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