Greens Report
Greens Report March 2022
In my last Greens Report I highlighted the work that was due to be done on the course during the Winter and while it is still ongoing the majority of the programme has been completed. A significant improvement has been achieved by clearing the ditches with the aid of a hired digger. This has improved the flow of water from the course and coupled with the spell of dry weather we are having has resulted in a significant improvement in the wet areas of the course. This has led to trolleys being allowed back on and hopefully we will not see a further ban this season.
The early season greens treatment has now been successfully completed and should give minimal disruption to play and ensure good playing conditions for the year. It is essential that the treatment removes cores from the greens as this takes away organic matter and replaces it with high quality dressing. Once the conditions are right the greens will be over seeded, mainly with bent grasses, so that we can further improve the distribution of grass species we have. It is not sufficient to micro tine the greens at this time as it is only by slowly improving the subsoil and grasses that we can ensure quality greens throughout the year. Micro tining is a technique that is used throughout the year to improve the drainage of the greens and to an extent relieve compaction but is not seen as a substitute for hollow tining. The Autumn treatment is due to start on the 3rd of October and combined with the early treatment they should ensure that we have good playing surfaces at all times.
It is noticeable that the treatment of the fairways last year is producing a marked improvement in the quality and coverage of grass. Once we are able to cut them regularly we should see the benefit of the work and hopefully that will allow them to be cut shorter to allow the ball to run out better and make the course more playable for everyone, especially our shorter hitters!
Last year the club commissioned an environmental survey of the course. This was carried out by James Hutchinson, who has advised on over 400 courses and was responsible for ecological aspects of all the courses at St Andrews. The survey will result in a plan over the next few years based on his recommendations. He highlighted many areas and this is a resume of some of his findings.
The management of the trees on the course has been carried out in line with the recommendations of the report. The area to the right of the 8th surrounding the pond has been an area of considerable tree removal. The following are the comments he had to make on that area.
"Woodland management has been undertaken to the fringes of the lake to the RHS of the hole. Whilst quite invasive, I feel that the aquatic and semi aquatic birdlife will flourish now that a direct route in can be found. Larger birds including swans and members of the goose family require direct access to open water for both landing and taking off, also for raising their young i.e. walking into and out of the water. WGC is without doubt an aesthetically pleasing course and one where the ponds and lakes should be seen rather than congested."
He also has the following comment on our low lying wet areas on the 13th which is relevant to all the wet areas,
"The recent removal of the willow scrub from the damp area to the LHS and RHS of the carry is an improvement to the ecology of the area. It is important that low lying wet areas are retained as such, and not allowed to dry out by tree coverage. Also, leaf drop will slowly change the environment to a more fertile type (leaves will decay adding nutrients to the region). "
The removal of the willows to the right of the 14th tee is also in line with his recommendations for the same reasons. The management of trees and the thinning of copses will continue in line with the proposed programme over the next few years.
The removal of areas of trees has opened up areas where heather used to grow, particularly around the pond on the 8th but also on other areas of the course. As heather seeds remain viable in the ground for up to 50 years it is hoped that now the area is open it will encourage the re growth of the heather, as the ground will almost certainly contain seeds. It would be good to see more heather as it would add to the heathland character of the course. It was also noted that many areas of gorse have reached the end of their useful life, meaning they have become leggy, producing minimal flowers and are starting to fall in on themselves. These areas of gorse will require coppicing to 150mm to allow them to send out new growth the following year.
Another method he suggested for controlling heavy rough was to put sheep on the course. Although this may seem a little extreme, sheep can be controlled within specific areas using GPS necklaces. They can do a first class job of thinning out rough and would be a fraction of the cost of diesel usage, machinery wear and tear and man hours. The technique is used at St Andrews and other courses and perhaps there is food for thought here.
There was many more good recommendations made in the report and I will endeavour to report on them as the plan unfolds.
As we are now back using trolleys it is now time to re invigorate our use of divot bags to repair the course. There are still a few left in the pros shop for members to use and I will be re ordering some new bags for the season. Please try to join in on this initiative so that we can continue to improve our fairways, which have already seen marked improvement over the last year.
Brian Trenbirth
The early season greens treatment has now been successfully completed and should give minimal disruption to play and ensure good playing conditions for the year. It is essential that the treatment removes cores from the greens as this takes away organic matter and replaces it with high quality dressing. Once the conditions are right the greens will be over seeded, mainly with bent grasses, so that we can further improve the distribution of grass species we have. It is not sufficient to micro tine the greens at this time as it is only by slowly improving the subsoil and grasses that we can ensure quality greens throughout the year. Micro tining is a technique that is used throughout the year to improve the drainage of the greens and to an extent relieve compaction but is not seen as a substitute for hollow tining. The Autumn treatment is due to start on the 3rd of October and combined with the early treatment they should ensure that we have good playing surfaces at all times.
It is noticeable that the treatment of the fairways last year is producing a marked improvement in the quality and coverage of grass. Once we are able to cut them regularly we should see the benefit of the work and hopefully that will allow them to be cut shorter to allow the ball to run out better and make the course more playable for everyone, especially our shorter hitters!
Last year the club commissioned an environmental survey of the course. This was carried out by James Hutchinson, who has advised on over 400 courses and was responsible for ecological aspects of all the courses at St Andrews. The survey will result in a plan over the next few years based on his recommendations. He highlighted many areas and this is a resume of some of his findings.
The management of the trees on the course has been carried out in line with the recommendations of the report. The area to the right of the 8th surrounding the pond has been an area of considerable tree removal. The following are the comments he had to make on that area.
"Woodland management has been undertaken to the fringes of the lake to the RHS of the hole. Whilst quite invasive, I feel that the aquatic and semi aquatic birdlife will flourish now that a direct route in can be found. Larger birds including swans and members of the goose family require direct access to open water for both landing and taking off, also for raising their young i.e. walking into and out of the water. WGC is without doubt an aesthetically pleasing course and one where the ponds and lakes should be seen rather than congested."
He also has the following comment on our low lying wet areas on the 13th which is relevant to all the wet areas,
"The recent removal of the willow scrub from the damp area to the LHS and RHS of the carry is an improvement to the ecology of the area. It is important that low lying wet areas are retained as such, and not allowed to dry out by tree coverage. Also, leaf drop will slowly change the environment to a more fertile type (leaves will decay adding nutrients to the region). "
The removal of the willows to the right of the 14th tee is also in line with his recommendations for the same reasons. The management of trees and the thinning of copses will continue in line with the proposed programme over the next few years.
The removal of areas of trees has opened up areas where heather used to grow, particularly around the pond on the 8th but also on other areas of the course. As heather seeds remain viable in the ground for up to 50 years it is hoped that now the area is open it will encourage the re growth of the heather, as the ground will almost certainly contain seeds. It would be good to see more heather as it would add to the heathland character of the course. It was also noted that many areas of gorse have reached the end of their useful life, meaning they have become leggy, producing minimal flowers and are starting to fall in on themselves. These areas of gorse will require coppicing to 150mm to allow them to send out new growth the following year.
Another method he suggested for controlling heavy rough was to put sheep on the course. Although this may seem a little extreme, sheep can be controlled within specific areas using GPS necklaces. They can do a first class job of thinning out rough and would be a fraction of the cost of diesel usage, machinery wear and tear and man hours. The technique is used at St Andrews and other courses and perhaps there is food for thought here.
There was many more good recommendations made in the report and I will endeavour to report on them as the plan unfolds.
As we are now back using trolleys it is now time to re invigorate our use of divot bags to repair the course. There are still a few left in the pros shop for members to use and I will be re ordering some new bags for the season. Please try to join in on this initiative so that we can continue to improve our fairways, which have already seen marked improvement over the last year.
Brian Trenbirth