AROUND THE GREENS
Maintenance Week 6th to 13th September 2010
Schedule:
Verti-drain greens, tines and depth to be decided
Scarify greens using Sisis Rotorake 600, depth to be decided
Collect spoil and remove for composting
Verti-Cut to remove any debris and/or use blowers
Topless using Chelford 28sand
Brush in
Overseed using Scott accupro spreader and Barenbrug ALL bent seed (3 bags to do all 18 greens)
Topdress Lightly if required
Brush in
Height of cut to be raised to 5mm during and after maintenance is completed.
DURATION OF WORK
1 Week
RECOVERY
2-3 weeks dependent on weather conditions.
All operation will be governed by weather conditions
*Important Information*
Ponies are now being kept 'ontrack' in the fields adjacent to the 4th, 5th and 7th fairways.
If you hit a ball D.O.B. into the fields PLEASE leave the ball 'Take your medicine' and move on.
One person going over the fence could allow 10 ponies onto the course.
These ponies have 'Extra Large' hooves which could leave expensive damage to the fairways and greens and although a farmer is responsible for containing his stock, his argument will be that golfers have damaged the fence.
PLEASE be a responsible club member.
Miss Hilary West - Chairman of Greens
* Buggies *
A Buggy has been damaged on the course. The driver has been totally honest and owned up and reported the incident.
However, the damage could mean the buggy is a 'right off'!
Although they look sturdy, buggies are vulnerable, they are not 'dodgem-cars'.
Course Closure and Temporary Greens.
During the course of any given year it may be necessary to close, all or part of the course due to adverse weather conditions.
Decisions on the closure or partial closure are taken after careful consideration by myself and/or members of the greenkeeping team with a view to minimising long term damage which could affect the condition of the course during the playing season, particularly in the early months. We also appreciate the current position of the club and this is also taken into account.
Over the past two years we have experienced higher than average rainfall, particularly in the summer months, which means we are going into winter with already saturated clay soil. In contrast if the summer is dry the soil dries out and the course is able to absorb rainfall, usually until December, when problems with closure begin.
We have a long term programme of work involving aeration, slitting, mole-ploughing and various methods of decompacting, all aimed at keeping the course as playable as possible for as much of the year as possible, but it must be appreciated that climatic conditions are out of our control.
Rainfall Facts.
Year. Total May- September
2003 638mm 303mm
2004 914mm 295mm
2005 971mm 276mm
2006 978mm 235mm
2007 1287mm 688mm
2008* 1325mm 746mm *To end of November, December average = 135mm.
As the chart shows rainfall in May-Sept 2008 is more than 3 times that of 2006.
1 mm of rainfall is equal to 1 litre of water per square metre – A LOT OF WATER!
Temporary Greens.
Temporary greens are used to protect the main greens at times when they are, either, waterlogged, frozen, frosty or a combination of all of these factors.
Waterlogged greens suffer damage from pitchmarks and compaction under the weight of golfers feet. The average male exerts more compaction per square centimetre than any of the machiney that we use on the greens on a regular basis.
It is also impossible to putt consistently on waterlogged greens due to bobbling and water resistance.
Frosty greens, when the greens are white, are open to cellular damage of the leaf under foot printing Feet damage the frozen leaf by rupturing the frozen cells within the plant causing the characteristic black footprinting and wheel marks.This causes long lasting damage to the plant which slows recovery. There are situations when playing on frost is acceptable such as thawing frost.
The greenkeeping team are well qualified to make the correct decision.
Frozen greens (frozen solid) are perfectly playable while they are frozen but problems occur when they begin to thaw. This results in a slippery surface with the root system still in frozen ground. These conditions cause root break which severely damages the plant.
Combinations of some or all of the above factors can lead to the use of temporary greens.
As a Golf Course Manager I have to balance the expectations of the members with the need to protect the course and this is rarely achieved witha balance.
Some clubs take a more severe outlook by closing the course until frost lifts or banning trolleys during frosty or wet condtions, even for the whole winter.
Iain Grant.
Course Manager.
Course Closure Criteria.
Weather Conditions.
Heavy Rain
Snow
Frost in exceptional conditions
Thunder/lightening
Gale/storm force winds
Fog
Course Condition. - Decisions to be taken on the worst affected areas and not on the best areas.
Decisions will be taken on total closure, temporary greens or shortened route as conditions dictate.
Greens.
Waterlogged– not able to take relief from water under the Rules of Golf
Flooded – not able to take relief from water under the Rules of Golf
Frozen and thawing- possible temps if the overall course condition allows.
Snow.
General Course.
Waterlogged/flooded – not possible to gain relief from casual water.
Slippery underfoot- dangerous, high risk of accidents
Risk of undue damage to the course if played on in the above conditions.
Danger due to falling trees in storm conditions.
Weekend Closure.
If the course is closed in the morning and there is NO CHANCE of play that day a message will be placed on the answerphone to that effect.
If the course is closed in the morning and there is a chance of play that day a re-inspection will be scheduled and notified on the answerphone.
Non of the above criteria are “set in stone” and there must be a degree of flexibility decided by the appointed member of the Greenkeeping team who is best placed to make a professional decision.
