7th Path... Nearly there!

Big thanks go to Mike Hall, Phil Lockett and Nick Fletcher for their efforts in getting the 7th path close to completion. All that remains is a small skimming of surface material on the area near the back of 6th green. 

Another load of material is arriving next week and then more areas of path can be resurfaced. Make sure you pass your thanks on to these guys for a great job!

Captain's Day

We have had a great week, weather wise, and it has served us well in getting the course as presentable as possible for Captain, Jeff Perkin and the rest of the members.

Hitting mid-June, we believe the course is starting to look fairly decent now. The greens have had some Nitrogen fertiliser this week to improve sward density and they are rolling nicely. More topdressing over the coming months will assist with surface firmness and smoothness.

We are pleased with the decision to lower the mowing height on tees & surrounds to 10mm (3/8 inch) and this has paid great dividends. They are now nice and tight with the option for golfers to putt, lob wedge, pitch or bump and run off them. A nice tight surface helps to promote check and spin. Good luck with that!

Congratulations to Ryan for passing his PA2 spraying course this week. He can operate a tractor mounted sprayer legally now. So well done Ryan!

Finally, may we wish Mr Captain a great day tomorrow! Enjoy your golf!

Club Championship preparation

This week, we have been working towards the Club Championship and taking advantage of some much needed dry weather. 

The difference this makes to our mowing schedule is immense and I'm hopeful that we get continued dry, warm weather. Not only is it great for us but also it is much more enjoyable for members and guests too. Golf is way more fun when the sun is out!!

You will notice that we topdressed the greens again. This will be a continuing trend because it helps with surface trueness, ball roll and helps to dilute thatch. I cannot emphasise enough how important topdressing sand is to a Greenkeeper. It is the most valuable resource we utilise and we must continue to apply it continuously.

We have also started to topdress the surrounds too. This will firm them up, fill in any patchy areas and help the grass sward to become tighter and more consistent. I am keen to continue this because I believe that the surrounds, playability-wise, should be very similar to the greens.

Perhaps the best news though is that Mike Hall and Phil Lockett have dedicated a lot if time and hard work this week to the path work at the 7th. They have had assistance from a number of other guys and the work so far has been absolutely fantastic. Well done guys.

Lastly, I finally got time to play the course this week. Having not played for quite some time, I was a bit rusty but I am pleased with our progress so far. I do understand golfers comments regarding the trees and how narrow some holes are. All I can say, in that respect, is that it is the same for everybody! Until winter, no tree management work can begin.

Finally, good luck to all of you vying for top spot in the Club Championship. Have a great weekend of golf!

Repairing ball marks - a simple guide

Just a quick link for you to have a quick peek at. I'm not suggesting that members are not repairing ball marks or aren't proficient in the art of ball mark repair.

However, the Greenkeepers Association have provided this free link for educational purposes. It's great for those just starting the game.

Spread the word - and help to ensure the greens' surfaces remain intact!

http://www.bigga.org.uk/uploads/attachment/335/how-to-repair-a-pitchmark.pdf

8th green - Drainage improving

Despite seeing more rainfall in May (96 mm/4 inches approx) than in any other month since I started work at PPGC, the 8th green seems to be standing up really well to some adverse weather.

When I started, the 8th green was out of play and a temporary green was in use. It would puddle at the merest hint of rain.

Since then, we have micro tined the 8th green 6 times, slit tined 3 times, verti drained once, hollow cored twice and heavy top dressed 3 times with sand. 

March, April and May were not exactly dry months to say the least! However, the  8th green now seems to be draining much better. Testament, I believe, to punching holes in the surface and backfilling them with sand too. As the photo above demonstrates, it is now looking fairly good too.

Likewise, the other greens are almost recovered from hollow coring. From talking to sales reps, it is clear that leatherjacket grubs have been particularly troublesome this spring at many golf courses and I'm quite sure that they have had an impact on the recovery of the greens following hollow coring.

Leatherjacket grubs feed on grass roots and stems, causing stunted growth. I have noticed patches on the greens that show typical leatherjacket damage around coring holes. After applying an insecticide last week, I hope that we have curbed their activity.

Big thanks to the Vice Captain

This week, our machine for maintaining the rough had a breakdown on Wednesday. One of the rams that lifts the mowing decks broke, potentially leaving the golf club with a significant repair bill.

However, we made a call to our Vice Captain, Graham, and within 48 hours he had pulled in a favour from an engineer that he knows. Although we didn't manage to mow all the rough, Graham's fantastic assistance got us back on course (no pun intended!) and the cost to the club was a bit of machine down time.

So, Mr VC, hats off to you! What a top guy.

We have now started to settle back down to regular maintenance after finishing all the coring and topdressing. Looking back, the work was a success but the irritation was the inclement weather that interrupted this important work and prevented us from completing it quickly.

The course is now starting to look good and the feedback has been very positive. It's also nice to see the orchids growing around the 5th and 6th holes. Please do not pick them or whack them with your club. They are rare and it would be nice if they stuck around a while longer!!

Enjoy your golf!!

The first 3 months...

Just a quick note on the blog to say a big thank you to everyone at the golf club who has facilitated with my induction period.

The Board of Directors, Captain, Vice Captain, Greens Committee, Freddy, Ryan and, of course, the playing members, have all been a great assistance in helping me to learn the ropes!

Understandably, the greens are not yet peaking due to the hollow coring and top dressing over the last few weeks. 

However, they are getting there and will start to push on with an application of fertiliser. They have remained dry, firm and free draining though and that is massively encouraging to me as it is important for golfers to play on dry greens that stand up to inclement weather.

I hope that all the members agree that course conditioning is improving with time. Thankfully, next week will be the last 4 day week for some time. Myself & Ryan cannot wait for that so that we can have some continuity to our work schedule!!!

We continue to enjoy our work and strive to provide areas of improvement with each passing week of work. We welcome any feedback, through Freddy or via the Greens Committee. 

I hope to post updates on the 7th path completion within the next few weeks. Have a great bank holiday weekend and enjoy your golf!

Fairways....getting back to normality!!!

I believe that a number of members have raised concerns about the length of the fairways last week and over the weekend.

Please allow me to clarify how the fairways got so long.

We sent the cylinder units away 10 days ago to have the blades re-ground (sharpened). After 2 days, the technician called me to say that 1 of the 5 units had a broken part that needed replacing. I asked him to order it and replace it. However, the part took longer to arrive to him than anticipated. Therefore, there was a longer than expected delay.

Freddy has been asked as to why we do not get the cylinders sharpened in winter. My response to Freddy was twofold:

- Firstly, after a winter of twigs, leaves, divots and worm casts lying on the fairways, it would be foolish to run freshly sharpened blades over them and risk any  wear or damage

- Secondly, to justify spending £500 approx in winter time on re-grinding and to then have the fairway mower standing idle inside would, in the eyes of both myself and the board, be unnecessary expenditure particularly considering that club funds need to be protected in off peak periods

Hopefully, you will now find more consistent fairway surfaces for the season ahead. Below is a photo of the 1st fairway looking much more presentable!!!

Spring hollow coring

Last week, I posted a video link to the USGA that briefly talked about hollow core aeration and top dressing.

This week, we have managed to hollow core and top dress 8 of our 11 greens. Firstly, a huge thanks to all you guys that volunteered and helped out. It was fantastic to see and a great team effort.

If you talk to some of the guys that helped us, they will confirm the spongy nature of some of our greens. The hollow coring is a process that removes thatch (organic matter) and we top dress afterwards with sand. The sand is used to promote a drier, more free draining soil profile.

Let me re-iterate. Firm and dry. They are the keywords. Golf greens should be firm and dry. Always. This allows truer, faster greens to be produced that stand up better to wet weather. I do not like to see temporary greens ever. Therefore, I aim to get the greens as dry and as firm as possible. Again, the mantra is Firm and dry.

I realise that the greens will not be perfect for the next week or so. However, I am looking to the long term because that is in the best interests of our golf club. 

I'll leave you with that mantra one last time; Firm and dry!!!

Enjoy your weekend!!!

Aeration - An easy to understand guide

In preparation for our Spring hollow coring operation next week, I thought that this video, courtesy of the USGA, would help to explain our reasons for greens aeration:

http://youtu.be/863Ix8czcoY

Tees & surrounds - lower mowing to encourage lower scoring

Only a short post this week but one that, nonetheless, is very relevant to course presentation and playability. 

We have just started to lower the mowing heights of tees & surrounds to 10mm. I feel that this will provide a number of benefits:

- A tighter playing surface (particularly for the greens' surrounds) to give a broad range of golfers the opportunity to get up & down from off the green. It will allow a recovery shot to be played with a putter, wedge, 9, 8, 7, 6 or even 5 iron bump and run

- Tighter playing surfaces ultimately give golfers more shot control as there is less chance of longer grass getting between the club face and the ball. Chip shots are more likely to check and spin as a result

- Some of the gaps in these areas will start to fill in, particularly when we topdress them with sand

- For green keepers and golfers, the definition of these playing surfaces will improve too, helping to improve course aesthetics

Have a great May Day Weekend and enjoy your golf .