Course update 29/09/2017

Course update 29/09/2017

Hello from another damp, dull, overcast and wet day. Not sure how you all feel but I have had enough of the rain and the winter isn't even here yet.

Mornings are closing in now and Autumn is alive and kicking. The trees are starting to turn and leaves have started falling.  Over the years I have heard members saying 'why don't you let all the leaves drop and then pick them up' that would be amazing if we could but unfortunately the grass dies under the leaves plus the amount of leaves in the trees would result in a lot of lost balls on the course.

Seeding on the greens.

In my last update we had finished 14 greens and completed the last few last week. At no point during the seeding was it ideal conditions but we had to get the seed down before October which we did. The ground conditions ideally would be dry but this is England and we are never sure what weather we will get. Due to these conditions, the disruption is slightly more than we would like but it has been a successful operation. We were able to get one pass of Brown Top Bent on to the greens and are starting to see the results coming through. The seed will start to germinate after 2 weeks and then its managing it to let the seedlings become established in to the grass sward.

I would like to thank all members for their patience during this vital work. 

Disease

With the warm temperatures and moisture in the air, it is wonderful conditions for disease. I have spoken to many other Greenkeepers around and we are all in the same boat. On Monday morning the Facebook page that Greenkeepers use was rife with people moaning about disease. Fusarium patch is the most common this time of year and if present on the green it is treated with the chemical iprodione.  Iprodione is a chemical that is due to be banned in the not too distant future and this is one of the reasons we are moving over to predominantly bent greens as bent grass is more disease resistant.

I hear you say, why are we getting the disease now we have bent greens. We are working on having predominantly bent greens and are not yet there. Some greens are further into they process because of ground, light and generally ideal growing conditions.

I am currently in the process off recruiting a deputy to assist me in the running of the golf course. The position is currently being advertised and I hope to have someone in place by the end of November. As I have already stated, this will be a person from outside will not only assist in the day to day management of the course, but also bring fresh ideas of their own as well as giving me the cover I need so that I can visit other courses and network with fellow turf managers to help broaden my ideas.

After another inch of rain and forecasts predicting it not stopping, unfortunately conditions are getting to the point where we may need to restrict buggy use. We will try our hardest to keep them on and assessments will be made through the day for the later golfers.

Last but not at all least, can we please keep on top of Divots and pitch marks? The greenstaff will have a smile on there faces if they see us all working as a team!

Thank you for reading, have a good weekend.

Paul