NEATH GOLF CLUB
MONTHLY GOLF COURSE REPORT
JULY 2016
GREENS
- The greens have had a tough month, the weather could not have been much worse. As its been reported many times the greens become very vulnerable in the climate we experienced, foggy, damp and dull days combined with very humid air temperatures make the perfect combination for disease to strike. We suffered a small outbreak at the beginning of July, the greens were strong enough to fend the attack off other than the 5th and 17th (These two greens have been treated with a fungicide). Sunlight and UV are a great cure for fusarium but with the tree coverage around these 2 greens not enough sun was penetrating, although it pleasing to report the 14th stayed clean. When we had the 5 days of blanket fog it’s not surprising it flared up again and being so close to the club championship I decided to blanket spray all greens with a preventive and curative fungicide.
- The recent weather has
been a carbon copy of 2014 and in this year we had a bad outbreak of
anthracnose in the middle of August so I’m expecting the same. Unfortunately,
when you see the disease it too late to spray and we do not have the funds
to apply a preventive fungicide (£1000). It tends to attack greens that
are lean i.e. low on nitrogen so a granular fertiliser is to be applied to
pick N levels up.
- The weather leading up to
the club champs was difficult but with lots of extra hours from the boys
and I, we managed produce excellent surfaces for the day that was enjoyed
by all
- Maintenance week has been
hampered by the weather, full report next month
PLAN OF ACTION
- Maintenance week
- Granular feed
- Apply liquid turf
conditioners and wetting agent
- Hand weed
TEES
- The bare areas on the 15th and 16th tees have been seeded and top dressed, the germination has been excellent and we now have full coverage
PLAN OF ACTION
- Apply
liquid feed, seaweed and iron
- Move
tees daily
- Divot weekly
APRONS
- Growth is consistent and
all have full coverage
PLAN
OF ACTION
- Continue with traffic management in vulnerable areas
- Verti cut
FAIRWAYS
- The PGR that was applied is wearing off and growth is strong again, it needs to be applied every 3 weeks to keep growth to a manageable rate but we do not have the funds or resources to do this
PLAN OF ACTION
- Mow
and brush when required.
WINTER PROJECTS
- We have sourced some astro turf from Banwen RFC; there are around 60 rolls available. I have agreed with them that as payment they can bring up to 20 golfers for a team bonding outing, this will be on a Saturday afternoon and they intend to use the bar afterwards.
- It’s been rolled up for a year and some seem to be quite brittle so before I instruct delivery I shall go up and un-roll 1 to check it’s just the flap that’s been in the sun that is affected.
- The
chair of Banwen needs to take our offer to committee but he cannot see a
problem so the only physical cost to the club will be the transport.
NEATH GOLF CLUB
MONTHLY GOLF COURSE REPORT
JUNE 2016
GREENS
- Greens are performing
extremely well. The new nutrient input I have implemented this season is
making a huge difference; the N input is down by 20% compared to this time
last year. Grass growth is under control and the clip rate has dramatically
reduced. By reducing the clip rate, the greens perform better for longer
during the day. If this trend continues I will soon be able to skip a cut
for roll, this will obviously help with the trueness and smoothness but
more importantly reduce the stress levels placed on the grass plant.
- In the planned maintenance week starting on the 1st of August I’ve decided not to hollow core again, there’s no benefit ripping cores out when it’s not needed. I will be focusing on deep aeration and thatch removal. The deep aeration will be carried out using the air2g2 machine. The machine will be delivered onsite Sunday 31st July so it is likely I shall start in the evening behind the last group in the club champs. It is a very slow process with an average size green taking approx. an hour. I will be doing the historically wetter greens twice.
- For the thatch removal I will be light verti cutting the greens on the 18th of July and applying a product called T-Thatch, a decomposing enzyme solution that cleans up thatch and invigorates the grass sward without disruption or loss of playing surface. It’s applied two weeks before the main maintenance so the thatch is already breaking down making it easier to remove. On the 1st of August, greens will be double verti cut at +3mm, brushed and cut. This will also help to “fine down” the courser grasses
- Sarrel roll
- Granular fertiliser
applied to aid recovery
- Top dressing to be
applied, this will be as heavy as conditions allow.
- If time allows tees and
approaches will be verti cut, brushed and cut, fairways brushed and cut.
- Over seeding will be
carried out twice in September along with a micro hollow core if needed
and top dressing
PLAN OF ACTION
- Maintenance week
- Apply liquid turf
conditioners and wetting agent
- Hand weed
TEES
- Tees coverage is
excellent, the 15th and 16th struggled in the recent
dry spell but are recovering slowly
- All have been sprayed with
a PGR, liquid feed and iron
PLAN OF ACTION
- Apply
liquid feed, seaweed and iron
- Move
tees daily
- Divot
weekly
APRONS
- I am
very pleased with the approaches.
- All
have been sprayed with a PGR, liquid feed and iron
PLAN
OF ACTION
- Continue
with traffic management in vulnerable areas
- Verti
cut
FAIRWAYS
- Fairways are exceptional and with the resources available we can’t get them much better than they currently are.
- All have been sprayed with a PGR, liquid feed and iron
PLAN
OF ACTION
- Mow
and brush when required.
ROUGH
- Lots of time has been spent on the 1st cut and the results are superb.
- I was not happy with the quality or appearance so I lowered the HOC on the new rough mower to 25mm, being a rotary mower it is able to cut the coarser grass the cylinder can’t, now we have a uniform 1st cut that looks and performs outstanding.
- The 1st cut has been sprayed a PGR, liquid feed and iron.
- Now
the grass is at a uniform 25mm the 1st cut mower can keep it
that way but if we miss a cut through weather etc then I will have no
hesitation in doing it again with the new John Deere
- The
2nd cut rough is being cut at least once a week at 65mm. 10mm
shorter than last year.
- Bell preparations went
well and the course was in great condition. Members and guests were all
full of praise, which is always good for the boys and I to hear.
- The weather leading up to
the bell was changeable to say the least. Monday and Tuesday was very
humid with torrential rain, this triggered off the fusarium. It was not a particularly
severe outbreak but frustrating none the less. Its pleasing to report that
no fungicide has been applied, the strength of the greens combined with drier
and more importantly sunny (the disease cannot tolerate UV light) weather
was enough to fend it off
- We suffered a relatively severe
hydraulic oil leak on the 13th green. This was on the old
Ransomes GT, this machine has suffered two leaks the last twice it gone
out so because of that I will not be using it again, we have two of these
and a scrap one for spares, when Kerry has chance he is going to clean
them up to put on eBay.
- The old Cushman has been
out of action for 3 weeks, as reported many times this machine is very old
and new parts are no longer available, I am using all my contacts to
attempt to find a scrap one we can pinch parts from.
- All greens solid tined
- 12 ton of topdressing
applied
- Liquid feed, seaweed and
wetting agent applied
- Brush
- Apply liquid turf
conditioners and wetting agent
- Hand weed
- Top dress
NEATH GOLF CLUB
MONTHLY GOLF COURSE REPORT
MAY 2016
GREENS
PLAN OF ACTION
- Tees coverage is
excellent, a close eye will be kept if this dry weather continues for
drought stress
- Apply liquid feed, seaweed and iron
- Hand
water if needed
- Move
tees daily
- Divot
weekly
- I am
very pleased with the approaches after the deep verti cut and brush.
- Brushing
has continued weekly around the green to further fine down the course
grasses.
- All
received a selective herbicide, iron and turf conditioners
- The
back of 15 is now being cut at 1st cut height is will stay this
way until rain is forecast
- Continue
with traffic management in vulnerable areas
- Verti
cut
- Apply
liquid feed, seaweed and iron
- Fairways are looking and
performing very well. The divot night was well attended and a good job was
carried out, thank you to all that attended
TEES
PLAN OF ACTION
APRONS
PLAN
OF ACTION
FAIRWAYS
PLAN
OF ACTION
- Mow and brush when required
- Plan
another divot night