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.

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