Here is a review of 2021 - another busy year at the golf club and continued progress on the golf course.
We carried out our Spring greens' renovations in February 2021. It seemed appropriate as the golf club was closed. Scarifying, verti cutting and dressing were carried out and the weather, particularly soil temperatures, really helped with recovery. Bear in mind that we have usually carried out this work in April. Well, April provided 19 frost days. So in hindsight, the decision was correct - although we don't have the ability of foresight prior to hindsight!
The regular work required on our greens is due to the fact that they are of sand construction. These greens oftern produce more thatch because they don't retain nutrient or water so easily compared to clay. So the more demand for fertiliser often results in a build up of thatch and root systems. This has to be targeted with regular verti cutting, top dressing and occasional scarifying to remove this undesired material and dilute it with sand. It's an ongoing process.
We also need to be aware that most sand top dressing now contains a minimum of 20% fine particles. These can hinder the movement of water through the soil profile as they can block pore spaces through 'bridging'. A product has been used for a good year now that helps to clean out the fines and create a more open soil profile. There is still some work to do here but, considering the greens need to be enjoyed by golfers, all the required work cannot be fast-tracked in a year or two. That would simply involve too much disruption to greens' surfaces.
The nursery green has now more or less fully established. Admittedly, it is something of a pet project for me but it also serves as a 'go-to' green in case we need to repair any areas on greens on the golf course. It is 777 creeping bentgrass and was sown as a trial plot. It is a remarkable surface. We had a nematode issue with it in summer but this was mitigated with some fertiliser.
Golfer feedback indicated that the approaches and surrounds improved exponentially in 2021. Admittedly, more funds were allocated in the budget for this and the results were excellent. Myself and Ali played around with 2 mowers on these areas; the usual tees mower and the fairway mower. Surprisingly, we found that the fairway mower produced better results even when mowing at 11mm compared to the 8mm of the tees mower. This saved us a lot of labour time, even though the labour time on these areas increased dramatically.
The fairways also received an application of fertiliser in 2021. I was given a couple of free bags by a sales rep to trial on a par 3 fairway. This was used on the 2nd fairway and the product gave better density without too much top growth. This is what we are after to get a more uniform surface. The fertilisation of the fairways continued slowly right up until December - a very piecemeal operation but to fit in with other commitments. The 4th fairway remains by far the worst fairway. Lots of coarse ryegrass dominates and the only way around this is to scarify it and cut it low to discourage it.
Four bunkers (both at 3rd greenside and both chipping green bunkers) had fresh sand installed with old sand recycled elsewhere. We will look to continue this replacement slowly to counter the effects of sand contamination from silt (after heavy rain). It is all part of golf course maintenance - keeping these vital playing areas as good as they can be.
We continued to mow our rough shorter. 1.5 inches (37mm) is as short as it has ever been. The added definition and improved playability certainly benefit the golf course. Rough looks more inviting and lends the shorter cut tees, fairways, approaches and surrounds that extra definition.
We have also carried out some great construction work in November. The tees at 4 (a new yellow tee) and 5/14 were a direct result of golf balls leaving the golf course into residential properties. The brief was to realign the orientation of these tees to direct tee shots away from these neighbouring properties. To my mind, we executed this brief.
The thinking behind the tee at 5/14 was to use the space better. The old path ran straight between the old tees, taking up valuable teeing space. So we combined the tees and redirected the path to the right which was dead space anyway. What we also managed here was to extend the 14th tee backwards by 100%. This provides extra teeing space, particularly if the golf club needs extra scorecard yardage in the future. The 'lost' yellow yardage on the yellow 4th can also be reclaimed at the 14th without any net loss of yardage to the yellow scorecard.
In conjunction with this, we also filled in part of the pond on the 5th. This was proposed years ago in our EDI Project Masterplan. The aim is to widen the fairway to the right to encourage golf away from the neighbouring properties. In time, this will work but I think golfers will have to see a few trees removed in order for this to materialise. So far, nothing has really changed - we just have a new (albeit much bigger) tee.
The 11th tee has always been too small - certainly to accommodate 3 sets of tee markers. It always got beat up with divots. So we have replaced the area in front of it with a lighter soil and it will be maintained as a surround/tee. I think some members have been left scratching their head at the concept! All I can say is that it now provides us (members and greens' staff) with options; since we are land locked, we couldn't extend the tee backwards as there is no room. So our choice was a) move the tee forward or b) do nothing and leave the issue unaddressed.
We also anticipate delivery of a set of cylinder grinders this month. They will help keep our mowers sharp, ensuring great presentation and perhaps more importantly, using golf club funds to 'own' this asset rather than paying a contractor to do this work. It's a bit like renting vs buying a house; renting pays off somebody else's mortgage. Owning pays off your mortgage and secures the homeowner with an asset. It is a great investment for the golf club and I am convinced it will reap dividends as well as reducing budgetary outgoings.
I'm really looking forward to the 2022 season with the new course improvements and the desire of myself, Ali and all the volunteers who have contributed their time to the golf course.
Enjoy your golf!
Ben
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