Welcome to our May blog.

The greens team have been busy throughout May with an increase in growth. The rough around the the course has been especially lively, with the rise in temperature and regular showers creating a surge in growth.

Aeration has continued on the greens and conditioner and wetting agents applied. Cutting height is set at 4.5mm. We've introduced our groomers into the work programme to clean up the base growth around the plant.

 The area around the practice net has been landscaped and seeded to develop a chipping area. The timing of the work was great, with germination of the seed showing in ten days.

In June we welcome our Agronomist Mr Alistair Beggs to review our management and project work around the course.

Below are some photographs of our various works.

June work programme.

We will continue with aeration and grooming on the greens.

Cutting of the fairways and rough will be continuous if the weather stays mild and wet.
The jobs list will get larger as we move into the busy time of the year.

                                                            Terry Wharton   Head Greenkeeper

Course update


Welcome to our April blog, the weather continues to have a major influence on our work programme with the rainfall showing little change from the previous months.

Throughout most of April we've had cold northerly winds with the temperatures 4-5 degrees lower than they should be for the time of the year.

 These conditions have significantly impacted in preparing the course for the start of the season.

 In spite of the weather the greens team with help of a number of members have managed to complete most of the programmes planned for April.

 Mallinsons have vertidrained our fairways, top dressing on the greens has reached 60 tonnes, the greens have been procored,and a conditioner and wetting agent has been applied to them.

A new fence has been positioned at the 5th green. Below are pictures showing the various works.

May work programme.

Lets hope for some glorious weather in May, we aim to feed the greens continue with the aeration and top dressing.

The leaves will start to dress the trees and with regular cutting the course will start to flourish.

                                                                Terry Wharton   Head Greenkeeper

Welcome to our March blog.


We had a great dry spell for the early part of the month that allowed the course to dry out significantly. It seemed that we were going into a period of prolonged dry weather which would allow us to get the course into good shape.

However the the weather took a turn for the worse and the rainfall continued to fall. We had rainfall figures of 89mm in March. We managed to complete most of the programmes that we had planned to do with pictures below showing them.

 The deep aeration on the greens was vitally important after the prolonged rainfall.Breaking up any surface tension and allowing root development.

We've followed up with regular top dressings and considering the wet conditions managed to apply 50 tonnes to the greens so far.

The dressing have been brushed in with the sweep and fill brush system, this piece of equipment is excellent. It really works the dressing into the canopy of the plant reducing particles on the surface.

This work was followed up with a feed on the greens to stimulate growth after the winter play. The take up of the fertiliser was good giving us controlled growth and colour.

Wear and Tear




The picture shows our worn out turf lifting iron alongside the new iron .

 Its took many years to wear it down,and we were surprised when we compared it with the new one.

Work on the bunkers has significantly altered the size with the sand particles reducing its shape!!!

The picture on the right shows a large amount of Frog spawn in the pond at the side of the 11th green.


Its great to see and is a good indicator for our correct management of pond enviroment with the Birds Fish, Frogs, and plant life thriving in the area.

April Work Programme

We hope to continue our aeration of greens tees and fairways. The greens will be top dressed and a conditioner and wetting agent will be sprayed on to them.

 Bunkers will be edged and the divoting on the tees will be increased with the additional play.




                                                                          Terry Wharton  Head Greenkeeper

Welcome to our February update.

The weather pattern continued for most of the month giving us periods of wet weather and periods of frost, however we had a spell of dry conditions at the end of the month that allowed us to cut the fairways.

The firmer ground conditions allowed us to start topping up bunkers and adding shale to the paths around the course.

We sprayed the greens and practice area with Soluble Iron to harden the plant and to control moss.

 It was quite noticeable how the course firmed up in such a short period of time, it got us thinking spring had arrived!!!!!!!!!!!!

Frost on the greens

The picture above shows the surface of the 18th green covered in frost. The link below explains why we keep off the greens until the frost as thawed.

Drainage on the 15th tee

The area at the back of the 15th tee as struggled to drain as effectively as we would like. To achieve a better draining surface we used the hole cutter to take out a full core.

We then shattered the lower profile to break up any compaction and then back filled with 2-8mm grit. We will fill the holes with rootzone, turf and top dress ready for the start of the season.


March Work Programme. 

Lets hope for a good dry period in March, we aim to finish topping up the bunkers and finish shaling the paths.
We will feed and vertidrain the greens and tees,and hope to start top dressing the greens. Weather permitting!!!!!!!!

                                                                      Terry Wharton   Head Greenkeeper

Welcome to our January blog. 

The Unsettled weather pattern continued throughout the month, depositing 154mm of rain onto the course.  Each month we are seeing weather records being broken for the varying conditions as the climate change continues throughout the seasons.

It was quite a surprise in the middle of the month when we had a considerable snowfall, however the mild temperatures soon melted it away.  The picture below shows the view up the 3rd fairway.

Drainage Work




The picture on the right shows repair work on a clay pipe drainage system.

Problem areas are being repaired and rodded with the drainage rods to check for any further problems in the system.

When the pipe work is repaired we will back fill it with 2-8mm grit and top off with rootzone and turf.









Woodland Management

The greens team have been busy on various areas around the course pruning and cutting selective trees.

The programme of woodland management aims to allow the trees  to develop into mature specimens.

This can't be achieved when the trees have been planted close together restricting growth and correct shaping

The agronomic benefits of this work are vast, allowing sunlight and air flow on to the grassed areas, which enables the grass plant to grow in the correct environment.

The sunlight penetration along with improved airflow will greatly assist  the drying process of wet areas.

This practice is regularly carried on many parkland golf courses to achieve the desirable results.














Tee Management.


We've used the digger on the 9th tee to remove the raised
area at the back.

It was quite surprising how much root zone was removed to achieve the correct level.

The area will be raked and the levels will be checked, ready for turfing and topdressing.

February work programme. 

In February we hope to finish off our drainage work, and start topping off paths with shale.We will start topping up bunkers with sand and hope to get the mowers out to put some definition on the course. Weather permitting !!!!!!  

                                                                Terry Wharton      Head Greenkeeper

 December blog.

Welcome to our December blog.

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

The weather pattern from the previous month continued with heavy rainfall persisting  throughout  December.                                          
                                                   
                                         Rainfall Figures for November / December 2014/15  

                                               
                                                     
     November 2014    ( 55mm)    November 2015   (176mm)

     December 2014   ( 117mm)   December 2015   (152mm)

The figures above show the large increase in rainfall in 2015 and has you can imagine this impacted on our work programme.

 However the team have been busy with various works. The greens have been cut and aerated weekly, and the tees have been cut regularly.

 The mild temperature in December created the unseasonable growth, the unfavorable conditions have been well documented in the media.

We've made a start in the area behind the practice nets to develop and landscape a chipping area, and maybe a bunker!!

 It is hoped the expanse will run through from the putting green linking in with the nets. This will enable the golfer to prepare on all aspects of their game before they tee off.

                                                     
                                                         Winter tee presentation

                                                         

                                   Tree work and preparation of the chipping area.

                 Digger used to remove stumps and dig out the drainage channel

                                       Stumps removed, drainage channel dug out.

         We will let the soil dry out, and then work it to get our levels ready for a spring seeding


Drainage at the 8th green surround. 

We recently positioned a new drain in the hollow at the right hand side of the 8th green. The area was holding water,we linked the drainage pipe to to a positive outlet to alleviate the problem.



January 2016   

Lets hope for a change in the weather pattern. We need a period of dry weather to bring us on track in our maintenance programme.  We will continue with our aeration policy and selective cutting and pruning of the trees around the course in January.

When  possible, areas on the course will be cut to give better definition and presentation!!!!!!!

                                                                           Terry Wharton   Head Greenkeeper

Course maintenance update for November. 

November has been a really wet month with a total rainfall figure of 176mm, compared to last November's total of 55mm. This excessive amount of rainfall  made it difficult to start some of our winter programme work.

The temperature throughout the month has been above average allowing the grass to keep growing , in fact we recorded only two days of frost over the period.

 Throughout the heavy rainfall the greens team have been kept busy with greens tees, and fairway aeration. The drainage outlets have been monitored regularly to maximize water flow off the course. And we've continued with the leaf clearance and bunker maintenance.


New Toro equipment.

In early November we took delivery of a new fleet of Toro machinery from our local dealers Cheshire Turf Machinery. These machines enable the greens team to present the course to a high standard throughout the year.I would like to thank the members and board of directors for investing in this quality turf care equipment .

Tees aeration.            

Our regular programme of aeration as continued on all of our surfaces, the picture below shows  deep aeration on our tees.                                                                                                                

Bunker Maintenance.

We've used the tiller regularly to keep the sand loose. But unfortunately the rainfall has been so heavy it as compacted the sand . We will continue to use the tiller to get the bunkers back to a better playing quality. Pictured below is Daniel Gildea operating the tiller.

Pitch marks on the Greens. 

PITCH MARKS.

Your Greenkeepers aim to produce quality surfaces. We try to produce greens that offer smooth ball roll for the well struck putt.
 But unfortunately if pitch marks are not repaired it is difficult to achieve the pure surface we all strive for .      
                              Could ALL golfers please repair their PITCH MARKS

December work programme. 

Has usual the weather conditions play a large part in our work programme.If the conditions allow we will start work on bunker reconstruction at the 14th green side and cross bunker at the 6th green.

We've  opened up the area behind the practice nets, that we aim to develop into a chipping area. This area needs to be cleared and shaped.

 Lower branches on the trees down the 11th hole will be selectively pruned,and aeration will continue on all surfaces. General course preparation will continue throughout the month.

                                                                            Terry Wharton         Head Greenkeeper