Friday 17 April 2015

Greenkeeper news (March)

Firstly apologies for the incorrect header on the blog, its been locked and I cannot change it!!

Spring maintenance was carried out W/C Sunday 15th March, the weather really helped us to get this time consuming procedure complete in just 3 days with very little disruption to play.
I was asked the question many times why I solid tined and then hollow cored the day after. The two procedures carry different benefits with solid tining going much deeper targeting compaction and aiding root development, hollow coring removes organic matter accumulation (thatch). Both these operations were required in the spring renovations so the thought process was why solid tine, let the greens recover then hollow core and then more recovery time. That procedure would have meant disruption to play for around 4 weeks. With the greens coming out of winter so healthy they could take the stress of tining on consecutive days meaning the recovery time was 7 days.

DAY 1 
Solid tine. 12mm tines, depth 200mm  
 
 
 
 
 
 
DAY 2
Hollow core. 7mm tine, depth 100mm
 
DAY 3
27 ton of sand dressing applied to 20 greens
 
DAY 3
Brushing in the sand
 
DAY 3
Tine holes filled to the surface
 
DAY 4
Fertiliser applied
 
DAY 7
 
Recovery was very pleasing as soil temperatures are around 3 weeks behind on last year and we are still experiencing cool night time temps
 
This illustration shows the peaks and troughs in temperatures
 
Weather recordings
Rainfall-100mm
Average low-3.5(c)
Average high-11.5(c)
 
 
NEATH GOLF CLUB
 
MONTHLY GOLF COURSE REPORT
 
MARCH 2014
 
 
GREENS
 
  • Greens renovations went very well, the weather gods were on our side for a change. Procedure was as reported last month with 27 ton of top dressing applied.
  • As weather conditions were perfect for a good uptake on a foliar feed they were sprayed to speed up recovery, this worked well with the greens healing up and back to pretty much normal speed and roll quality within 7 days.
  • Although the soil temperatures have picked up slightly they are still way down on last year. This time of year in my opinion is the worst to try a provide a surface, when soil temperatures are slow to kick off, the different species of grass in the greens grow at different speeds which make the greens prone to bobbling and snaking, this is combated by regular brushing before mowing but until soil temps pick up and the other grasses catch up it will always be an issue this time of year.
  •  If you've played golf in the last month, I'm sure you've noticed the purple blotches all over the greens. Whenever strange patterns and patches occur on a green, disease is the first suspect to blame. In this instance, the mottled appearance is just part of the spring season and will fade back to green when temperatures begin to climb.
    The poa/fescue on our greens and like many older varieties, turns purple quite easily, just like the leaves of trees changes colour when mild days are mixed with cold nights. Basically, the sugar produced during photosynthesis is trapped in the leaf and expresses itself with a different colour. As temperatures rise, the sugars can be moved more effectively into the roots and the chlorophyll can make the plant green around the clock.
 
PLAN OF ACTION
 
  • Fortnightly spoon feed with wetting agent(introduce PGR when growth dictates)
  • Medium/light top dressing
  • Hand weed
  • Hole change twice a week
TEES
 
  • The germination sheet on the weaker areas has worked well, the 15th is still struggling. Soon as we get grass seed to germinate the rabbits come and dig it up!! The area to the back of the 15th tee has been cleared of all the spoils dumped there over the years this was to tidy up the area but also to take away the safe haven that the rabbits were using, I have also asked the rabbit shooters to concentrate in this part of the course.
  • All tees received a slow release fertiliser to ease them into spring
  • White tees will go out in time for the medal on the 12th April
  • I’m going to introduce where possible on larger tees a more systematic approach to moving tees, we will use 1 side of the tee, front middle and back to give the other side a rest and alternate between the 2 giving as much recovery time as possible
 
PLAN OF ACTION
  • Fill divots weekly
  • Introduce PGR when growth dictates

 
APRONS
 
  • It’s pleasing to report the aprons responded well to the more intensive renovations, all were aggressively brushed to remove moss and double cut.
  • A slow release fertiliser applied.
 
PLAN OF ACTION
 
  • Monthly application of liquid feed
  • Introduce PGR when growth dictates
 
FAIRWAYS
 
  • All fairways have been brushed and cut to tidy them up, the clip rate was low but a cut was required as the rye grass will soon kick off and its important  not allow this to flourish because the cylinder mowers cannot cope with the course rye grass. If it get too established you will end up with lots of stalks on the fairways looking unsightly and effecting playability
PLAN OF ACTION
 
  • Spray liquid feed (3 weeks before the bell)
  • Introduce PGR when growth dictates
  • Brush before mowing when required
 
 BUNKERS
 
  • Bunker renovation is complete, they are as tidy as they can look without a rebuild (planned for winters 16/17). Sand levels are good and a more methodical approach to raking should keep the rock areas covered and out of play
 
 PLAN OF ACTION
 
  • Rake often as possible
  • Introduce PGR when growth dictates
  • Keep an even distribution of sand
  • Stone pick weekly
 
WINTER PROJECTS
 
  • All planed winter work has been completed on schedule. With the slow uptake in growth a couple smaller jobs were carried out. This included the installation of an AstroTurf path leading off the ladies 15th tee and the thinning of the copse of trees to the right of the 3rd, all non-native trees were removed and the lower branches of the pines trimmed. This has improved the aesthetics of the hole but also improved visibility so the 7th green can be seen and the 3rd fairway bunker is no longer hidden
Heather planting on the second has been carried out to improve the aesthetics of the hole, all heather plants and materials were purchased with donations from; Mr Huw Morgan, Mr Rhidan Lewis, Mr Gareth Powell, Mr Robert Arbourne and Mr Captain.
 
  300 heather plants
Area to be planted
Weed sheet
Planting on bank
Planting on carry

 

FAQs - Greens

Q. How often are the greens cut and at what height and why do we cut the greens by hand sometimes and not others?

A. In the main growing season from mid May until the end of September they are cut every day unless weather conditions dictate otherwise. For the rest of the year, as necessary. In summertime the height of cut will go down to 4 millimetres rising to 5 millimetres during the winter.

During the winter and early spring the greens are cut by hand to save the big machines driving around the green surrounds and to keep the weight off the surfaces. Aesthetically they may look better but the quality of cut is identical. The hand machines have the same cutters as the large machines.

It takes three members of staff with hand mowers two and a half hours to cut 20 greens. With the ride-on mowers it takes one member of staff  three hours to cut all the greens, and move all the tee markers. The ride on machines work faster than golfers can play so can easily stay ahead of early-morning play as well as with multi-start points.

Q: Why is it that when the greens start to grow, for a time, they become very uneven and bumpy?

A: This is because there is more than one species of grass within them; different species grow at different rates. Some start growing at slightly lower temperatures than others. Some species have deeper roots than others, so they are in soil that has not warmed yet and therefore do not start to grow until warmth gets down to that depth.

The greens are predominately a mixture of agrostis, fescue and poa. Poa being the weed species that no one wants but a lot of courses end up with! This is the species that produces all the little seed heads in the spring which also causes unevenness.

Q: Why is it that after the winter the course takes so long for the greens to fill and the grass to grow whereas other courses seem to come on much quicker?

A: For grass to grow actively there are a number of requirements. Moisture, daylight, nutrients and temperature. Without all four, grass will not respond. Adding more of any one of the elements without all four being present will make no difference. By mid-March there is enough daylight. Nutrient and moisture could be applied but for one factor, the soil temperature is too low. It does not matter how warm the air is during the day. What counts is the temperature of the medium in which the roots of the plant sit.

A warm afternoon is easily outweighed by an overnight frost. Ten degrees Celsius is normally seen as the minimum for a few days to start growth. But we now have a further problem in the fact that the wetter the soil, the slower it is to warm up. This is one of the reasons that irrigation is never used until the soil warms up as it would work against us. All courses are on different types of soil. A sandy soil warms up much faster than a clay soil, because it contains less moisture, the height of the course is also a big factor. Conversely, when the greens on other courses are past their best, our greens can still be putting beautifully late into the autumn.

Q: Why is it not possible to lower the height of cut on the greens to increase the speed?

A: It is, but it doesn't last very long. Too much leaf is removed and the plant can no longer produce enough food to live. Mowing at a height of 3mm for any length of time measured in days rather than weeks creates excessive stress and the grass dies. Thus the age-old term the quick and the dead. The recognised way to increase green speed is to increase the height of cut to encourage the finer species of grasses and to regularly roll the greens. This comes at a cost in terms of equipment and particularly labour.

Q: Why is it some greens are wetter than others?

A: As with most things there are a number of reasons for this, soil type, topography, shade and foot traffic. The greens on our course are what is known as push-up greens. This means they were made by pushing up together whatever soil was on the site of the green. Thus the soil type will vary from green to green with a differing infiltration rate. There is no topsoil as such, just a sandy/silty subsoil with about 25mm of accumulated top dressing on top.. Any drainage is only as fast as the water can penetrate the underlying soil.

You could put as many pipes as you like underneath but it would still drain at the same rate. A modern green would be constructed using a purpose-made rootzone designed to drain easily. Where there is heavy cover from trees, sunlight is prevented from getting to the green surface and also impedes air movement. Where a green has bumps and hollows this again allows a build-up of standing water. Foot traffic in the walk-off areas causes compaction when wet which leads to surface puddling.

Q. At certain times of the year, particularly in the spring, the holes become crowned. What causes this?

A. Frankly, it is your feet! When the ground is soft which it is in the spring with virtually no growth and having had the winter rain and frost to contend with. The most used area of the green is obviously the hole with all feet headed in that direction. The bit that makes it worse is the leading foot 6 inches from the hole with all your body weight resting on it, pushing the surface down, as you retrieve your ball, causing the last 6 inches to be higher than the piece your foot is on.


That's it for this month, lets hope this good weather continues.

Mark Tucker
Head Greenkeeper