Golf Course Managers Monthly Report
Church Course MAINTENANCE Water Management on a Links Golf Course Low spots The term links historically applies specifically to strips of land in seaside areas that feature sandy soil, dunes and undulating topography, and where the land is not conducive to the easy cultivation of vegetation or trees. A traditional links course will have many perhaps all of the following features: the course is built along the seaside; the soil is sandy and drains easily; the course is laid out naturally so that unusual bumps and slopes in the fairways and greens remain, rather than being smoothed over; the rough features natural seaside grasses; bunkers are numerous, often small and relatively deep (to keep the seaside breezes Moisture Levels on the 1 st and 18 th Fairway at present from blowing the sand away); shows much dryer soils and the blue fairways are rarely (if ever) watered much moisture rich soils. These and play firm and fast; and there are wetter areas are generally in low few, if any, trees. This picture depicts lying spots which gather all the run the current status of moisture in the off precipitation. 1 st and 18 th fairway the red parts
IMPORTANCE OF WATER ON ALL SURFACES E.T. (evapotranspiration) Turf grasses, like other agronomic, horticultural, and landscape vegetation, requires water for growth and survival. Without adequate water, turf grass becomes brown, desiccated, and may die in severe instances. Loss of ground cover by turf grass can have significant negative impacts on the aesthetics and functionality of our environment because healthy turf grass provides many important benefits. Therefore, irrigation is desirable to maintain the functional benefits of healthy, actively growing grass in areas where rainfall cannot meet the water demand of plants. As water availability is becoming increasingly limited and more costly, water conservation in turf grass culture has become extremely important. Water use of turf grasses is evaluated based on the total amount of water required for growth and transpiration (water loss from the leaf ) plus the amount of water lost from the soil surface (evaporation).transpirational water consumption accounts for over 90% of the total amount of water transported into the plants, with 1 to 3% actually used for metabolic processes.water usage rates vary with species and cultivars and are affected by many external factors, especially environmental conditions. We typically lose 2.5mm of water from E.T. most days during the season. Which needs to be replaced.
SUMMER SO FAR AT ST.ENODOC Taking on a very Links Feel Due to the unexpected summer we are currently experiencing means we have the opportunity to create a firm and fast surface throughout the golf courses. I m constantly monitoring moisture levels with the POGO agronomic tool with gives me the confidence to push Aerial view taken on the 15 th June 2018 water management without to much detriment to the grass plant. The 16 th is by far the driest green currently on the Church course with an average 9.6% moisture content in the soil. So in this case it is important to hand irrigate using a wetting surfactant tablet
Continued Rough Management FIRST RESCUE APPLICATION Church Course first to receive Rescue So the Church course has a been sprayed on all the areas they don t require cutting. We now have a waiting game as the chemical process starts.for the first time, we have the opportunity to quickly and effectively reduce invasive clumpy Ryegrass that adversely affects the quality and playability of turf, without recourse to expensive, mechanical verticutting, laborious handweeding or even re-turfing. In just one or two applications over a season, Rescue can reduce Ryegrass and, with the help of over seeding, reinstate finer species to create consistent high quality playing surfaces. Occasionally some temporary yellowing may be seen on Colonial/Browntop Bentgrass and Smooth-stalked Meadow-grass following Rescue application; this effect is transient and is outgrown in good growing conditions. Highland Bent has however shown some susceptibility. Trials have shown Rescue can also control some other undesirable coarse grasses, including Yorkshire Fog and Purple Moor-grass. How does Rescue work? Rescue is an entirely new class of selective herbicide chemistry for the turf sector. Developed by Syngenta, specifically for the golf market, Rescue targets both root and leaf meristems of selective target grass species, to stop cell division and achieve a complete weed kill. Rescue includes a built-in wetter to ensure the active ingredient is rapidly taken up by target plants and gets to work quickly moving throughout the plant to reach growing tips and roots. When applied as recommended during periods of active growth, the first visible effects are usually seen within 10 days of Rescue application, with complete foliar die-back
EFFECTED PLANTS 11th and 12th Triangle Church Course This picture shows the grass actively taking on the product. Five days after initial application. The finer blades of grass you can see is fescue which is untouched and thats the species we are trying to encourage
CONTINUED ROUGH MANAGEMENT 16 th Scrub clearance to increase vision for public and golfers 18 th Tee complex before 18 th Tee after removal
OUR GREEN SURFACES Introduction into Meadow Grass (poa annua) Poa seeding has proven to be worse this spring than years past on the golf course. Although it is undesirable on all surfaces, greens are affected most especially in quality of ball roll. The Church/Holywell greens are a mix of three grass varieties bent-grass, Poa annua and fesues. Because of low cutting heights, bent-grass and fescue does not produce seed. Unfortunately, even at low cutting heights Poa does produce seed. Normally this occurs for 4 to 6 weeks but can be prolonged by cold weather. During this time the Poa plants become very dense and puffy compared to the bent and they also attempt to push there seed heads upward which makes the surfaces inconsistent and bumpy. Our main weapons against the seed heads is the use of chemical plant growth regulators which inhibit the seeding hormones of the plant. We apply on an interval of every 2 weeks on the both courses low cut surfaces and maintain about 75% to 90% control. Daily mowing and vertical mowing also assist in harvesting some of the seed heads that are produced. As the summer starts up, seed head production will stop and surfaces will become more uniform aided by regular top-dressings. I m now a lot happier with the quality of roll from our putting surfaces. But never that happy!!!!! See the video by scanning QR code
Holywell Course MAINTENANCE Increasing the Standards Recently the Holywell has suffered due weather and pest damage. The attention to detail and presentation is now paramount to enhance everyones golfing experience. All the greens surfaces have been verti-cut to combat lateral growth and kept in line with the Church greens by having the reciprocal chemical applications. These include Bio-stimulants, wetting agents and P.G.R s (plant growth regulators). All fairways, greens and tees were sprayed with a herbicide. 16 th Par 3 Holywell
A C C E L E R AT E R E C O V E R Y Germination Sheet Installed on the 7th Tee Seed Growth 7th Tee Germination Sheets A germination sheet is simply a sheet that is used to cover and protects the newly seeded areas, creating a greenhouse environment, which often raises the air temperature under the sheet by two or three degrees whilst, at the same time, stopping any physical damage by birds and animals. Horticulturalists and farmers have been using fleeces and plastic sheeting to speed up the germination and maturity of their crops for many years. Germination sheets come in many different guises; hessian matting, plastic sheets, canvas sheets, wind break netting etc.in short, germination sheets save on seed and labour, speed up germination (which, in turn, produces faster growth), bring worn/ damaged areas back into use quicker, extend reseeding periods, give uniform and even coverage and protects seed from weed contamination, wind, birds, frost and scorching by the sun. Positive Recovery
ADDITIONAL PICTURES Scott Gibson Course Manager St Enodoc Golf Club Telephone : 01208869903 Mobile : 07741908389 Email : scott.gibson@st-enodoc.co.uk Website : www.st-enodoc.co.uk