CLONTARF GOLF CLUB. Advisory Report on the Golf Course incorporating the STRI Programme. Making great sport happen

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1 Making great sport happen CLONTARF GOLF CLUB Advisory Report on the Golf Course incorporating the STRI Programme Report Date: 1 st December 2017 Consultant: Conor Nolan

2 Date of Visit: 28 th November 2017 Visit Objective: Present: Weather: To objectively measure greens playing quality in addition to review of overall course condition and provision of general advice on maintenance issues throughout the course. Mr C Murphy Course Convenor Mr P Murray General Manager Mr D O Malley Head Greenkeeper Conor Nolan STRI Ltd Some sunshine. 9ᵒC. Headlines It is unfortunate that the 12 th and 13 th greens together with the odd previously weaker sections on other greens were affected by fusarium patch disease. Other than that, the putting surfaces had come through the main disease pressure period very well. Ball roll quality was good for the time of year to the non-diseased greens. The aprons were much better following overseeding and the procurement of a higher quality aprons mower. Tees, and in particular the cored 3 rd tee, were in good condition. Fairways were of below moderate earthworm casting and offered nice ball support for the time of year. Shade from trees made some damper than they should be while leaves were still prominent. Grass cover to the bowling green together with sward density was much better. Pearlwort is proving problematic to remove to it and some greens. Key Actions Continue to use dew dispersal agents after one more preventative application of Instrata fungicide is made shortly after the visit to keep fusarium patch disease activity at bay. Plug out spots of pearlwort, toadrush and ryegrass after the visit before replacing with browntop bentgrass plugs from the garden green. Raise the height of cut on the garden green to 8mm for the slower growing months to help crowd out the moss. Trickle feed the bowling green with 4:0:4 granular fertiliser at 20-25g/m 2 twice before March. Plan to apply Cabadex broadleaved herbicide to the bowling green when mild in spring to control pearlwort. Overseed the aprons with medium coloured and textured ryegrasses using the plant pot method again in late April/early May. Core all new tees again in late February with large 22mm diameter core tines. Sand well afterwards. Maintain the vigour and ball support of the fairways with an application of ammonium sulphate at 50-75kg/hectare in February. Sanding of the new fairways needs to resume in the spring to maintain the functionality of the drainage system. Apply at rates of tonnes per hectare. Tree work should progress in the coming months. The 2 nd green complex needs most urgent tree removal.

3 Objective Measurements Measurement Average Target Range Soil Moisture (%) % ( ) 15-25% Hardness (Gravities) Gravities (82-86) g Smoothness (mm/m) mm/m <23 mm/m Trueness (mm/m) mm/m <10 mm/m Green Speed 6 ft 5in 8ft 2in 9-10 ft Key: In Target Marginal Variance Out of Target

4 Photo Observations and Comments Figure 1: Most greens like the 14 th above were only affected by a very slight touch of disease which was very pleasing for the time of year. Ball roll in terms of smoothness/trueness to two out of the three measured greens was quite good. Pace was very consistent between greens except for the 12 th which received additional nitrogen to make it slower. Figure 2: The 12 th and 13 th greens were heavily scarred by recent fusarium patch disease. Similar activity was noted to a few parts of greens that received the same fertiliser 9:7:7 in late September. The growth and nitrogen applied was higher than desired. The added growth will have reduced the duration of fungicide control and produced a softer more vulnerable plant. Figure 3: Close up of the 12 th green revealed that it was the annual meadowgrass species that was mainly affected by fusarium. Because of the added growth from nitrogen the lusher surface delivered poorer smoothness and trueness than other measured greens. The larger solid tining with 18mm diameter tines won t have helped either. Figure 4: The 2 nd green was quite scarred by fusarium due, it appears, to the shade and poorer air circulation. Figure 5: Very nice texture and density to a section of the 10 th apron. All aprons were more uniform and tidy, helped greatly by the new mower and 4-5 overseeding treatments with fine ryegrasses in recent years. Figure 6: The much improved 3 rd tee thanks to September coring with 22mm core tines and generous sanding. While firmness and grass cover was good overall it was possible to squeeze moisture out of the top of the odd profile (e.g. 17 th ).

5 Photo Observations and Comments (continued) Figure 7: Quite shaded 16 th fairway. More open fairways would provide drier fairway surfaces and less earthworm casting. Incidentally while sand was applied to the 12 th, 13 th and 14 th fairways the rate of dilution of organic matter needs to increase by a doubling of sand inputs each year if slit drains are to perform well for longer. Figure 8: Much better sward density and reduced moss levels seen to the bowling green. Pearlwort remains despite two applications of herbicide. Finally, the bentgrass component is starting to build again. The green was slightly softer than desired as sanding is too light.

6 Recommendations Greens Make one more preventative application of Instrata fungicide within a week or so of the visit, unless snow is forecast when another should be applied this year or in the spring just in advance of snowfall. Apply 4:0:4 plus 9% iron granular fertiliser at 20-25g/m 2 on occasion to the new 12 th and 13 th greens to help recover disease scars over the coming months. Do not use 9:7:7 now and again in the autumn given the direct influence it had on fusarium patch disease activity. Plug out as much pearlwort (e.g. 3 rd, 5 th and 15 th greens), toadrush (16 th green) and ryegrass (3 rd green), before replacing with browntop bentgrass plugs from the garden green. A slightly higher 5.5mm height of cut would be preferred until late March or so, due to added softness and thinness to the odd green, as it stands at 5.0mm. Raise the height of cut on the garden green to 7-8mm to help crowd out the moss there. Next year between May and August we will need to supplement the September disc seeding with further overseeding with either a disc seeder (Vredo) or dimple seeder. Seeding with the Vredo would be preferred. Timing will be dependent on gaps in your playing calendar. Promotion of the better bentgrasses as browntop bentgrass becomes more important as the main knockdown fungicides are no longer available on the market from mid-spring or so. Apply Coragen insecticide at the highest off label rate for control of leatherjackets now; a preventative measure. Ensure to spread the wear and tear to all parts of greens, especially where trailing moss is found (e.g. 16 th and 18 th ). Resting the 12 th and 13 th greens over the coming months will help speed up recovery. Aerate greens with 8mm diameter tines mounted on the Aercore to reach a depth of 100mm in February. Groom on occasion in the months ahead. More intensive sanding can resume at rates of 5 tonnes in January or so. Application of dew dispersal agent should continue regularly until March to help suppress fusarium patch disease. If applying Banner Maxx or Chipco Green fungicide apply it a few days in advance of treatments. With neither Interface nor Chipco Green available for disease control next autumn a preventative approach must be followed using a combination of the products below. o Heritage Maxx (above 12 Celsius) o Exteris Stressgard (above 10 Celsius) o Banner Maxx II (between 7-12 Celsius) o Instrata Elite. (above 4-5 Celsius) o Medallion (between 3-7 Celsius) Green Aprons, Surrounds and Approaches Maintain the current approach to mowing with the new 8 bladed greens grade triplex mower set at 10mm height of cut. Plan to overseed the aprons/approaches in late April/early May again with 70% mid green coloured dwarf perennial ryegrass (e.g. Barolympic, Chardin, Claudine and Bargold) and 30% slender creeping red fescues. Use 18-19mm diameter solid tines set to a shallow depth to form plant pots. Sow at a rate of 60-80kg/hectare using a drop spreader to apply seed before working the seed to the pots with a turned upside-down tees mat. Do not use a brush to work in the seed or the dimple seeder to sow. Sand once seedlings emerge. Repeat the treatment in May. Fertilise aprons and approaches mainly with the putting surfaces.

7 Apply 9:7:7 to any weaker or trafficked surrounds to maintain uniformity on an on-going basis to counter wear e.g. approach to 12 th and left side of the 8 th and 13th. When ground conditions allow continue to make light applications (15 tonnes per hectare) of sand to paths and pinch points on surrounds (e.g. 13 th surrounds) in the coming months. Tees Core the damper tees (i.e. 2 nd, 3 rd and 9 th ) together with the 6 th, 11 th and 17 th tees with large 19-22mm diameter core tines again towards the end of February. Sand to fill the core channels once cores are removed. There should be no need to take out the turf layer or rootzone on the 3 rd tee judging by current condition/performance. Apply 9:7:7 at 20g/m 2 to tees and the sandy surrounds on the 2 nd /9 th complex every 5-6 weeks before April. Sand the tees and paths soon and once again at 15 tonnes/hectare before February, once ground conditions allow. Fairways Sand topdress the new holes in April at light rates of tonnes/hectare. The new holes should receive in the order of tonnes of sand in total per hectare per year to prevent deterioration of the overall drainage. They receive half that. Maintain the fairway at a height of 17-18mm for the low season. Keep growth ticking over in the early spring with an application of ammonium sulphate at 50-70kg/hectare in 400 litres of water. Apply additional to the new holes at the first sight of any drainlines. Bowling Green Apply Cabadex selective herbicide to the Green at full rate once conditions are mild and there is no frost, sometime in the spring. Maintain the height of cut at 6.5mm during the off season until late March. Aim to sand in the early spring to reach the 18 tonnes target for the off season. Last application should be in mid-march. Supply 3-4 tonnes per treatment. Apply 4:0:4 fertiliser at 20-25g/m 2 soon and once more when mild enough before March to crowd out moss and progress sward density. Tree Removal It was pleasing to hear that provision within the budget is made for substantial tree removal for each of the next three years. Most urgent need for tree removal is to the 2 nd green complex which was by far the green most affected by fusarium patch disease other than 12 and 13. It is vulnerable because of environmental conditions of shade and lesser air movement. Other tree work should progress to address conditions as best you can to complexes 1, 5, 8 and 17 th, as well as those laid out in the tree report of a few years ago. Tree removal between fairways should focus firstly on Leyland cypress and poplars to improve general drying and sunshine levels across the site, and to reduce maintenance work.

8 Signed Conor Nolan B.Agr.Sc (Land Hort), M.Sc, MPBR STRI Turf Agronomist for Ireland t. +44 (0) e. STRI is completely independent and has no alliances to commercial products, services or contractors. This ensures that our design, project management and advisory services provide the best solutions for each individual client.

9 Objective Data Objective Data Graph 1: Objective Data Graph 2:

10 Objective Data (continued) Objective Data Graph 3: Objective Data Graph 4:

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