KILSPINDIE 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 KILSPINDIE GOLF CLUB Advisory Report on the Golf Course incorporating the STRI Programme Report Date: 11 th September 2018 Consultant: Adam Newton

2 Date of Visit: Monday 20 th August 2018 Visit Objective: To provide an agronomic review of the golf course, collect greens performance data and confirm recommendations for ongoing improvement. Present: Keith Martin Secretary Manager John Arbuckle Head Greenkeeper Ewen Smith Deputy HG Gordon Burns Greenkeeper Gordon White Greenkeeper Josh Gilholm Greenkeeper Adam Newton Senior Agronomist Weather: Fine, dry and mild. Over 75mm of rain had fallen through the previous week. Headlines The course has fared well through the summer drought and feedback has generally been very positive. Greens performance was generally good but the surfaces had softened excessively after recent rainfall. A leaner feeding programme continues to pay dividends and is favouring finegrass populations. Annual meadowgrasses are currently weak and require strengthening to improve turf performance and resiliency. Organic matter levels have seen a notable increase in the top 20mm which can be attributed to elevated watering through the dry summer. Many Clubs have seen a similar increase. Fairway texture and presentation has greatly improved in response to grooming and brushing inputs. Localised dry patch was stalling recovery of some fairways after the drought e.g. 6, 7, 9, 11. Rough management requires closer attention to better balance playability and links character. The tees were weak and suffering with dollar spot as a result. Relevelling and relaying was discussed for some surfaces e.g. 1 st, 14 th, 16 th. Key Actions TX10 feed to all greens, coupled with verticutting and light sanding to perfect ball roll quality. Deep scarification and sand injection in early autumn to physically remove and dilute organic matter. Increase annual sanding rates to 150 tonnes and incorporate more frequent, lighter dressings. Maintain the leaner feeding programme, sustaining nitrogen inputs at 70 80kg/ha. Extra vigilance is needed with irrigation input to avoid overwatering. Utilise the soil moisture probe fully. Apply a penetrant wetter to help rewet fairways, followed by a liquid feed to aid turf recovery. Introduce more widespread cutting and collecting to golfing roughs in autumn. Objective Measurements (Cut and 3.5mm) Measurement Average Target Range Soil Moisture (%) 35% (range %) 15-25% Hardness (Gravities) 88 Gravities (range 83 93g) g Smoothness (mm/m) 24 mm/m <25 mm/m Trueness (mm/m) 9 mm/m <10 mm/m Green Speed 9 ft 6 in ft Organic Matter 0-20 mm (%) 11.6% 4-6% Organic Matter mm (%) 5.3% <4% Soil ph Phosphate (P2O 5) 111 mg/l >10 (mg/l) Potassium (K 2O) 86 mg/l >30 mg/l Key: In Target Marginal Variance Out of Target

3 Photo Observations and Comments Figure 1: The greens are reported to have performed well through the season. The leaner approach to feeding continues to deliver better results and the finer grasses are becoming ever more prominent as a result. Bentgrass populations were particularly strong and fescue has an increasing presence at the base of the sward e.g. 6 th, 11 th. Figure 2: Combinations of drought, heat and nitrogen stress have kept annual meadowgrasses on the back foot this season and allowed bentgrasses to prosper. The meadowgrasses were particularly weak at the time of the visit and were depressed within the swards. Anthracnose and fusarium diseases were invading weakened plants as a result. Figure 3: Coarser bents and ryegrasses were growing laterally and crowning in localised areas e.g. 1 st, 6 th, front 18 th. Textural refinement is needed over the coming days once the turf has been fed and strengthened. Figure 4: Fairy rings were most prolific on the 8 th and 11 th greens but mostly in the form of Type II variety. Thatch collapse was very minimal and a notable reduction when compared to previous years. Figure 5: The surfaces had softened down considerably following the recent rainfall, especially the 4 th and 12 th greens (see appendix). This can be attributed to the excess organic material contained at the base of the greens and reducing this represents our most important agronomic objective. Figure 6: Organic matter levels have increased in the top 20mm but reduced at depth (see appendix). Graden sand injection yielded positive results last autumn but some of the effect has been offset by extensive summer watering. An accumulation of cellulitic, water retentive thatch was evident beneath the 4 th and 12 th greens but material was more fibrous beneath some of the others. Rooting was excellent.

4 Photo Observations and Comments (continued) Figure 7: Localised thinning was apparent where mower turning is tight on green perimeters e.g. 1 st (pictured). Figure 8: The texture and growth habit of the fairways was far better this year following the introduction of regular grooming and brushing with the new fairway mower. Figure 9: Despite recent heavy rainfall, dry patch was still scarring some fairways (e.g. 1 st, 4 th, 6 th, 7 th ). Inspection of underlying soils in these areas showed hydrophobic conditions note the water droplets beading on the soil surface in the photo above instead of penetrating into the soil. A curative wetting agent application is needed to allow these soils to be rewet and for turf to recover. Figure 10: The rough grasslands play a pivotal role across the course aesthetically and strategically. I would suggest that semi rough mowing needs to be reduced in some areas and instead additional work should be undertaken to create wispy, playable golfing roughs that will frame the holes better. The left of the 15 th is a prime example (pictured) where the width of semi rough mowing is excessive but the longer seedhead rough is too penal. Annual or twice yearly cutting, collecting and raking operations would see these areas become less productive and more playable. Figure 11: This photo from the left of the 6 th illustrates this perfectly. This area was scarified, cut and collected with a demonstration flail mower last autumn and the results are much thinner, wispier golfing rough.

5 Figure 12: Plans to extend the Pro Shop will mean that some of the right side of the 1 st tee will be lost. Extending the tee forward to regain some playing area was discussed as a future project and this would allow for the surface levels across this surface to be improved at the same time. Figure 13: The tees are currently quite weak and dollar spot disease has recently taken hold and began to scar the surfaces. Figure 14: Plans to returf the 14 th and 16 th tees this winter are fully supported. Given the high volumes of play the course receives annually, a fescue/dwarf rye mix was recommended to aid wear tolerance. Recommendations Greens Verticut the greens as soon as possible at -1mm setting. The 1 st green would benefit from a double pass at acute angles to refine texture but ensure that thinner areas on the perimeter are avoided. Apply TX10 to all greens at 35g/m 2 once verticutting is complete to strengthen the turf. Tighten mowing heights to 3.25mm for the fortnight after the feed has kicked in to help maintain greenspeeds and aid textural improvement. Make two very light sand dressings to the surfaces over the next 3 weeks to aid surface smoothing and perfect ball roll quality. Drop the rate of application to around 5 tonnes/ha to minimise impact on play and cutting units. Bray seed thin areas on green perimeters (e.g. 1 st ) to help restore grass cover. Look to soften mower turning in these areas to prevent reoccurrence of this in the future. Be extra vigilant with moisture management from now on, utilising the moisture probe to its full potential. Carry out moisture checks on 3 or 4 indicator greens on 2 3 occasions per week (more in dry spells, less

6 in wetter periods) and aim to manage soil moisture at 20 25% where possible. Recording these readings would provide very useful information. The deep scarification and sand injection work scheduled for early October is essential to make headway with organic matter reduction. Select 3mm diameter blades on the GKB Sandfiller unit and target a depth of 30mm with kiln dried sand being injected directly into scarifying lines. Carry out a double pass with the DynaSeeders immediately after the GKB work is complete, with browntop bent being applied at a rate of 4g/m 2 per pass. Ensure that the surfaces are strong but not overly productive leading into the work and continue with plans to apply a further TX10 feed (@25g/m 2 ) afterwards (if needed) to help promote recovery. Protect the greens with a preventative fungicide treatment 3 4 days prior to the work. Propiconazole (Banner Maxx) or Propiconazole & Azoxystrobin (Headway) would be good options. Follow this up with Instrata in mid/late October. Continue with the Tough Turf programme through the autumn and winter to maintain strength in the turf and promote winter recovery. Look to introduce occasional application of dew dispersal agents through the winter as growth slows down. This will help reduce dew formation and keep the surfaces dry and less susceptible to disease as a result. Ensure that applications are not made prior to fungicide treatments as this can coat the leaf and hinder uptake of active ingredient. Continue with winter dressings as per last year, combining a heavier dressing with a vertidrain treatment to integrate sand to greater depths and dilute profile layering. Elevate sanding inputs to a total of 175 tonnes over the coming year to accelerate organic matter dilution. To achieve this, I would highly recommend that dressings are applied at lighter rates (5 7 tonnes/ha) but on a more frequent basis. These rates will have far less impact on play and cutting units. Proceed with plans to drill and fill low-lying wetter areas to the back-right of the 13 th and back of the putting green. In addition to these areas, I would suggest that this work would also be of great benefit to the 12 th green in its entirety. The leaner feeding programme is working well and should continue in the same vein. Aim to keep annual nitrogen levels at 70 80kg/ha. Soil ph has increased slightly over the last year due to elevated irrigation input but values remain ideal at an average of ph7.3. Phosphate levels remain high and require no supplementation for the foreseeable future. Potassium levels were also satisfactory and other than the TX10 feeds, there is no need for any further potassium input until spring at the earliest. Green Approaches and Surrounds Continue to extend verticutting, brushing and sanding to these areas wherever possible and plan for a verti-drain and heavier sand treatment in autumn (at the same time as the greens). Tees Feed all tees with the Convert granular product as soon as possible. Returfing the 14 th and 16 th tees is fully supported. As discussed, look to select a top-quality fescue and dwarf ryegrass mixture. Relevelling of the 1 st tee is needed in the future but this work can be combined with extension of the tee to the front following the clubhouse extension.

7 Fairways Plan for application of a penetrative/curative wetter to the fairways as soon as possible (combined with the next rainfall event). Dispatch would be a good option here. Dry patch was most evident on the 1 st, 4 th, 5 th, 6 th, 7 th, 9 th and 11 th fairways but all fairways would benefit from treatment to aid turf uniformity. Plan for application of ammonium sulphate to all fairways towards the end of September/early October to help the turf recover and strengthen prior to winter. Use water soluble ammonium sulphate at a rate of kg/ha. This will deliver kg/ha of nitrogen. Monitor recovery of the surfaces and deploy localised fescue overseeding to thinner areas if necessary. Rough & Scrub I would highly recommend that scarification, cutting and clipping collection is extended to the longer roughs this autumn with a band spanning 3 5m wide being targeted along either side of each hole. These areas will come back less productive and more playable next season (as seen on the 6 th ) and will continue to do so if this is implemented annually moving forward. If these roughs can become more playable, then semi rough mowing could be reduced in key areas e.g. 3 rd, 15 th, 16 th. Removal of the scrub behind the iconic 8 th green is fully supported. We also discussed deploying some localised management of buckthorn populations to the left-hand side. Signed Adam Newton BSc (Hons), MBPR, FQA Senior Turfgrass Agronomist Official Agronomist to the R&A Championship Committee t. +44 (0) e. adam.newton@strigroup.com

8 Objective Data Objective Data Graph 1: Soil moisture values were understandably high following over 75mm of rainfall through the past fortnight. That said, inspection of the turf highlighted how this moisture is being retained like a sponge by the excess organic matter at the turf base. Objective Data Graph 2: The surfaces had softened considerably in response to the rainfall. This is our key area for agronomic improvement moving forward. The 1 st and 18 th greens were retaining better firmness than the wetter 4 th and 12 th. Again, this softening can be attributed to the organic material beneath the greens.

9 Objective Data (continued) Objective Data Graph 3: Smoothness values were exceptionally consistent between the 4 greens and just within target ranges after a cut and a roll. Smoothness will improve further once the surfaces firm up and growth evens out (after the TX10 feed). Light sanding will also be of real benefit. Objective Data Graph 4: Trueness values were also extremely consistent and within routine target. Verticutting will notably help trueness along with the above-mentioned feeding, sanding and reduction in mowing height.

10 Objective Data (continued) Objective Data Graph 5: Green speeds were very consistent between the 4 th, 12 th and 18 th greens and averaged at 9ft 9. The 1 st green stood out as the slowest at 8ft 10 following the recent TX10 feed to this green.

11 Soils Laboratory Data Soils Laboratory Graph 1: Organic matter content in the top 20mm has seen a notable in on all greens from an average of 8% last year to 11.6% this year. As discussed above, this can be attributed to elevated summer watering and a natural reduction in diluting operations like sanding and aeration through the hotter spell. This increase has been seen at many Clubs but we must focus on reducing values back down as soon as possible. Deep scarification and sand injection is essential. Soils Laboratory Graph 2: Values at 20 40mm depth are more favourable but have seen a slight increase over the last year.

12 Soils Laboratory Data (continued) Soils Laboratory Graph 3: Values at 40 60mm depth have reduced notably on the 1 st, 12 th and 18 th greens and remained stable on the 4 th. Values are now either within or on the cusp of target range at this depth. Soils Laboratory Graph 4: Values have reduced notably on the 4 th and 12 th greens and remained stable on the 1 st and 18 th. Some further dilution is still needed at this depth.

13 STRI St Ives Estate, Bingley, West Yorkshire, BD16 1AU T F E. ORGANIC MATTER CONTENT CLIENT: KILSPINDIE GC DATE RECEIVED: 29/08/18 ADDRESS: THE CLUBHOUSE, DATE REPORTED: 03/09/18 ABERLADY, LONGNIDDRY, EAST LOTHIAN, EH32 0QD RESULTS TO: ARN TEST RESULTS AUTHORISED BY: CONDITION OF SAMPLE UPON ARRIVAL: MOIST Michael Baines, Laboratory Manager SAMPLE NO DESCRIPTION LOSS ON IGNITION (%) * A17163/ mm mm mm mm *ASTM F Standard Test Methods for Organic Matter Content of Athletic Field Rootzone Mixes (Method A) THE RESULTS PERTAIN ONLY TO THE SAMPLE(S) SUBMITTED AND TESTED Testing Certificate Page 1 of 1

14 STRI St Ives Estate, Bingley, West Yorkshire, BD16 1AU T F E. ORGANIC MATTER CONTENT CLIENT: KILSPINDIE GC DATE RECEIVED: 19/07/18 ADDRESS: THE CLUBHOUSEABERLADY DATE REPORTED: 25/07/18 LONGNIDDRY EAST LOTHIAN, EH32 0QD RESULTS TO: ARN TEST RESULTS AUTHORISED BY: CONDITION OF SAMPLE UPON ARRIVAL: MOIST Michael Baines, Laboratory Manager SAMPLE NO DESCRIPTION LOSS ON IGNITION (%) * A17046/ mm mm mm mm A17046/ mm mm mm mm A17046/ mm mm mm mm A17046/ mm mm mm mm *ASTM F Standard Test Methods for Organic Matter Content of Athletic Field Rootzone Mixes (Method A) THE RESULTS PERTAIN ONLY TO THE SAMPLE(S) SUBMITTED AND TESTED Testing Certificate Page 1 of 1

15 STRI St Ives Estate, Bingley, West Yorkshire, BD16 1AU T F E. SOIL CHEMICAL ANALYSIS CLIENT: KILSPINDIE GC DATE RECEIVED: 19/07/2018 RESULTS TO: ARN Lab No. Source ph P 2 O 5 (mg/l) K 2 O (mg/l) A17046/1 GREEN A17046/2 GREEN A17046/3 GREEN A17046/4 GREEN Mr MABaines, Soil Laboratory Manager THE RESULTS PERTAIN ONLY TO THE SAMPLE(S) SUBMITTED AND TESTED.

16 STRI St Ives Estate, Bingley, West Yorkshire, BD16 1AU T F E. SOIL CHEMICAL ANALYSIS KILSPINDIE GC Date: 19/07/18 ph Analysis ph GREEN 1 GREEN 4 GREEN 12 GREEN 18 Phosphate Analysis P 2 O 5 (mg/l) GREEN 1 GREEN 4 GREEN 12 GREEN 18 Potassium Analysis K 2 O (mg/l) GREEN 1 GREEN 4 GREEN 12 GREEN 18 THE RESULTS PERTAIN ONLY TO THE SAMPLE(S) SUBMITTED AND TESTED.