Pollok Golf Club. Richard Windows Turfgrass Agronomist. for excellence in sports surfaces

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1 Pollok Golf Club Richard Windows Turfgrass Agronomist for excellence in sports surfaces

2 Course presentation, playing qualities and standards of maintenance were excellent. Intensification of routine refinement to greens is all that was required to perfect the greens for main season play.

3 Visit details Date of visit 28 th May 2012 Visit Objective Present Weather To review the late spring condition of the course, take objective measurements of green performance and confirm ongoing maintenance requirements. Mr Lindsay Dempster Captain Mr Allan Ramsey Vice Captain Mr Grant Hunter Green Convenor Mr Donald McKellar Club Manager Mr Donald MacLeod Head Greenkeeper Mr Mark Houston First Assistant Mr Richard Windows Turfgrass Agronomist Hot, sunny & dry. April and May offered poor growing conditions and resulted in little growth. The last 10 days have been very hot with strong growth.

4 Executive Summary The golf course was presented excellently with high standards of conditioning throughout the majority of surfaces. Grass cover to the greens was good, but intensification of routine refinement and Primo-Maxx growth regulator is required to perfect the surfaces for main season play. Localised dry patch was present and requires immediate action in the form of wetting agent applications and irrigation inputs. On-going renovation is necessary to the rear of the 3 rd green throughout the season to restore a full cover of grass. More regular monitoring of green speed is necessary to optimise consistency between greens, particularly to the more vigorous lower end of the course.

5 Executive Summary (Cont) Sand top dressing to green approaches has been compromised due to the delay in machinery servicing, but these applications shall now begin in earnest. Several weak and bare patches of ground remain to lower lying wet sections of fairways and require renovation and regular irrigation to encourage recovery. Some bare ground is present to the 3 rd and 8 th medal tee and these require renovation over the next couple of weeks to restore a full cover of grass for main season play. Tree management remains an essential long term objective and professional advice should be sought to ensure an appropriate plan is integrated into the Course Development Plan.

6 Greens for excellence in sports surfaces

7 Greens Main Observations Grass cover, sward texture and species composition to the greens was very good and consistent between each surface. Due to the dominance of browntop bent within the greens, annual meadow grass seedhead activity was minimal. Spring nutritional programmes have worked well and the first application of Primo-Maxx was made, but subsequent applications have been delayed. Localised dry patch was present with the worst to the 10 th green. Immediate rectification is necessary. Regular sand top dressing has been implemented during the spring with great success. Localised hand watering has been necessary over the last 7-10 days. On the morning of the visit, the greens were mown with triple mowers at 4mm followed by a single turf iron roll.

8 Greens Close Up View Grass cover, sward texture and species composition to the greens was excellent, but intensification of routine refinement is necessary to perfect and polish the surfaces for the main season.

9 Greens Close Up View Localised dry patch was present which created problems to the 10 th green. Immediate rectification in the form of monthly wetting agent (Osprey) application in combination with weekly curative treatments of Aquatrols Aqueduct. Regular irrigation is also necessary.

10 Greens Close Up View Moisture values in dry patch affected areas were down to 6.6% whereas readings of 25-40% were present to unaffected areas. If this continues, surface uniformity and ball roll quality will be severely compromised.

11 Greens Close Up View Additional hand mowing with grooming and a further turf iron roll was carried out to the 8 th green to assess its affect on improving ball roll quality. The results will be discussed later in the report.

12 Greens Close Up View The rear of the 3 rd green supported weak and thin cover following successful moss removal. On-going renovation and limitation of any damage from maintenance machinery is required to restore a full grass cover through the season.

13 STRI Programme -Measurement Tools Smoothness and trueness Green Speed Firmness Firmness Soil Moisture

14 Soil Moisture Content

15 Soil Moisture Content Values ranged from 19% to the 17 th to 26% to the 13 th. All values were consistent and were within the ideal target range which is reflective of the dry weather recently. It was interesting to note the 13 th green was the most moisture retentive due to its position and heavier underlying soil type. It also explains its greater natural vigour and clipping production. Consistency of moisture beneath the indicator greens was good, but signs of localised dry patch were appearing to all greens especially the 10 th. Moisture values to the 10 th varied considerably from 6.6% to 40.2%. Immediate application of curative and preventative wetting agents are required to restore uniform soil moisture content.

16 Surface Firmness/Hardness

17 Surface Firmness/Hardness Values ranged from 110 (13 th and 17 th ) to 118 to the 16 th. All values were outside (i.e. firmer) than the parkland target range. There was generally a very good level of consistency between each green. Despite the greens being outside the target range, surface performance was considered to be good and authentic to the design and strategy of the course. However, it was felt important to monitor feedback from the golfers and ensure the surfaces do not become overly hard and unreceptive. We are aiming to create challenging but fair conditions for golf. It was pleasing to see the 17 th green was consistent with the others on the course in terms of surface firmness. Our on-going strategy is to improve the firmness values of all the other greens towards those achieved for the 17 th. Consistency of firmness through each individual green was good, but a couple of hard areas were noted to the front half of the 16 th.

18 Smoothness

19 Smoothness Values ranged from 23.8mm/m for the 17 th to 29.1mm/m for the 13 th. It was interesting to see the 17 th was the smoothest green on the course. Whilst smoothness values were satisfactory, they were out of the ideal summer target range due to the presence of annual meadow grass seedheads and slightly coarse sward texture. To rectify the situation, the 8 th green received a further hand mow with groom followed by another turf iron roll. This operation significantly improved smoothness and brought it into the ideal summer target range. This process of work combined with more intensive Primo-Maxx growth regulator applications forms the refinement plan over the next few weeks to perfect the surfaces for main season play.

20 Trueness

21 Trueness Values ranged from 7.3mm/m (8 th green) to 9.1mm/m (16 th green). The values were consistent between greens and, with the exception of 16, were within the ideal target range. To improve trueness, additional grooming and Primo-Maxx growth regulator is necessary.

22 Green Speed

23 Green Speed Values ranged from 7ft 9in (16 th green) to 8ft 8in (8 th green). These values were generally satisfactory, but slightly lower than the ideal summer target range especially bearing in mind the surfaces received a turf iron roll on the morning of the visit. To provide ideal summer green speeds, more intensive grooming and rolling is necessary over the next few weeks. More regimented applications of Primo-Maxx growth regulator are also necessary to provide optimum consistency of speed throughout each individual day. More accurate and regular monitoring of green speed to the greens in particular to the low end of the course are necessary to inform routine refinement operations to optimise consistency between greens.

24 Greens - Recommendations for excellence in sports surfaces

25 Key Recommendations More regular grooming with the Toro hand mowers is necessary to refine sward texture and provide optimum ball roll qualities for main season play. More green specific refinement, informed by regular Stimpmeter readings, is necessary to optimise consistency between greens. Additional rolling and double mowing should be implemented to the slightly slower greens that are perennially found to 9 & 13. An immediate application of Aqueduct curative wetting agent is necessary at the recommended label rate and should be repeated every 7 10 days to greens where localised dry patch is evident. A monthly programme of Osprey wetting agent should also begin to all 18 greens immediately. If the weather turns wetter towards the middle/end of the summer, applications can of course be relaxed.

26 Key Recommendations (Cont) Primo-Maxx growth regulator should be applied immediately at 0.4 litres per hectare in litres per water every 21 days. It is essential regular applications at this rate are made throughout the season. The Primo can be tank mixed with low rate ammonium sulphate and/or liquid iron to avoid any potential for discolouration to the turf. Closely monitor feedback regarding surface firmness and irrigate and/or shallow solid tine to avoid the surfaces becoming overly hard and unreceptive. The rear of the 3 rd green should receive regular renovation in the form of solid tining, bent overseeding, light feeding using Terralift TX10 and care from any mechanical damage.

27 Key Recommendations (Cont) Plans are being made to Graden sand inject the greens towards the end of the year and the kiln dried Hugh King TD4 material would be acceptable if kiln dried Dalhousie medium course cannot be sourced.

28 Other Points of Discussion for excellence in sports surfaces

29 The green apron to the 8 th was weak and requires additional feeding to provide a strong and dense sward.

30 Several wet sections of fairway remain devoid of cover, e.g. 8 th landing zone. Renovation involving surface cultivation, reseeding and incorporation of old hollow cores is necessary followed by regular feeding (Terralift TX10) and irrigation. Feeding and watering should be implemented until a full cover has been restored.

31 The 3 rd tee supports some weak areas of turf and requires additional granular feeding combined with fortnightly liquid feeding and Primo-MAXX. Narrowing the tee markers and local divot patching/seeding is also needed. This should be recovered in 2-3 weeks.

32 A similar programme of work as per the 3 rd tee is needed to the 8 th. Tree removal is also necessary in the winter to improve light and airflow.

33 Contact STRI: +44 (0) for excellence in sports surfaces