Friday 26 August 2016


NEATH GOLF CLUB
MONTHLY GOLF COURSE REPORT
JULY 2016
 
GREENS
  • The greens have had a tough month, the weather could not have been much worse. As its been reported many times the greens become very vulnerable in the climate we experienced, foggy, damp and dull days combined with very humid air temperatures make the perfect combination for disease to strike. We suffered a small outbreak at the beginning of July, the greens were strong enough to fend the attack off other than the 5th and 17th (These two greens have been treated with a fungicide). Sunlight and UV are a great cure for fusarium but with the tree coverage around these 2 greens not enough sun was penetrating, although it pleasing to report the 14th stayed clean. When we had the 5 days of blanket fog it’s not surprising it flared up again and being so close to the club championship I decided to blanket spray all greens with a preventive and curative fungicide.
  • The recent weather has been a carbon copy of 2014 and in this year we had a bad outbreak of anthracnose in the middle of August so I’m expecting the same. Unfortunately, when you see the disease it too late to spray and we do not have the funds to apply a preventive fungicide (£1000). It tends to attack greens that are lean i.e. low on nitrogen so a granular fertiliser is to be applied to pick N levels up.
  • The weather leading up to the club champs was difficult but with lots of extra hours from the boys and I, we managed produce excellent surfaces for the day that was enjoyed by all
  • Maintenance week has been hampered by the weather, full report next month   
PLAN OF ACTION
  • Maintenance week
  • Granular feed
  • Apply liquid turf conditioners and wetting agent
  • Hand weed
TEES
  • The bare areas on the 15th and 16th tees have been seeded and top dressed, the germination has been excellent and we now have full coverage 
PLAN OF ACTION
  • Apply liquid feed, seaweed and iron
  • Move tees daily
  • Divot weekly
APRONS
  • Growth is consistent and all have full coverage 
PLAN OF ACTION
  • Continue with traffic management in vulnerable areas
  • Verti cut
 
FAIRWAYS
 
  • The PGR that was applied is wearing off  and growth is strong again, it needs to be applied every 3 weeks to keep growth to a manageable rate but we do not have the funds or resources to do this
PLAN OF ACTION
  • Mow and brush when required.
WINTER PROJECTS
  • We have sourced some astro turf from Banwen RFC; there are around 60 rolls available. I have agreed with them that as payment they can bring up to 20 golfers for a team bonding outing, this will be on a Saturday afternoon and they intend to use the bar afterwards.
  • It’s been rolled up for a year and some seem to be quite brittle so before I instruct delivery I shall go up and un-roll 1 to check it’s just the flap that’s been in the sun that is affected.
  • The chair of Banwen needs to take our offer to committee but he cannot see a problem so the only physical cost to the club will be the transport.
 
 
 
NEATH GOLF CLUB
 
MONTHLY GOLF COURSE REPORT
JUNE 2016
GREENS
  • Greens are performing extremely well. The new nutrient input I have implemented this season is making a huge difference; the N input is down by 20% compared to this time last year. Grass growth is under control and the clip rate has dramatically reduced. By reducing the clip rate, the greens perform better for longer during the day. If this trend continues I will soon be able to skip a cut for roll, this will obviously help with the trueness and smoothness but more importantly reduce the stress levels placed on the grass plant.
  •  In the planned maintenance week starting on the 1st of August I’ve decided not to hollow core again, there’s no benefit ripping cores out when it’s not needed. I will be focusing on deep aeration and thatch removal. The deep aeration will be carried out using the air2g2 machine. The machine will be delivered onsite Sunday 31st July so it is likely I shall start in the evening behind the last group in the club champs. It is a very slow process with an average size green taking approx. an hour. I will be doing the historically wetter greens twice.
  • For the thatch removal I will be light verti cutting the greens on the 18th   of July and applying a product called T-Thatch, a decomposing enzyme solution that cleans up thatch and invigorates the grass sward without disruption or loss of playing surface. It’s applied two weeks before the main maintenance so the thatch is already breaking down making it easier to remove. On the 1st of August, greens will be double verti cut at +3mm, brushed and cut. This will also help to “fine down” the courser grasses
  • Sarrel roll
  • Granular fertiliser applied to aid recovery
  • Top dressing to be applied, this will be as heavy as conditions allow.
  • If time allows tees and approaches will be verti cut, brushed and cut, fairways brushed and cut.
  • Over seeding will be carried out twice in September along with a micro hollow core if needed and top dressing
 
PLAN OF ACTION
  • Maintenance week
  • Apply liquid turf conditioners and wetting agent
  • Hand weed
TEES
  • Tees coverage is excellent, the 15th and 16th struggled in the recent dry spell but are recovering slowly
  • All have been sprayed with a PGR, liquid feed and iron
PLAN OF ACTION
 
  • Apply liquid feed, seaweed and iron
  • Move tees daily
  • Divot weekly
APRONS
  • I am very pleased with the approaches.
  • All have been sprayed with a PGR, liquid feed and iron
 
PLAN OF ACTION
 
  • Continue with traffic management in vulnerable areas
  • Verti cut
FAIRWAYS
 
  • Fairways are exceptional and with the resources available we can’t get them much better than they currently are.
  • All have been sprayed with a PGR, liquid feed and iron
PLAN OF ACTION
 
  • Mow and brush when required.
 
 
ROUGH
  • Lots of time has been spent on the 1st cut and the results are superb.
  • I was not happy with the quality or appearance so I lowered the HOC on the new rough mower to 25mm, being a rotary mower it is able to cut the coarser grass the cylinder can’t, now we have a uniform 1st cut that looks and performs outstanding.
  • The 1st cut has been sprayed a PGR, liquid feed and iron.
  • Now the grass is at a uniform 25mm the 1st cut mower can keep it that way but if we miss a cut through weather etc then I will have no hesitation in doing it again with the new John Deere
  • The 2nd cut rough is being cut at least once a week at 65mm. 10mm shorter than last year.
 
 
 
    NEATH GOLF CLUB
     
    MONTHLY GOLF COURSE REPORT
     
    MAY 2016
     
    GREENS
     
    • Bell preparations went well and the course was in great condition. Members and guests were all full of praise, which is always good for the boys and I to hear.
    • The weather leading up to the bell was changeable to say the least. Monday and Tuesday was very humid with torrential rain, this triggered off the fusarium. It was not a particularly severe outbreak but frustrating none the less. Its pleasing to report that no fungicide has been applied, the strength of the greens combined with drier and more importantly sunny (the disease cannot tolerate UV light) weather was enough to fend it off
    • We suffered a relatively severe hydraulic oil leak on the 13th green. This was on the old Ransomes GT, this machine has suffered two leaks the last twice it gone out so because of that I will not be using it again, we have two of these and a scrap one for spares, when Kerry has chance he is going to clean them up to put on eBay.
    • The old Cushman has been out of action for 3 weeks, as reported many times this machine is very old and new parts are no longer available, I am using all my contacts to attempt to find a scrap one we can pinch parts from.
    • All greens solid tined
    • 12 ton of topdressing applied
    • Liquid feed, seaweed and wetting agent applied
     
    PLAN OF ACTION
     
    • Brush
    • Apply liquid turf conditioners and wetting agent
    • Hand weed
    • Top dress
 
    TEES
     
    • Tees coverage is excellent, a close eye will be kept if this dry weather continues for drought stress
     
    PLAN OF ACTION
     
    • Apply liquid feed, seaweed and iron
    • Hand water if needed
    • Move tees daily
    • Divot weekly
     
     
    APRONS
     
    • I am very pleased with the approaches after the deep verti cut and brush.
    • Brushing has continued weekly around the green to further fine down the course grasses.
    • All received a selective herbicide, iron and turf conditioners
    • The back of 15 is now being cut at 1st cut height is will stay this way until rain is forecast
     
    PLAN OF ACTION
     
    • Continue with traffic management in vulnerable areas
    • Verti cut
    • Apply liquid feed, seaweed and iron
     
     
    FAIRWAYS
     
     
     
    • Fairways are looking and performing very well. The divot night was well attended and a good job was carried out, thank you to all that attended
     
     
PLAN OF ACTION
  • Mow and brush when required
    • Plan another divot night