NORTH OXFORD GOLF CLUB

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1 TO NORTH OXFORD GOLF CLUB AGRONOMY REPORT ON THE GOLF COURSE SEPTEMBER 2017 DAVID STANSFIELD LTD. GOLF COURSE AGRONOMY 13 Fell View Phone +44 (0) Skipton BD23 6RX UK Web

2 DAVID STANSFIELD LTD. GOLF COURSE AGRONOMY 13 Fell View Phone +44 (0) Skipton BD23 6RX UK Web NORTH OXFORD GOLF CLUB AGRONOMY REPORT ON THE GOLF COURSE Inspection Date 21 September PRESENT 1.1 The course was inspected with Philip Plater. 1.2 Matters arising were discussed with Philip Morley. 2.0 BRIEF 2.1 To carry out a review of course condition and resources for maintenance. 2.2 To comment on findings and to make recommendations for future action. 3.0 COURSE CONDITION 3.1 The Club reported improvements to the summer playing performance of greens and bunkers over recent months. Over and above there have been positive steps in advancing the makeup of the putting surfaces to give better year-round usability. Good to note too was that plans are in place to accelerate this latter process with drain installations into selected greens in the near future. 3.2 The greens had been perforated by hollow tining and not all the holes had closed over after two weeks. Hence, putting surfaces were not optimal, but they were still very satisfactory on the day. The turf was firm underfoot and more complete than in February, especially at the 6 th and 15 th. Below ground there has been a good effect from a more intensive top dressing programme. However, a special target going forward will be to improve root depth, which remains comparatively poor. 3.3 Looking out from greens there was a lot of thin and bare ground around bunkers where accumulated sand splash has created a very droughty growing environment. Repairing this damage was said to be a particular objective for the winter, but do note this will involve a large amount of sand removal and replacement, as well as returfing, and is quite a big job from hole to hole. A further plan is the removal of Conifer trees, e.g. at the 2 nd, 6 th and 16 th ; good. At the 16 th I suggest you tie this in with tree root pruning to follow up the successful operation at the 15 th, which has improved the green considerably, creating more useable pin positions. 3.4 On fairways, the main items were control of weeds (Plantains) and worm casting. The latter was becoming profuse on the high points of the course. 1

3 3.5 A selection of tees was examined. The primary issue evident was tree damage, e.g. at 15 th and 18 th. I understand the Club plans to rebuild the 18 th and extend the platform this winter. Points were made on design. 4.0 RESOURCES AND EQUIPMENT 4.1 Since my February visit the Club has bought a greens iron and used this to good effect, with no evident damage due to smearing or soil compaction. 4.2 Also purchased has been a set of Dynacore units from Greentek, for shallow hollow tining into the thatch layer at frequent intervals. These were delivered recently, so it will only be possible to carry out a preliminary trial on one or two areas in the short term. For 2018 though, make this the focus of the aeration programme Apr-Oct and reduce the amount of conventional hollow tining. 4.3 There has been an improved input of top dressing this year, but I envisage even more in With this in mind, I suggest the Club looks at buying at Sweep-N- Fill brush to facilitate working in. See: Other important extra equipment can be hired as needed, e.g. the Air2G GREENS SURVEY 5.1 Although the greens were still perforated from a recent hollow tining operation, ball roll was quite smooth at a medium-fast pace under a 4.0 mm height of cut. 5.2 The putting surfaces were firmer and have filled in to good completeness, other than for 1 m 2 at the rear of the 6 th. The 6 th in general though was much better, as was the 15 th following tree root pruning. 5.3 Looking at the turf in detail, the drier greens had a uniform appearance, with only a low number of yellowy, fine-leaved Annual Meadowgrass patches. These greens also contained more Bentgrass than was apparent in February, which is a good pointer to improved growing conditions. In contrast, wetter greens and some areas of green that collect surface water run-off were yellow and blotchy, especially the 6 th and parts of the 1 st, 11 th and 16 th. Other places that tend to flood, e.g. parts of the 8 th and 14 th, did not have this indicative species of a fundamentally too wet soil condition. 5.4 There was no disease, there were no Leatherjackets, and there was just a scattering of worm casts. 5.5 Below ground, thatch depth remains at c. 3.0 cm overall. However, inputs of top dressing during the spring and summer have improved the top half of the thatch layer and decreased its potential for water retention. See Photo 1. Root growth though remains comparatively poor at a typical 4-5 cm for the main bundle. This needs to be doubled, not only giving better stability but also less thatch. 5.6 The top 8-10 cm of the soil profiles is already sandy and seemed uncompacted. So there is not a huge benefit in coring to this depth and placing sand below the thatch layer. See Photo Deeper down, the staining of the deeper soil suggests slow ground water movement at times, worst at the 1 st, 6 th and 16 th where the planned drainage work by White Horse Contractors will be a big asset. Elsewhere, you can 2

4 optimise the air space and water holding capacity in the soil by routine deep aeration to help keep the putting surfaces as dry as possible from week to week. This is a key procedure. Photo 1: The top half of the thatch layer now has a better sand content making it more resistant to smearing 6.0 GREENS ASSESSMENT Photo 2: Hollow tining with the Procore puts added sand into the rootzone, rather than into the thatch proper 6.1 There has been good success in improving both presentation for play and the technical management of the greens during the past six months. The latter has given a better base to build from going forward. The need now is to tie in specific problem areas through drain installation and tree management, to create ground conditions that will allow for as consistent a result from surface operations as possible over eighteen greens. 3

5 6.2 Fundamental to the improvement works achieved to date has been an enhanced input of top dressing. 60 tonnes have been applied to putting surfaces this year, but there was still scope for a further light dressing in the short term to help finish off recovery from the hollow tining operation, as advised. Looking forward to 2018 the aim must be for 80 tonnes of similar sand Apr-Oct. 6.3 If the proposed 80 tonnes of sand is to disappear and be incorporated effectively, applications need to be tied in with a concerted, but non-disruptive aeration programme. Starting out in spring, if there is still distinct water retention in the thatch layer at the end of winter carry out conventional hollow tining with the Procore and fill the holes with two generous top dressings, two weeks apart. If however, the thatch is showing low water retention, start a programme of Dynacore treatments instead. Either way, continue Dynacore treatments at monthly intervals right through the growing season. To assist this process I recommend the Club dedicates maintenance Mondays when the Greenkeepers have priority to core, clear and top dress, to get this out of the way quickly. And even with this basic monthly top dressing, still put on a light dusting in between coring operations for best momentum. 6.4 I did not see value in starting Dynacore treatments throughout the course straight away. Certainly have a trial to make sure the equipment is in good shape and working well and to assess the time needed for coring and clearing. For the moment though, more value will be in pencil tining with the Procore to a depth of 8-10 cm, using 8-10 mm dia. pins at 2-4 week intervals, ground conditions permitting through to March, starting once the hollow tine holes have all grown over. In addition, aerate deeply with the Air2G2 on two occasions (say November and February). This is to give the potential for deeper rooting while the height of cut is not so tight. 6.5 Also to promote deeper rooting I recommend treatments with Humic and Fulvic acids. These can be conveniently applied via Turfcomplex from Headland as a root drench in October and April. 6.6 The fertiliser plan this year has worked well and might go forward to 2018 on a similar basis. During the autumn and winter focus on iron sulphate treatments to give colour, to discourage worms and to reduce disease risk. I suggest using Vitax 50:50 soluble iron at 4-6 intervals October-February. 6.7 There were no disease problems on the day and I understand winter disease damage is not routinely severe. As such, following a further preventative application of fungicide in mid-october, using Instrata or similar, focus on curative control as needed from time to time. Keep the greens clear of dew and leaves. 6.8 I understand White Horse Contractors are booked in to drain the 1 st, 6 th and 16 th greens in early October. Good. Although these greens looked better than was the case earlier in the year, they were still very wet below ground. See Photo 3. As agreed, if you are not fully confident on the work needed to reinstate the drain lines, discussing this with Reading Golf Club will be helpful as they have gone through this process of late with very good success. When lifting the turf off the drain lines, number the turves so they can go back in the same order and blend in better quickly. 6.9 A tree control programme is also planned at the 2 nd, 6 th and 16 th : At the 2 nd, take out all the Conifers at the rear of the greensite. 4

6 At the 16 th take out Conifers to form a sunshine corridor to the south, between the Poplars and the Cherries. Also carry out tree root pruning as at the 15 th. At the 6 th, I recommend you lower the hedge between the greensite and the sheds, rather than take this out altogether. If Poplar suckers come through after tree root pruning I do not expect this to be a long term problem. Just continue to plug these out as needed. 7.0 GREEN SURROUNDS Photo 3: Although the 6 th looked drier on top it was still comparatively wet below ground 7.1 Improvements to bunker margins to restore completeness of cover will not be a quick and easy job. There are a lot of bunkers in need of attention, and there is a lot to do as part of each operation. Beneath the surface there is a very deep accumulation of sand that must be replaced with topsoil proper before re-turfing, if the turf is to survive long term. See Photograph FAIRWAYS AND TEES 8.1 The main requirement here is to try to restrict worm casting, which will be difficult now that chemical control proper is off the market. Cultural control might start with a trial of the new product from Sherriff, StimZyne, applied in rainy weather. Beyond that, possible procedures need to be combined to have an accumulative effect, covering sand top dressings, frequent spraying with iron sulphate, and ideally collecting clippings. However the latter is likely to be impractical on fairways with heavy top growth. 8.2 There is still time to spray for Plantains if the weather permits. 8.3 When discussing planned improvements to the 18 th tees, first and foremost the need is to take away the damaging trees that are the main cause of sinkage and weak top growth. Once you have done that, there will be less pressure to make the tee bigger, but widening by 50% to give, say a 10 m width of usable platform will be sensible. And if you can lower the tee as well as enlarge it, taking down 5

7 the platform by say m will give you more platform and less bank while retaining a sight of the flag and the landing area on the fairway. 9.0 NEXT VISIT Photo 4: Long term accumulation of sand splash makes for an inhospitable growing environment in bunker margins 9.1 A further review is scheduled for May/June 2018 to see the course in a different season. D M STANSFIELD 29 September