Making great sport happen NEWARK GOLF CLUB Advisory Report on the Golf Course Report Date: 4 th April 2018 Consultant: Adam Newton
Date of Visit: Friday 23 rd March 2018 Visit Objective: Present: Weather: Spring course walk to assess agronomic conditioning and determine the maintenance strategy for the year ahead. Simon Collingwood General Manager Malcom Wood Greens Committee Graeme MacDonald Course Manager Alex Clarricoates Course Manager Adam Newton Senior Agronomist STRI Ltd Fine, dry and breezy with temperatures of approximately 10 C. Headlines The course has come through a difficult winter in good shape and the playing surfaces are strong and well-grassed, placing them in a good position leading into the season. The greens were strong and swards full, with good consistency shown from green-to-green. The main blemish to the putting surfaces was that of fusarium scarring which developed through the early part of the year. That said, scars were inactive and recovering well. Disease scarring was mostly confined to greens which have shading or airflow issues e.g. 2 nd, 15 th. Drill and fill work to the 14 th green has been effective but pipe drainage installation still remains a longer-term solution to address drainage issues. The greens maintenance strategy for the year ahead is to focus on lowering nitrogen inputs and increasing sand topdressing in a bid to keep growth quiet and reduce organic matter levels. A greater control of growth will reduce the intensity needed for surface preparations. Tree and scrub management were key talking points and several areas were highlighted for tree removal to expose the putting surfaces to greater airflow and sunlight. EcoBunker installation has continued on the 5 th and 12 th holes and yielded good results. Fairways have retained good grass cover through the winter but worm casting has been an issue in localised areas e.g. 7 th. Refining the ryegrass component on the fairways and increasing fescue content are key objectives. The investment in machinery has been impressive. The new fairway, rough and greens mowers will greatly assist surface preparations and the addition of groomers will enhance sward texture. I was delighted to hear all greens sprinklers have been replaced to improve the accuracy of water delivery. Key Actions Hold off on the Coldstart feed for 1 2 weeks until temperatures improve suitably. The feeding programme should focus on nitrogen only inputs and aim to deliver a leaner annual total of 80 85kg/ha of nitrogen. Aim to keep growth quiet and consistent. Look to introduce more frequent light sand dressing through the growing season, aiming to increase annual sand totals to 120 140 tonnes/ha. Deep scarification and sand injection was agreed for summer renovations to manage organic matter. A leaner nutritional programme will enable ball roll qualities to be achieved with less intensive input. Sustain good levels of aeration through all depths to manage soil structure and surface firmness. Explore options to carry out in-house pipe drainage installation to the 14 th green/green approach. The introduction of fairway grooming will greatly aid texture. PGR application is to remain but with reduced nitrogen input to encourage the finer grass species. Tree removal is required to the left and back of the 2 nd green to expose the putting surface to more sunlight and airflow. The mole damaged green surrounds also require regrading work. Tree/scrub thinning is needed at the back of the 15 th to aid surface drying and reduce disease. Gorse pruning is required on a wider scale across the course.
Photo Observations and Comments Figure 1: Weather patterns have been extremely challenging this winter, with cold spells being met with prolonged wetter periods. From a growth perspective, courses are finding themselves anything from 4-6 weeks behind at present. Despite such challenging conditions, the course has largely wintered well and it s free-draining nature has helped wider areas stand up better than most during the wetter weather. Figure 2: Growth is still very minimal but swards were full and healthy. Bentgrass populations were very prominent and faring better under the cool conditions. Introduction of some gentle brushing and grooming will be important as growth progresses to refine sward texture and optimise ball roll. Figure 3: Given the strong nature of the surfaces, we agreed there is no need to apply the spring feed for a further 2 weeks until temperatures improve suitably. Some adjustments to the nutritional programme were discussed for the year ahead to reduce the productivity of the swards and better manage growth and organic matter accumulation. Figure 4: A fusarium outbreak through the early part of the year scarred some of the surfaces following cycles of thaw and wet weather. The scars are currently inactive and recovering well. Figure 5: Interestingly, disease scarring was at its worst on greens where sunlight and/or airflow are restricted by surrounding tree populations. The 2 nd (pictured) is a prime example and was the worst affected of all. Figure 6: Trees to the left and back of the green notably restrict sunlight and air movement to the green and surrounding area. The area sits damp as a result and is often the last to thaw out from frost. The shaded green surround also suffers from heightened worm casting and surface levels have been lost through mole damage.
Photo Observations and Comments (continued) Figure 7: The back of the 15 th green also suffered considerable scarring due to a lack of airflow and the surround at the back is notoriously wet and unstable. The front of the green showed very little scarring due to a greater flow of air through this area. Figure 8: Tree thinning and gorse and rhododenron pruning between the green and 16 th tee is required to increase natural drying of the surfaces. Figure 9: The benefits of last year s Graden renovation were very evident, with sand-filled Graden lines cutting through the immediate organic layer. There was also an influx of fresh rooting apparent which has developed through the autumn. Organic matter remains in excess however and the presence of anaerobic black layer (arrows) highlights the impact this is having on water retention. Figure 10: The soils at depth beneath the greens are notoriously tight textured and their structure needs ongoing management through aeration to optimise drainage and avoid the surfaces becoming overly firm. Moving the Air2G2 operations to April and June is a very positive move this year. Figure 11: The 14 th green has certainly performed better this winter in response to drill-and-fill work but does remain the wettest surface of all. Figure 12: The sand/amendment filled columns produced by the operation will help water move more efficiently to depth but with underlying soils being poor, water still has no effective outlet. I would suggest that pipe drainage still remains the longer term solution for this green.
Figure 13: The 4 th green extension is blending well and turf offers a very similar texture the rest of the green. The challenge now is to improve the underlying profile through sand integration and organic matter reduction to ensure this area offers a similar level of firmness to the original green. Figure 14: Reshaping work and the introduction of tighter mowing to the green surrounds is excellent. This will enhance these areas visually through improving definition but will also widen shot selection when playing from around the greens. Figure 15: Green approaches were generally in good shape and we agreed to hold off hollow tining until autumn. The exception was the 17 th approach where grass cover had been thinned through autumn disease activity and winter play. Underlying profiles were rather thatchy and compact which hinders drainage properties following heavy rainfall. Figure 16: I was delighted to see the fruits of the tree removal work at the back-left of the 16 th following our discussions in summer. This will be of great benefit to turf quality on the green and green surround. I fully agree with the idea to introduce more intricate contouring behind this green in the future. Improvement to the back-left pathway should also be incorporated into this work. Figure 17: The fairways have retained a good body of grass through the winter and were largely in good shape. Fescue and bentgrass species dominate on many of the fairways and deliver a very fine texture to the sward. Fairways such as the 1 st, 3 rd, 4 th, 5 th and 7 th support high populations of ryegrass following overseeding several years ago. Texture is not as good on these fairways. The introduction of grooming this year will greatly help to improve turf texture. Figure 18: Picture of the 7 th fairway (drive length). Note the high level of worm casting and the dominance of tufted, coarse ryegrasses within the sward. Worm casting is very difficult to control following removal of chemical controls from the market last year. We did however discuss the introduction of localised sanding and winter acidification to help reduce casting activity.
Figure 20: The tees were relatively weak and in need of nutrition and sanding before the season gets underway. Figure 21: The new EcoBunkers on the 5 th and 12 th greensides have been well constructed and will offer a durable alternative to natural turf faces. Both bunkers blend well in their surrounding environment and it is hoped that maintenance can be reduced in the longer term. Figure 22: The trial with heather turf on the 12 th fairway bunker has taken well. This now needs extending further along the front face of the bunker and potentially along the left side (if funds allow) to make the area look less planted and more like the indigenous heather areas on the course. Figure 23: Heather regeneration has been successful on the 16 th carry and it would be wonderful if this was encouraged in more areas across the course. Heather populations at the top end of this area are less prolific due to the presence of the overhanging oak tree, more foot traffic and less humus in the underlying soil. We discussed methods to increase heather here, with one recommendation being to remove the oak tree. Figure 24: Gorse populations are currently degenerate and leggy and do need managing over the coming years. Left of the 16 th is a prime example where pruning is needed but work should be staggered here to lessen the visual impact and avoid destruction of habitat. Figure 25: The new pathway network around the clubhouse is a big improvement and creates the right first impression upon arrival at the Club. The surrounding area is largely to be turfed but with wildflower turf installed adjacent to the car park.
Recommendations Greens Given the strong nature of the greens at present, the planned Coldstart granular feed should be put on hold for a further one to two weeks to allow soil temperatures to improve suitably and provoke a better reaction from the product. When the correct conditions arrive, apply the product at a rate of 30 g/m 2. As discussed in my last report, our aim should be to run a leaner feeding programme this year reducing nitrogen inputs down to an annual total of around 80-85 kg/ha. This will provide a greater control of growth, slow organic matter production and avoid swards becoming overly productive. After the spring granular feed, the feeding programme is to switch to the previously successful combinations of Qualibra wetting agent and seaweed (on a monthly basis), with Green master liquid feed and Primo MAXX in-between. Following soil analysis results last summer a nitrogen only programme was recommended in a bid to reduce potassium and phosphate inputs. With this in mind, the Greenmaster 25:0:0 liquid product was discussed and this should be applied at rates of 10-25 litres/ha; supplying 3.3 8.25 kg/ha of nitrogen respectively. The amount of nitrogen supplied will be very much down to your judgement and dependent on environmental conditions and turf requirements. We can review the fertiliser programme in greater detail during my next visit in June. Aeration inputs should now focus on one further 12 mm solid tine (to maximum depth) over the next two to three weeks (in conjunction with sanding) before switching to monthly pencil tining (6-8 mm) and weekly/fortnightly sarel rolling. With solid tine treatments, ensure that the depth of application is varied with each treatment to avoid structural pans forming in the soil profile. Given the tight nature of the soils at depth, deep aeration is essential for the greens at Newark and I was pleased to hear the Air2G2 air injection treatment has been scheduled for both April and June to target deep seated compaction within the profiles. This should be supplemented with verti-draining treatment in autumn. Investment in a modern, more efficient verti-drain unit would be highly beneficial moving forward to enable the Greenstaff to implement more frequent deeper aeration to manage the soils. Having the correct equipment means that this can be carried out with less disruption to the playing surfaces. Do not let soils dry down excessively through the spring and summer as this may stimulate dry patch and basidiomycete activity later in the season. Equally it is also essential that the greens do not receive too much water which will encourage disease and accelerate organic matter production. Use the moisture probe on a regular basis to assess soil moisture content and inform irrigation treatments and aim to keep moisture levels at an ideal 20-25% where possible. Apply a heavier sand top dressing (10-12 tonnes/ha) following the above mentioned 12 mm solid tine operation before then switching to lighter (4-6 tonnes/ha) dressings through the season on a two to four week basis. This little and often approach to top dressing will help dilute organic matter as it accumulates through the growing season whilst also helping to perfect ball roll qualities and avoid layering within the profiles. Our aim this year should be to elevate sand inputs from 90 tonnes/ha to a total of 120-140 tonnes/ha. Deep scarification and sand injection is required again during the summer renovation window. Either the Graden sand injection unit or GKB sand filler should be used for this operation. Both units will perform a very similar task of physically removing organic matter and diluting the upper profile with sand, however using the newer GKB unit will help make the process more efficient. Browntop bent seeding with the J-All Bent mix should again be deployed in conjunction with this operation. As growth progresses, reduce mowing heights down accordingly in 0.25 mm increments. As previously discussed, our aim it so elevate routine mowing heights through the growing season this year to a more favourable 3.5-4 mm. Occasional spells of cutting at 3.25 mm would be acceptable during periods of
stronger growth or during tournament preparations, however this should not be for sustained periods of time. With nitrogen levels and sward productivity being reduced this year, growth should be quieter and ball roll speeds will be more achievable at this slightly elevated height of cut. Introduce some light brushing to lift the sward canopies over the next one to two weeks and as growth picks up supplement this with grooming during routine mowing operations. The addition of groomers to the new greens mower is a very positive move and the adoption of more frequent grooming through the season will help reduce the requirement for more aggressive treatments like verticutting. The depth and requirement for grooming is very much down to feel and dependant on turf conditions, however a general rule of thumb would be to set the groomers so that the faintest of lines can be seen on the tops of undulations. The 4 th green extension is blending well however some additional work is required over the next few years to improve the underlying profile and the consistency of ball-to-turf reaction across the full green. With this in mind, I would recommend that this area of the green is hollow cored in spring and sand top dressed followed by a further coring and dressing treatment prior to the deep scarification and sanding renovations in summer. Look to increase the rate of sand application to this area during routine sanding operations also. My previous recommendation to install pipe drainage to the troublesome 14 th green still stands firm and will provide a longer term solution to this greens drainage problems. We discussed carrying this work out in house rather than going to the expense of hiring in a contractor. This would be perfectly feasible providing that the correct equipment and materials are sourced to carry out the work. From here, a suitable system design will need to be agreed, identifying the desired fall and positive outlet. If the decision is made to pipe drain the 14 th green this autumn, then avoid deep scarification and sand injection to this surface during the summer maintenance window. This will ensure that the turf is strong enough to be lifted during the drainage operation. Green Collars, Surrounds and Approaches Solid tine and sand top dress all green approaches over the next few weeks utilising 15 mm diameter solid tines to a depth of 100 mm. The 17 th green approach is the exception where solid tining should be replaced by hollow tining (using 15 mm diameter tines to 100 mm depth), along with verticutting, sanding and fescue overseeding to regain full grass cover. Hollow tining and sanding renovation should then be deployed to all approaches in early autumn. Deep scarification and sanding should be extended to the 17 th green approach alone when applied to the greens during the summer maintenance window. Continue to introduce tighter mowing and more intricate shaping to the green surrounds through the season. This is greatly enhancing the character of the green complexes and widening shot selection when playing around the greens. I fully support plans to overseed these areas with a fescue and dwarf ryegrass mix, (e.g. Bar Platinum) during the September seeding window. The 2 nd green surround requires fully regrading and potentially returfing to restore surface levels following mole damage. This is a relatively large project which may need to be undertaken during the autumn, therefore in the meantime it is essential that surface depressions are levelled through top dressing and divoting. The 16 th green has greatly benefitted from removal of the large oak tree to the back left and temporary restoration work of the pathway leading the 17 th tee is to commence over the next few weeks. A longer term strategy to regrade and redesign the 16 th green surround to the back and left hand side is fully supported, with the work based on Architectural advice.
Tees Apply Invigorator 4:0:8 to all tees with immediate effect to strengthen swards and aggravate moss species whilst temperatures remain cool. As temperatures improve over the coming weeks, follow up with the ProTurf application as planned. Warmer temperatures will ensure that the maximum benefit is gained from this product. The tees would benefit from a solid tine and sand top dressing treatment over the coming weeks as growth initiates and the season approaches. Fairways Initiate the groomers on the new fairway mower as growth strengthens during the spring. The depth of grooming should be altered depending on growth and sward density. The aim should be to gently groom the surfaces on a routine basis with the groomers set slightly deeper during productive periods of growth. I have no doubt that this operation will greatly improve the texture and blend of the surfaces over time and help to refine dwarf ryegrass populations. Continue with the Primo MAXX plant growth regulator programme this season to manage clipping yield but look to keep nitrogen inputs down to 6-8kg/ha with each treatment. Consider sanding localised areas of fairways (such as the 7 th landing zone) to help reduce worm casting through the autumn and winter months. Acidification of the fairways through the autumn and winter would also be beneficial through applying iron sulphate on 2 3 occasions. This will help check winter moss, reduce worm casting and favour fine grass populations. Introduction of fescue overseeding to some of the more perennial ryegrass dominant fairways, (e.g. 7 th ), would also be beneficial (if funds allow) to increase the fine grass component of the sward. Tree Removal & Scrub Management Thinning of tree populations around the 2 nd green would be highly recommended to improve the quality of the green and green surround and aid natural drying of both surfaces. Concentrate thinning work to the plantation at the back left of the green and the tree line behind the green itself, removing undesirable trees and scrub and reducing the height of the two holly bushes. This work would not only enhance air flow and sunlight but would also greatly improve aesthetics of a hole and expose the wonderful oak tree at the back right of the green as a main focal point. Thin the silver birches behind the 15 th green/right of the 16 th tee and prune down gorse stands in this area. The increase in air flow associated with this work should help to dry up the wet area behind the green, however some supplementary regrading work may also be required. Introduce a gorse management programme to key areas next year, (e.g. left hand side of the 16 th ) with the aim to prune degenerate, leggy stands of gorse down to 30-50 cm in height. This work should be staggered on holes like the 16 th over a number of years to avoid the dramatic impact on the whole aesthetics. The picture below shows a good example of recent gorse pruning at Dunbar GC.
Heather regeneration/planting work has been very successful in areas of the course and ideally this should be extended further to enhance the heathland character of the course. The heather to the right hand side drive length of the 16 th hole is a good example where successful establishment has been achieved, however the far end section (prior to the bunker) is somewhat thinner. We discussed reexposing this area and carrying out some planting/plugging to strengthen the heather stand. Removal of the adjacent oak tree to the right side would also be recommended to allow the heather to prosper. The heather turf planted on the bunker face on the 12 th has been successful, however this should be extended further along the right side of the bunker face and ideally along the left side of the bunker top to improve aesthetics. Putting Green/Car Park Area Plans to use wildflower turf on the area adjacent to the car park are fully supported. This will provide stunning aesthetics during the summer months once established. The area at the opposite side of the path is to be stripped further towards the chipping green before being returfed with an imported fescue mix. Extend the 4:0:8 and ProTurf granular feeds to the area of weak turf beyond the trees through the spring/early summer. This will help strengthen grass cover and allow it to blend better aesthetically with the adjacent new turf. Adam Newton BSc (Hons), MBPR, FQA Senior Turfgrass Agronomist Official Agronomist to the R&A Championship Committee t. +44 (0)7545 439908 e. adam.newton@strigroup.com www.strigroup.com