( Microdochium Patch) on the greens. We hope to grow the disease out at this time of the year and aid this action by spraying the greens with Soluble Iron (Fe) to dry and harden the leaf blade.

The picture below shows the 11th green after it had been sprayed and cut.

Our aeration programme is on track to reduce surface tension and allow airflow through the soil profile.  We followed this up with an application of Farmura (Conditioner) and Revolution (Wetting agent) The solid tining allows the applications to penetrate into the root zone.

 

In June we have our annual agronomy visit by Mr Alistair Beggs from the Sports Turf Research Institute he will advise us on course management and project work. 

 Our June blog will highlight the visit.

                                                               

                                                                             Terry Wharton   Head Greenkeeper

Welcome to  our April Blog.  

At the end of last month's blog we hoped for a balanced period of weather in April. We were looking for a increase in temperature and sufficient  rainfall to get the grass growing.

Well we went from warmth to frost with minimal rainfall,which surprisingly produced some growth.

Throughout April we had some beautiful sky lines, the picture below shows the view from the back fifth tee, with the early morning sun cutting through the mist and taking the frost off the turf

Toro's on the course.

The Toro machines are out on the course giving a great cut and presentation, the pictures below show the 3250 cutting the green and the 3100 on the surround.

                                                                                     








                             





The picture on the right shows the 3100 cutting the tees.








Aeration / Fertiliser application and Top Dressing

The greens team have been busy with aeration, feeding, and applying top dressing to the greens, targets for applications of top dressing and aeration are on track . And as usual the weather conditions will control the overall results.





      Repositioning the fountain in the 11th pond.                                                                                                                                                                                                                      
We recently called upon the diving skills of one of our members Mike Gildea, to re position the fountain.Mike is fully qualified to carry out the work and without his skill and knowledge it would of been difficult to site it in the appropriate part of the pond .

The fountain was kindly supplied by John Murphy.

 Mike was ably assisted  by  Fred Buckley, and  David Traynor from the greens team, they showed great skills in positioning the dingy in difficult conditions, well done.                      

.                                                                                                                                                                                                                          
 
                                       
























Work planned throughout May

In May we will  continue with aeration work ,top dressing greens, spraying selective herbicide and applying wetting agent (Revolution) and Farmura Porthcawl (Liquid organic fertiliser) to the greens.

Divoting tees and fairways will continue more frequently . The greens will be groomed to aid smoothness,with this work being conducive to better ball roll and pace.

  Lets hope for some good greenkeeping weather in May.    

                                                                        Terry Wharton       Head Greenkeeper                

March Update. 

Welcome to our latest blog, as usual the weather as controlled our work programme, Growth on the course has been minimal with the cool temperatures holding it back.

The greens have been verti drained again and top dressed twice, with little growth it has been difficult to work  the dressing into the sward.

To work the dressing into the upper profile we will procore with 8mm solid tines.This practice will not only aid aeration and drainage but will allow the dressing to fill the holes and take the dressing off the greens creating minimal surface disturbance.

When the temperature rises, we will apply a fertiliser to the greens to aid the plants development through the next few months





The dry period in early March allowed us to work on our fairways and practice area.

We sprayed them with Soluble Iron to check any small areas of moss and to aid definition and presentation. They were then scarified with the Wessex  and divoted.


Considering all the winter play, the fairways have stood up to the play quite well.The regular aeration work is really beneficial in moving water off the surface and developing strong healthy roots.







Over the past month we have cut out and shaped a new path from the 4th tee through to the 4th green. the path runs alongside the ponds and offers a great view of the wall garden.

 Over the past few years we have added additional paths at the 8th 11th 12th 13th 16th and 17th holes.

The paths enable us to create traffic routes from the tees and control the wear. The picture shows the new path from the 4th tee.



April work programme.


Another month flies by and we move into April. We hope for a balanced period of weather so we can continue top dressing and apply the greens fertiliser.

 The mowers are all ready for when the temperature rises to start the grass growing!!!!!


                      Terry Wharton   Head Greenkeeper

February Blog



Welcome to our February blog, it contains a summary of the work that has taken place throughout the month.

The weather enabled us to Vertidrain the greens and tees, with contractors Mallinsons coming in to vertidrain the fairways.

However the last ten days of the month as seen significant rainfall which stopped us from cutting and shaping  the course.
The greens received their monthly spray of soluble iron and are holding up well.

The rate of growth on the greens has been minimal throughout the month as you would expect at this time of the year. To achieve good ball roll on the greens in February we've rolled them with the Turf Iron achieving good results.

 To get the benefits of using the turf iron at this time of the year the rolling needs to be followed up with a regular programme of aeration to reduce any surface tension in the turf.

     
Tree Maintenance 

 February has seen the greens team working in the woodland copses, thinning out areas. This practice of tree management is recognised by the forestry commission.

 Our aim is to allow the trees to develop with good shape with adequate space between them.This will allow air and sunlight to penetrate through the trees on to the course enabling the ground to become firm and dry.

It is so important that we get the balance right in creating the correct growing environment in and around the various woodland areas on the course.
Heavily planted copses in a southerly position will greatly reduce the drainage qualities of the surrounding areas.This is due to the reduced air and sunlight penetration through the trees,leaving the areas around the copses constantly wet and difficult to maintain.

Trees planted close to land drains will reduce the draining qualities, the tree roots follow the drains in periods of dry weather in search for moisture,and over a period of time the drains will be blocked.

 We aim to manage the trees on the course in a appropriate way with guidance from the Sports Turf Research Institute and the estates tree surgeons.




Edging up bunkers 

We've started edging up the bunkers giving them great shape and reducing any overhangs on them.

The depth of sand is checked and over the next few weeks levels will be corrected going in to the start of the season.

The bunkers on the 13th hole are draining well, the bunker mat is reducing any wash down from the bunker face, this stops the sand from getting discoloured and losing its qualities.

We will follow up this work with regular tilling and raking  to keep the sand loose.


In March we will start to edge up the paths around the course and shale them.

Fertiliser will be applied to greens and tees (weather permitting) aeration will continue and the mowers may come out.

 The work programme is being cranked up ready for spring. Lets hope for some good weather.

                                                          Terry Wharton    Head Greenkeeper

January Update.

Welcome to our January blog.

We've been busy over the past month working on various projects, with the weather dictating our progress.

Throughout the month the team has been busy pruning and cutting lower growth and overhanging branches from the trees. Most of the lime trees in the Colonels Wood, have had their lower growth removed.This work gives the trees better shape with the overall area looking tidy and managed.

We took advantage of a dry period in the month, it enabled us to do some cutting,on greens tees, and the fairways, this gave great presentation to those areas.

The picture below shows the 4th tee that we seeded in September,it is coming on nicely.When the soil temperature rises in spring we'll apply a fertiliser to give the sward density and strength.

                 
            The picture above shows the 18th tee looking well presented for January.



Greens Aeration
Throughout January we've managed to aerate the greens weekly. It is so important to keep the surfaces open to relieve surface tension and allow water percolation through the root zone.

This practice alongside regular top dressing will reduce any thatch build up in the upper profile of the surface.          



                               The picture below shows the sisis slitter in action

The 3rd green which we drained last October is performing well. We need to check the surface around the drain lines over the next few months to ensure we go into spring with true levels.



Ornithology Programme.

We have cleaned out the bird boxes that are positioned around the course, ready for spring. All the boxes we cleaned last year had been used, this was really pleasing.The landscape around the course is a haven for wildlife and with the boxes in position it gives the birds additional nesting options.

           
                              Jack Hosker and Chris Lewis checking one of the boxes.

We hope for a period of dry weather in February to enable us to complete our winter work.

Vertidraining will be taking place on the greens tees, and fairways. We'll start to put some additional cutting in place to give the course some better definition.       (Weather permitting!!!!!)

                                                                         Terry Wharton  Head Greenkeeper.