Autumn report

Hello all

We're now into the Autumn with leaves turning colour and slowly falling but at least we can say that the dry months of summer appear, at least visually, to have turned a corner

Certainly, the golf course is very green and it's now difficult to find many areas that still exhibit signs of drought stress. Whilst the recent rains have helped with this 'greening effect', other contributing factors (to fairway areas at least, has been the verticutting (done in September) and an application of fertiliser to most of the fairways (1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 9). This has been done to recover burned off areas and to offer more turf density/thickness as we head into the cooler months

The verticutting, done every September, is now carried out partly to refine the fairway grasses too. As some members (but not all) may be aware, the biggest headache  challenge we face is the old agricultural ryegrass that can be found in clumps on the fairways. Some, like the 4th and 9th fairways, are infested with it to such an extent that it dictates our mowing and overall management of them

Being very coarse in texture with a very waxy leaf, it is often difficult for the mower blades to cut effectively. Only when conditions are dry does it actually cut ok, the reason being that it will hold less water in the leaf and shoot during drier conditions

The conditions that exacerbate this problem are multiple:

• A fertile soil
• Higher mowing heights
• Infrequent mowing
• Moisture
• Little to no surface refinement

Hence we are often forced to 'chop' it down to lower mowing heights to discourage it and to actually present a fairway that is defined and looks as though it has been cut. This is where we are now and so I understand the frustration of some golfers that would rather the fairways be a hybrid of fairway and semi rough but often, fairways with this grass species dominant can impact a golfer's ability to control an approach shot with backspin. Get enough grass between clubface and ball could lead to more topspin imparted from a shot. That aside, it is the simple aesthetics that is so unsightly as the photos attest

With this in mind, the approach to addressing this problem, short of ultra low mowing, is soil improvement via sanding, refinement via brushing and verticutting, and longer term, overseeding with fine grasses. Given the golf club's focus on other priorities right now, the purchase of the equipment necessary to achieve these aims might have to wait a few years

You'll also notice the worms have come out to play since the cooler, wet weather arrived. They really are quite something and the worm casts can often smear with mowing (photo above). It is the fact that the casts are produced from heavy, fertile soils that cause them to hold moisture and be quite claggy in texture. On better sites, worm casts are more crumbly and thus don't smear so much during mowing. It's all good fun - until it isn't !!

The foxes of doom continue to test our patience. We have a pest control expert who is helping us but the problem is not a quick fix. We've had to permanently GUR the 5th bunker as the fox/foxes have decimated this bunker with their digging. It makes little sense at this time to renovate and restore this bunker whilst the issue remains. All that would happen is that more fresh sand and the bunker face would continue to be affected - unnecessary expense and labour for no net-gain. Please understand that this problem might take some time to resolve

Although the dry, warm weather is behind us, we're still experiencing growth and so we're still able to present a defined golf course as we head into mid-October. The greens have now recovered from the dry summer conditions but boy have they been tough to pull back. Multiple applications of fertiliser have been required and a lot of effort has gone into turning them around. They now have good coverage and density as we head into the tougher months

It is fusarium patch, a turf disease, that now presents the ultimate Autumn curveball. A very destructive disease, it is characterised by a soaked small orange patch during its early stages, leading to a ring of mycelium (white fungal spores) as it progresses. Fusarium patch is exacerbated by:

• Heavy dew formation
• Alkaline surface conditions
• Mild, damp, cool weather
• Humidity and lack of wind/drying
• Too low or too high soil fertility
• Vulnerable turf species - mainly poa annua

In Summer, the disease will often grow out. Sun, warmth, growth, long daylight hours etc all enable this and so the issue resolves quickly. But the cooler months are conducive to attack as that re-growth and recovery is less certain. Often, we rely on fungicides to help combat the symptons

The principle behind the product chemistry is that the fungicides can be used preventatively or, sometimes, curatively. It is not ideal to have to apply a fungicide but a necessary evil. Since the EU (to which the UK was aligned) started to heavily regulate petro-chemicals as part of their increased overall regulatory framework, the greenkeeper's arsenal has become less potent. So much so that European greenkeepers now have zero fungicides to choose from. Not great for golf at all

Fungicides are now far less efficacious as a result of this regulation - in addition to being more expensive. We are limited to a handful of applications per year for the available product range and have to be quite precise in timing of applications

Hence why at this time of year, we're faced with the unsolvable conundrum: how to provide greens that have some speed for play but we're not mowing too much so as to mow out all of the product too soon. It's a perfect storm at the moment - mild enough for growth but also mild enough for high disease pressure. It's still many months before we can see Spring ahead and the chance for longer daylight hours and warmer weather ahead. So do understand that we're balancing presenting a green surface with maximising value out of expensive fungicides that offer, by legislation, mininmal applications. Expect some mowing at higher mowing heights with rolling, dew brushing in the mix. For a deeper dive into Fusarium, scroll through the blog and there is a post dedicated to it 

As we head further into the Autumn, we have taken the opportunity to mole plough the carries on 7 & 8. Often damp, they are a source of frustration for members and greens' staff. The mole plough creates a 'mole run' in the soil - a conduit for water to move through. It's a temporary fix, lasting perhaps a year but maybe this could be a low-cost method of tackling some boggy areas on the course until such time as we install proper drainage systems into these areas

Talking of which, the drainage on the 9th fairway has settled in well. The dry summer didn't help the seed to establish quickly but it is now getting there. At least this fairway, the golfer's final impression of the course, will be much drier during wetter periods

Heading into winter, course improvement work will involve some tee renovations and some other small but effective renovations. I will update the blog in due course

Finally, the club have invested significantly in the machinery fleet as many of you are aware. The new greens mower and fairway mower are excellent and will offer subtle improvements but more reliability, less downtime for repairs and offer us more flexibility moving forward. Great news!

Enjoy the Autumn colours as you play!

Ben Allen

Checking out

Hello again, all members

Well, it's been quite the summer. Hopefully, there are no complaints about how warm and pleasanr the British summer has been. I expect staycations to have been booming this year vs the summer escape to warmer climes

Bringing this back to golf, it's been a tale of two halves really; one the one hand, golf has continued uninterrupted without rain delays. Green fees have been excellent, I believe and that is very positive for additional golf club revenues. On the other hand, we've been challenged with those continually dry conditions that have really minimised growth. Rain can usually be counted on at some point during the typical summer to soften up those fairway lies or regenerate tee areas with new seedlings

So, fair to say that the weather gods have been on permanent vacation. I'm sure rains will arrive in Autumn. Careful what you wish for, I guess !

The weather records attest to the lean conditions. We can have a quick scan of the data; June provided 14 days of rain, more than any other month. July was next (9 days) followed by January (8 days). However, January provided most rain (remember the snow and flooding?) with 125mm followed by July (91mm) and May (51mm). February (6), March (5) and May (5) had the least amount of rain days

In total, since January 1, 2025, we've had a total of 58 days of rain out of 232 (to date)

How does this translate for our greens then? Well, as the blog title suggests, the poa is now breaking down and checking out. It has well and truly had enough. You can see from the photo the huge disparity between the poa (yellowing - that's anthracnose, a stress related turf disease) and the bentgrass (looking delighted, strong and very green). The poa set its seed in July and now, this annual crop is dying, as it does every year. The seed is ready to germinate in Autumn to produce next years crop

Safe to say, the poa has been pummelled by wave after wave of dry, hot conditions. Similarly, my annual bedding plants at home are also looking sickly now for similar reasons. The life of an annual plant is fleeting and ends in exactly the same way every year

Hence we overseed in the Autumn with bentgrass and creeping bentgrass, targeting the areas where poa is most predominant. Perhaps these are low spots where it sits damper or more shaded from the sun and wind. Regardless, our overseeding, as the photo demonstrates, is helping to close in around it

Herein lies a story of stress; poa demands regular water, fertiliser and some kid gloves to nurse it through before it seeds and dies. The bentgrass demands the opposite. Our philosophy is one of sustainability and lowering of costs slowly over time, whilst providing more resilient surfaces. Our particular challenge is that our greens are USGA construction (high sand content) and they are prone to drying down very quickly in warm, dry conditions so pushing them hard for those ever quicker green speeds will ultimately end in stress for certain grass species (poa) but not for the other (bentgrass)

I recently heard a cautionary tale from a golf club not that far from here. The constant demand for quick greens in summer and winter - roll, cut, roll cut, on and on, didn't end well this Spring, following a cold, dry end to Winter. Pushing greens to the limit might appease golfers for a while but it inevitably ends very badly. Your greens should be managed with a full year in mind and sometimes, giving them a rest at key times does actually pay off. This particular club have since had to resort to drastic measures 'a new strategy' to get them back on the right track - and I heard this from a number of different sources. Again, be careful what you wish for.

The 7th competition tee has finally settled in quite nicely. Sure, it would be nice if some of the areas near it had fully developed (seed coming through etc) but in time, with more rain, it will

I think it's a good example of where the golf club has finally come to the realisation that in order to get a successful outcome, some trees had to be sacrificed to allow the sun to push through. Similarly, the two trees back right of the 4th green have provided ongoing frustration of dry, bare turf some 10 paces from the 4th green. In a battle between a mature tree and the turf below it, the tree wins every time. So, with a preference for improving this area, the trees have gone and this area will start to see more grass cover in time. 

The other photo also shows the tree roots pushing through into the back of the 17th tee, drying this area out too. Needless to say, there is a familiar pattern emerging of trees outcompeting turf and causing dry turf that loses grass cover. Whilst trees have their place on a golf course, when it comes at the detriment of turf and where your ball might be positioned, the only logical question is what's more important, the tree or the playing surface turf ?!!

A large group of stubborn foxes have exploited areas like this, as well as several bunkers on the course. Needless to say, they are being dealt with

I think the last thing to say is something about a few etiquette related issues. One, which is very avoidable, is keeping trolleys off tee areas. Whilst they have smooth wheels, some hot weather can quickly highlight that shortcut across the tee. If there's a path nearby, perhaps use the path instead?

Secondly, we've had a couple of instances of divots being taken out of greens. Golf is supposed to be a civilised sport - one that reflects the behaviours and morals we should have in life; honesty, discipline, manners. If a game of golf causes someone to resort to that then perhaps golf is not for them. It really shouldn't be that serious. Let's hope that these people can overcome their anger management issues and start to control their temper during a round of golf

Greens maintenance week starts soon. See you on the other side !

Sincerely

Ben Allen

Winter '24 - Spring '25 : cold & dry to warm & dry

Hello all

Well, here we are. No trolley bans, no cancelled competitions, drives bounding down fairways - and it's not even Summer yet !!

So far in 2025, we've had around 25 days when rain has fallen out of a possible 139 days (May 19th as I write). Since February, 2 inches or so of rain have arrived. So the chances are, if you play in the week, you're going to see somebody pulling a hose and watering a tee or green on the golf course

I think to assist members to understand more, we have to communicate that both our greens and tees are constructed on a sandy root zone which is great for draining and for grass growth under less extreme conditions. However, there's always a downside and we're seeing that right now

Usually, to help retain water in these soils, we use Wetting Agents. These products are sprayed onto the surface and watered/irrigated in to get the product into the profile. The technology helps to retain water in the soil profile and thus make irrigation more effective. What they also do is to break the surface tension of the area - so that when water is applied, it soaks into the soil without it just running off

But... wetting agents don't create water. There still has to be water applied, particularly when we're experiencing dry, sunny, windy conditions that cause evaporation. Without meaningful rain, irrigation of some kind is still essential. Hence we're literally firing out water every single day at the moment without any sort of break

Plus, the tees are getting nothing at weekends and this means that there is this 'hamster wheel' effect of sleep, eat, irrigate, repeat. It's great for golf but not for turf growth or recovery. The grass is just dormant under these conditions. Growth is zero to minimal and so you're not going to see any sort of regrowth of new seed in divots etc. The seeds might germinate but likely they'll possibly die off without regular water. Rain will fix all of this

Mowing is therefore very stop/start. Every other week really at the moment to try to re-establish aesthetics and a little definition but it's fair to state that this year, there hasn't been an awful lot of grass being cut off any areas, be that rough, fairways or tees. As frustrating as it is, we just have to sit it out 

We carried out an early scarification of the greens in March. It was fairly unintrusive and just carried out to remove a little seasonal organic matter from last Autumn onwards. But we had to wait another 4 weeks or so to verticut and topdress (complete the operation) due to cold, dry conditions. That was the time when it was cold at night, dry in the day, no rain and no irrigation. Applying sand and verticutting would have just stunted growth and recovery even more so we just had to wait

The greens are actually where we'd like them to be in terms of the soil profile. Last year's soil test results were excellent but we've had to contend with challenging dry conditions and lots of birds pecking for grubs. The birds have also had a fallow period of not being able to find much food - hence they revert to pecking for leatherjacket grubs that we have to deal with in the greens rootzone. As you can imagine, with very dry conditions that are also cold or warm, recovery from pecking takes much longer as there's no real growth. So we've had to sit on our hands, much to out frustration. 

We really should have had a repeat greens top dressing by now, if not a verticut too. But carrying out these operations on already dry greens surfaces is only going to exacerbate the dry conditions and create more problems. It's a bit like rubbing a graze on your leg with sandpaper - it'n not going to help and not going to end well so sometimes, waiting and being patient is options A, B and C

You'll also experience, as a golfer, ball roll deviation at this time of year (as with every other year in Spring) when the poa grasses start to seed - see photo below. This is an annual species, much like a bedding plant, and this flowering occurs so that it can re-seed before it dies in the summer, leaving new seed to regenerate for next year's crop. The seeding only gets more prominent with, you've guessed it, less water and so this year has been particularly noticeable

Again, there's little that can be done to alleviate this seeding. Cutting the seedheads off during mowing only causes the plant to produce more seedheads. It's going to die so the seedheads are there as a means for continued survival of the species

Poa needs lots of water and so we've had to keep on top of greens irrigation. We utilise our soil moisture meter to gauge the water content of the soil and to keep the poa happy in stress periods such as this

You'll also notice some fairy rings across the greens and these tend to flare up in dry spells. Essentially, the soil borne fungus manifests itself in a 'ring'. The dark edges are Nitrogen flushes and of little harm. Again, a good downpour of rain would make them less noticeable so we continue to wait

The irrigation system itself has recently thrown up a couple of curveballs. Firstly, we needed to replace the irrigation controller in April. This is how we program an automatic irrigation cycle at night or early morning. The old controller had blown through some kind of electrical surge or lightning strike

Next, a couple of weeks ago, we had a burst on the main pipe in the middle of the 4th fairway

Yep - that'll do it !

So we were without irrigation for 36 hours whilst we excavated the soil some 3 feet down. The last foot was hard clay. Really hard clay. I think the lads slept well that night! In the end, it was a fairly straightforward repair but it highlighted that the PVC pipework is old, brittle and susceptible to leaks or breakages. It's the elephant in the room for the vast majority of golf clubs - all hoping and praying that the irrigation system makes it through another year without major problems

The winter enabled us to get a few projects carried out. Obviously, the 7th competition tee was re-sited and rebuilt as well as re-directing the path. We're just waiting for all that turf, soil/seed etc to fully grow in and recover. Rain fixes this !!

Also carried out were some bunker sand splash renovations at the 2nd and 9th. Plus we also extended the back tee on the 3rd to accommodate more wear and play now that the golf club is experiencing so much more play. Remember, the golfer numbers have increased but the teeing areas haven't really so more play + same tees = more wear & more divots in the same area

Michael departed in April to take up a Course Manager position at Hurlston Hall and James returned in his place. We wish both well

The forecast for the week ahead is more unsettled so at last, we might get a more greener, lusher golf course at last. Parkland courses always look better for this. Links and heathland courses are more suited to browning off

That said, it's for golfers to adapt to the conditions and accept that the conditions are the same for everybody. This too shall pass. I bet once the rains arrive, they'll never stop !

Enjoy your golf

Ben Allen