June brought with it somewhat more settled weather in comparison, although towards the end of the month we saw a period of hot dry weather, but with plenty of moisture still below the surface, the course held up pretty well. We are relatively happy with where we are with the Greens and the course at present.
We are still seeing plenty of growth which means our cutting regime is still full on. Usually at this time of year we would see growth slowing down enabling us to get on with other jobs, but with the high temperatures and moist conditions the rate of growth is still pretty high.
During the recent warm spell some areas on a handful of greens did start to dry out even with regular irrigation. We combat this by hand-watering the problem areas with a hose and spray applicator, which can also have a wetting agent tablet inserted; This dissolves as the water passes through the applicator. The wetting agent that mixes with the water helps and prevents dry patches. If these areas were not treated it could potentially lead to disease and loss of grass coverage on the green.
Our irrigation system has been put to the test in recent days and unfortunately three separate leaks were discovered: Two on the 17th (One at the right of the Green and one at the back) and the third at the front of the 18th green. When these areas were dug out, we found that our verti-drain had pierced these sections of the irrigation pipe, meaning these sections of pipe when originally installed have been laid too shallow which is not ideal. The irrigation pipe work should be installed to a depth deep enough to avoid any maintenance work that takes place on the surface. The affected pipe work has now been cut out and replaced with new sections. On the subject of irrigation, the clubs new quadrop system has now been installed and is fully operational. The system is tapped into the main irrigation pipe at the pump house.
When the irrigation system starts up, drops of liquid from containers in the pump hose are pumped into the main pipe via the injections system and mixes with the irrigation water. The additive improves water quality and therefore improves turf quality and colour. The treated irrigation water also works down into the soil profile quicker and easier than untreated irrigation water.
The club have recently purchased a moisture meter. We try and take readings most days on the 2nd Green. Gathering this data allows us to see day by day how much moisture has been lost or gained, meaning we can adjust the irrigation output to suit each greens need and keep greens more consistent across the course.
Greens have recently been verti-cut to a depth of 3mm. Verti-cutting lightly thins out the sward and removes old plant material and encourages more upright plant growth. When verti-cutting was complete we lightly top-dressed with about 7 tonnes of sand and then into the surface. The topdressing fills in the grooves left from Verti cutting and creates a smoother surface. The sand also dilutes the thatch layer below.
Greens have also received an application of liquid fertiliser, iron and magnesium to help keep the plant healthy and improve appearance.
We have also applied our regular bio-stimulant to keep soil and roots healthy, alongside these a wetting agent was applied to help retain moisture in the soil profile and prevent greens drying out too quickly. All tees received an application of wetting agent mixed with a growth regulator which slows down vertical growth and helps improve sward density. We also added a slight bit of soluble nitrogen to prevent any yellowing of the plant as growth regulators can have this effect. We also tined greens with the dynacorer units with small solid tines, just to release a bit of compaction and allow air into the soil profile. Most green side bunker on the main course have now been topped up with sand along with a handful of fairway bunkers, roughly 38 tonnes of sand have been taken out for bunkers so far.
We would like to take Joe Nailer and Infinite Scaffolding for erecting us scaffold to the clubhouse enabling us to install WIFI to the greenkeeper’s sheds, for the operation of the irrigation system. Finally, a thanks to John Hill, Malcolm Collins, Chris Megginson, Mick Pearson and Phil Parnaby for kindly painting the storage containers down at the greenkeeper’s sheds, which has made it look a lot tidier.

Thanks

Greens Team