22/06/2018
Just to begin, I would like to say to all that attended the Q
& A at the club, thank you for coming and I hope that you learnt a lot
about the grass species change that we are going through at Broadstone.
Gordon's presentation was excellent and just highlights why we need to head in
the direction that we are heading.
If you see me or any of my staff out on the course dancing away,
it's not that we are losing the plot, we are doing a rain dance!! The last
drop of rain for us was on June 1st (1mm) and whilst I hear you saying 'he's
got an irrigation system to do that', yes we have, but there is nothing better
than natural rainfall.
When it comes to monitoring the greens, we have a couple of toys
that we use to achieve the correct moisture levels in the greens. If you were
at the Q & A with Gordon, you will remember that the bent grasses that we
are sowing into our greens do not need as much water as poa, due to being a
better grass species and the deeper rooting system that it has. We have a
moisture meter that we go around the greens checking levels of moisture in the
soil profile as well as a soil thermometer which is more used for the start or
end of the season so we know when the soil temps are coming up for seeding or
just to know when the grass is going to begin moving. Unfortunately, I can't
give it any paracetamol if it gets too hot!!
Irrigation.
I know I briefly mentioned irrigation last month but as the water
isn't falling I thought would add a little more. We have automatic irrigation
on all Greens, Approaches, Tees and most surrounds of greens. We also have a
few areas on fairways. All irrigation programs are set up from a computer in my
office which I can also log into from home if needed, if the weather changes.
We also have a handheld remote that can turn on the sprinkler heads out on the
course, which we use when testing or watering in a product that we have
applied. To the left is a picture showing a full program set up on the
course. If I was to run this it would take 6 hours and would be impossible
to do so as it would dry our water reservoir out. Most nights the greens
are on and the other areas are done when needed. I could go into the wetting
agents I use to retain the moisture but don't want to bore you all today!!
Maybe next time.
As I have said before we love to hear your feedback, good or bad
about things you like and things you don't, so feel free to pop up and see us
on the course or email Ed. We have many eyes out there but things can change
very quickly, I try to play as often as I can out there to see it from the
golfers point of view and I encourage the staff to do the same. We have 5 of 8
that play golf now and learning through playing the course is an excellent tool
as a greenkeeper.
Bring your dog to work day
Just thought I would put a pic of my dog in this month, especially as
its bring your dog to work day. She sometimes comes in for a look/sniff around
in the mornings. She is a rare dog in the UK and there are only 71 at present.
Her breed is a Black and Tan Coonhound and are used for tracking cold scents
from days and even weeks ago.
Thank you again for reading and remember to keep on the fairway
and out of the rough!
Kind regards
Paul
