Making great sport happen PRESTONFIELD GOLF CLUB Advisory Report on the Golf Course Report Date: 21 st May 2018 Consultant: Richard Wing
Prestonfield Golf Club Date of Visit: Monday 30 th April 2018 Visit Objective: Present: To review the spring condition of the golf course and confirm ongoing maintenance requirements. Mr Alan McEwan Captain Mr Scott Johnson Greens Convenor Mr Scott Clark PGA Professional Mr Douglas McKenzie Head Greenkeeper Mr Richard Wing STRI Ltd Weather: Sunny, 12 C Headlines The course was in good condition considering the slow start to the spring. The greens displayed a strong cover of grass but ball roll was being affected by the indentations from the aeration process. The organic matter accumulation in the greens soil profiles remains excessive with visible layering. Starting to box off clippings from green surrounds and tees will help remove earthworm food source and reduce activity. Better management of play has reduced the wear damage to the medal tees. The Leylandii trees rear of the 14 th green remain an issue severely reducing airflow to the surface. The new 10 th bunkers display weak surrounding turf due to the low nutrient and moisture retention of the soil. The remainder of the new constructions have been carried out to a high standard using suitable soil. Excellent investment in a new Charterhouse Speed-Brush to help work sand into soil profile. Key Actions Ensure sand top-dressing fills aeration holes fully to maintain surface levels and accelerate recovery. Aim to apply a minimum of 120 tonnes/ha sand top-dressing to the greens per annum to reduce organic matter. Utilise acidifying in-organic fertilisers to discourage earthworm activity. Continue to manage general play to reduce wear on medal tees. Remove or lift base of Leylandii trees on 14 th. Add organic amendment to subsoil of 10 th bunker surrounds. An upgrade of Subscription to include STRI Programme testing to objectively measure greens performance.
Photo Observations and Comments Figure 1: The upgrade to the first tee has majorly improved the first impressions to the course. The use of artificial turf in the waiting area will help spread wear away from the 1 st tee. Figure 2: The greens were well grassed with slight disease scarring visible. Figure 3: Depressions in the surface were still noticeable following aeration and top-dressing. These will affect the ball roll qualities of the greens Figure 4: Excluding the 17 th Green the soil profiles display an excessive accumulation of organic matter with considerable layering visible. Figure 5: Slight changes to the front of the 12 th green have been made to reduce the mechanical stress on the turf. Figure 6: Considerable invasion of daisy is apparent in the fairways detracting from the aesthetic appearance of the surfaces.
Photo Observations and Comments (continued) Figure 7: Reducing the play to the small 11 th medal tee has had a significant positive effect on the grass cover. This plan should continue to ensure that a healthy sward is maintained while the bigger main tee supports the majority of play. Figure 8: The 13 th tee now displays a strong cover of grass and has recovered well through the winter. The removal of surrounding trees and dwarf ryegrass overseeding program have had a major impact on this surface. Figure 9: Evidence of winter mats placement on the middle of the tees. This results in no reduction of foot traffic to the teeing surfaces. Figure 10: The newly constructed bunkers on the 6 th green surround have been finished to a high standard with a sufficient nutrient rich soil mixture used in construction. Figure 11: The newly constructed 11 th tee is an excellent improvement increasing the playing area. The tee displays good levels and the rootzone used in construction has a good mixture of an organic material. Figure 12: The newly constructed bunkers at the 10 th green display poor turf vigour with a loss of grass cover in areas. The soil used in construction is too sandy and has little capacity for moisture or nutrient holding.
Recommendations Greens An immediate application of sand top-dressing is required to fill the aeration holes. It is important that any aeration holes be backfilled to the surface with sand to reduce the impact of the work on the performance of the greens and to accelerate the recovery process. This will be helped by the use of the new Charterhouse Speed-Brush to work sand top-dressing into the profile. Sand top-dressing should continue through the season with regular light applications (5-10 tonnes) to achieve an annual target of minimum 120 tonnes/ha. To help incorporate the sand top dressing into the profile combine the top dressing with any aeration work carried out. To help reduce the layering in the profile and incorporate sand top-dressing every 4-6 weeks carry out a solid tine operation using a 6-8mm tine. The soil based greens will require deeper aeration (e.g. verti-drain with slight heave) during the winter months to reduce the compaction at depth and improve the drainage capabilities of the soil. Support the granular fertiliser application with regular spoon feeding of straight liquid nutrition (10kg Ammonium Sulphate) towards the end of the season. Utilising inorganic acidifying fertilisers will favour the bent grasses on the sward. Reducing the organic content of the fertiliser applications will also help with the reduction in earthworm activity by reducing the food source available. Greens 4, 6 & 12 displayed a slightly weaker turf vigour and should be supported with an additional application of liquid fertiliser (e.g. 5kg Ammonium Sulphate when required). Initiate Revolution wetting agent applications to help with moisture management through the greens. These applications should start in early spring to allow the product to accumulate in the soil prior to any prolonged periods of dry weather. Moisture management on the 17 th green will be imperative in maintaining a healthy sward. Maintain moisture content of the soil between 15-30% VMC. On the visit, areas of the green were down below the minimum target, highlighting the lack of moisture retention in the soil. If soils become too dry for a sustained period then the onset of dry patch will occur requiring remedial wetting agent applications to be made. STRI Programme An upgrade to the STRI Programme would incorporate performance testing into future agronomy visits. These results would provide an objective element to better inform future maintenance plans and begin a benchmarking process to show improvement of the greens. Green Collars, Surrounds and Approaches The change to boxing off clippings should help with reducing the organic content of the soil that is the primary food source for the earthworm population. To further discourage the earthworm activity use acidifying fertilisers (e.g. Ammonium Sulphate & Iron Sulphate). Extend any applications of top-dressing from the greens out into the collars, especially those with considerable earthworm activity. This will help with the dispersal of any worm-casts that are created by increasing the content of the soil. Tees Continue to move tee markers regularly with the aim to reduce the play from the medal tees. The grass cover on these surfaces is much improved due to this plan. Maintain the current plan of overseeding the tees with a dwarf ryegrass seed mixture to accelerate recovery and increase the wear tolerance of the tees. Ensure that the winter mats are positioned to the sides of the tees to completely remove the foot traffic from the surfaces. This complete rest will accelerate the recovery process of the grass cover through the winter.
Fairways An application of selective herbicide (e.g. Depitox) should be made to the fairways to control the broadleaf weeds in the turf. Continue with plan to Verti-Drain and sand top-dress the more moisture retentive areas of the fairways to increase the drainage capacity of the soils. The newly introduced semi-rough on the 15 th fairway lacks vigour. This should be supported by an application of a granular fertiliser (e.g. ICL Sierrablen Plus Spring Starter 24-5-13) to improve turf vigour and improve the definition between the fairways. New constructions Once rooting is sufficiently established, the newly constructed areas will require hollow coring to break down the turf layer and heavy hand top-dressing to maintain and perfect the surface levels, and reduce the visibility of the turf seams. The turf will require lifting on the 10 th bunkers with the rootzone being mixed with an organic amendment to improve the nutrient and moisture holding capabilities of the soil which will support a healthier sward. Also, consider slight re-shaping to improve the ease of maintenance. Trees The Leylandii trees to the rear of the 14 th green remain an issue and should be highlighted for removal to increase the airflow to the surface. If removal is not an option, lifting of the base of the trees to allow airflow should be considered. Signed Richard Wing BSc (Hons) Regional Turfgrass Agronomist t. +44 (0)7545 100009 e. richard.wing@strigroup.com www.strigroup.com