Grassland Management

During the Autumn we brought in a contractor to undertake grassland management work to a number of rough areas on holes 1, 2, 5, 7, 9, 14, 16 and 18. The aim of this process is to thin out the rough grasses allowing for a wispy rough to come through in the spring, repeating this process annually will not only improve the aesthetics of the holes but will also prove to be less penal from wayward shots. 

Dense rough at 2nd green

Rough cut short and collected in one pass

Cut rough scarified and material collected

Course Update

As we move towards the winter months the tasks being undertaken on the golf course become more varied and unusual. The post will discuss some tasks that have taken place recently.

Sub-Surface Aeration

All putting surfaces have been solid tined using a 9.5mm diameter tine to a depth of 75mm. This improves the movement of air and water through the rootzone. In the coming weeks we will solid tine greens again this time using a 12mm tine working to a depth of 250mm. Beyond greens we have also solid tined all tees, surrounds and green approaches. Work on fairways is ongoing with nine completed so far.

Turfing of Path Ends

Worn path ends are in the process of being stripped, rotovated and returfed. This year we are using the turf from the 1st tee complex as this matches well with the surrounding areas. Turfed areas are roped off to ensure they can establish properly. 

Bunker Construction

Every year we refurbish a number of bunkers across the course and this year we have selected one bunker on each of holes 10, 11, 12 and 18. Work on the 18th has been completed although the bunker will remain out of play until the end of the winter months.

1st Tee Renovation

We have started to renovate and re-shape the teeing areas on the 1^st hole to improve this tired looking area of the golf course. Within the scope of this project we aim to address a number long standing issues with this tee complex the most obvious of which is the consistently poor performance of the yellow tee box. This tee is too small to cope with normal levels of play so it will be extended into the area currently occupied by the back half of the red tee. The three tee surfaces will have surface levels restored to ensure all shots can be taken from an even stance. We will also replace and reposition all of the irrigation pipework and heads as this tee was not included in the irrigation system replacement project in 2007/8. While this work is going on we will take the opportunity to change the tee banks on the road side. The hedge is being removed as this has become rather unsightly with gaps and dips along its entire length. Marram grass will be used on the new banking which will provide a natural looking finish. The steps to the new ladies tee will be reduced in size and a new set of steps will be built to access the yellow tee. As this project progresses, the tee will eventually have to close to allow the work to be done. Arrangements have been made to move the red tees to the site of the green tees and to move the yellow/white tees to a temporary tee located on the hill beyond the bottom car park. When this work is complete we will remove the hedging located at the top of the slope to the bottom car park as shown in the image below. This will improve visibility when entering or leaving the bottom car park. Where the hedge has been removed we plan to create an attractive planted area with the bronze Mythical Fish currently located in the foyer of clubhouse relocated outside and used as a centrepiece of the newly planted area.

 

Clearing the hedge from the 1st tee

Rough Grassland Management

We have recently undertaken work in some of the roughs with the aim of thinning out the grass to improve playability. In selected areas on holes 2, 3 and 18 the grass has been cut short, arisings have been removed and the areas have been scarified. This process will be repeated annually which will enable these areas to become progressively less dense and thus easier to find a ball and then play out of. We hope to extend this operation to cover many more rough grass areas in future with the aim of creating well defined, wispy rough that frames each hole without it being overly penal from a playing perspective.

18th rough before

18th rough after

Long Awaited Update!

I have struggled to regularly update the blog in recent months due in the most part to a lack of time but also because it is difficult to produce content that is not repetitive. The blog is now in its seventh year and I feel like we have covered most of the topics of interest quite a few times. Nonetheless, this post aims to give a general update on the work done on the golf course over the past couple of months.

Following the maintenance week at the end of March the greens recovered well from the invasive treatments carried out. A number of applications of sand top dressing have been applied to the greens with the aim of improving surface smoothness. Some pencil tine work was carried out on putting surfaces in early May and this will be repeated in June. It is vital we carry out regular aeration on the putting surfaces to aid the movement of air and water through the turf and upper profile of the rootzone. This needs to be done throughout the year using a variety of pencil, slit and hollow tines working at depths ranging from half an inch up to twelve inches or even beyond. Regular aeration of greens is the single most important operation in sports turf management. High quality putting surfaces can only be sustained if a regular and effective aeration programme is in place.

Applications of selective weedkiller have taken place in all closely mown turf areas. The mild winter and wet spring allowed record numbers of weeds to pop up and chemical control of these has been a necessity. The same weather conditions have caused the rough grasses to grow vigorously. Within these roughs there are diverse and varied plants some of which are protected species in Jersey. This year we have seen record numbers of the Early-purple orchid (Orchis mascula). Literally thousands of examples of this beautiful plant were noted across the course this spring. We also noted Pyramidal orchid (Anacamptis pyramidalis) as shown in the image below .

Early-purple orchid

Pyramidal orchid

Currently in flower and most prominent on holes 10, 11 and 14 is the semi-parasitic plant Yellow-rattle (Rhinanthus minor). This is a particularly appealing plant in golf course roughs as it gets some of its nutrients from the roots of neighbouring plants. This helps naturally restrict the growth of grasses in the area keeping a much lighter texture to the roughs where this plant is present. This both increases biodiversity and makes it easier to find your golf ball, a perfect combination!

Yellow-rattle

June Course Update

Greens

The year so far has proved to be very challenging from a course maintenance perspective. Poor weather conditions have meant the playing surfaces are slightly below expected levels for this point in the season. Some of the grasses are still in the seeding phase and this has been more vigorous and longer lasting than usual causing green smoothness and pace to suffer. Regular brushing, double cutting and rolling of the putting surfaces is maintaining standards to a reasonable level but aeration of greens has been suspended until the seeding has stopped. We can expect to see a significant decrease in seed heads over the next fortnight or so which will allow a resumption of regular needle tine aeration. This, when coupled with sufficient top dressing is the key element of our in-season greens maintenance program and is entirely necessary to produce the desired putting green performance.

Rough

How ironic that as the closely mown playing areas have struggled for growth this year, the rough areas have seen growth in abundance. The current length and density of the roughs is causing some problems from a playing perspective. With this in mind we have cut extra rough areas on holes 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 9, 10, 17 and 18. This still leaves some dense patches on the course but we can already see it beginning to die back now that the wettest weather seems to be behind us. Rough grassland management is not as simple as just keeping it all cut down. We must balance the needs and desires of the player with those of the grasses to ensure we have a healthy and robust sward for the remainder of the year. These grasses provide an aesthetically vital frame to each hole and give crucial definition between holes. There are ecological matters to consider also; the marsh harrier is just one of the bird species that are enjoying the current conditions. Wild orchids have had their best year for some time and countless other flora and fauna have been able to exploit the productive conditions this season.

Old Trolley Shed

The unsightly wooden shed situated between the 15^th tees and 16^th green is scheduled to be removed in the next few weeks. Specialist contractors will be used to remove the roof section before the rest of the structure is dealt with by the course staff.

 

New Bunker Rakes

A different style of bunker rake is being trialled in some of the bunkers on the course. This is to try to minimise bunkers losing shape during the days play. It is hoped the new rakes will stop too much sand being moved around causing over softness and contributing to the problem of downhill lies. Players should find the rake lighter, requiring less effort to use. Please remember to leave rakes outside the bunker on the side away from the normal line of play.

Controlling Bracken

We have taken steps recently to begin to control bracken in selected rough areas around the course. Bracken is a highly invasive species of fern which is widespread throughout many of the out of play areas on the golf course. The plant has the potential to form huge dense stands of monotonous vegetation which dramatically lower the ecological value of the inhabited areas by stifling the growth of almost all other plant species. Interestingly, the large stands of bracken which cover huge areas are often made up of only one plant with each stem connected via a massive underground rhizome system buried deep in the soil. This fact alone makes effective control of the plant extremely difficult.

It is worth pointing out that we recognise that in certain circumstances bracken can have a positive impact on both ecology and golfing aesthetics. It can provide both height variance and texture to out of play areas and can also provide a valuable nesting and roosting habitat for several bird species. Even some plants species can thrive under the bracken canopy provided it is not too dense. In fact size, density and location of the bracken stands are what dictates the ecological and aesthetic value to the area. Due to this we have selected specific areas where we deem control to be appropriate.

In many of the areas where shade has been removed with the clearing of holm oak and degenerate gorse, bracken has taken over. Areas such as the right hand sides of the 7th and 18th holes, which have previously been subjected to clearance works, have been selected as areas suitable for bracken control following rapid ingress into the newly created open spaces. In both of these locations chemical control has been carried out to stop the bracken dominating.

Chemically Treated Bracken Dying Off

Establishing Marram

The Marram grass planted in the dunes on the left side of the 11th fairway following the tree removal last year has established well. The difficult spring and early summer weather meant that planting success was far from certain but thankfully things have turned out well. Nearly every Marram plug has taken and most are now thriving.

Of all the small pockets we planted the ones on the backs and sides of mounds and in hollows have taken best of all. The shelter from easterly winds provided in these areas has allowed the young plants the ideal environment for growth. Plants on mound tops are doing less well but most have still taken and continue to grow and spread albeit more slowly. For the time being we continue to request that players take a lift and drop when they land in the Marram plantations (marked by a white line) to help provide the most protection possible to these still vulnerable plants.

Further planting will be carried out on hole 11 in the autumn to add more texture to the lovely dune formations in this area.

The image above is of a section of the area next to the 6th tee which was previously home to a copse of the invasive Holm Oak tree (Quercus Ilex) and virtually nothing else. In 2008 we removed trees and scraped away the brash on the ground to expose the sand below. This was followed by extensive planting of Marram grass plugs and the introduction of some gorse plants. 

As you can see from the image above the gorse has established very quickly and has already spread over a significant area. Our aim for this area is to provide a fairly open, species rich dune grassland so with this in mind we will shortly begin chemically controlling further spread of the gorse plants. I am very surprised to be considering gorse control measures so soon after introducing the plant but it just goes to show how aggressive the plant is when provided with favourable conditions. If left unchecked the area would be completely covered in gorse which would be to the obvious detriment of biodiversity, just as it was with the Holm Oak tree before we intervened in 2008.

Hole 7 Gorse Management

During the recent cold weather we have taken the opportunity to address the problem of old, degenerate gorse on the 7th hole.

  Before Work Commenced

It is very sad to see this beautiful golf hole covered in extremely degenerate gorse and unsightly bracken and bramble. From the tee banks, over the carry to the fairway and at either side of the path near the approach to the green the rough areas are suffering terribly from years of neglect. In accordance with our Ecological Management Plan, we have set out to reinstate the rough grasslands by removing the dead and dying material. Some of the gorse will be retained but to encourage healthy and robust plants it is being coppiced to a height of 150mm above ground level. Whilst this seems extreme, it is amazing how quickly the gorse will regenerate. 

The ultimate aim for these areas is to achieve a balance between rough grasses and small pockets of gorse. Once the brash has been removed some light seeding work will take place. Bracken and bramble regrowth will be chemically treated as the need arises.

Sand Dune Restoration

Work has resumed on the removal of the invasive Holm Oak (Quercus Ilex) from the fragile sand dunes on holes 11, 12 and 13. A team from Jonathon Le Maistre tree surgery have worked their way up the left side of hole 11 from the tee towards the green.

Before Work Started

The Holm Oak is damaging biodiversity in the sand dunes and while the control measures  we are taking seem dramatic at first they are absolutely vital for the preservation of the dunes and associated grasslands. We have decided to take the opportunity to remove some of the non-indigenous Macrocarpa trees at the same time. This work helps return the dunes to a more natural state.  With the trees gone a large clean up operation begins. First, we scrape up the leaf litter to expose the bare sand. We then use an excavator to dig out the tree stumps and manually level the ground using rakes. Finally we plant  locally sourced Marram grass (Ammophila arenaria) in the bare sand to stop the wind blowing the loose sand away. This adds an instant texture to the dunes which is much more visually appealing than plain bare sand.

 After Removal

The control of holm oak re-growth is an ongoing requirement that we face so we can eventually achieve our aim of a healthy balance between dune plants such as marram, sand sedge, fescue and bent grasses with small pockets of gorse and even the occasional pine tree.

As you can imagine we are building up large stocks of logs  and woodchips so any member who would like  some can email me at coursemanager@lamoyegolfclub.co.uk to arrange collection.

Long, Thick Rough!

As usual at this time of year, the uncut roughs on the course have become long and thick. Some players feel the course becomes too difficult at this time and we are regularly asked to cut extra sections. I feel it is worth reminding everyone of our rough grass management strategy and explaining the reasons behind our actions or even our inaction!
Our approach to the management of the rough sets out to balance the needs of the golfer with the needs of the grass plants and the needs of the diverse array of flora and fauna that inhabit the rough grasslands. We are very fortunate that we are able to play our golf in such a wonderful, natural environment and it is a prime objective of the course staff to protect and enhance that environment. The rough grasses here at La Moye are very delicate and must be treated carefully. Only in the late spring/early summer period do they get a chance to grow properly, set seed and thicken up before the summer droughts come in to thin out the grass naturally. This cycle takes place every year and it ensures we have good grass cover throughout the year providing crucial definition between the holes. If we cut too much rough at this time of year we will remove this important aspect of the course character.
Also, the rough grasslands are the most species diverse areas of the whole golf course and as such are the most valuable from an ecological point of view. Our roughs provide the perfect habitat for a vast array of flora and fauna ranging from the green lizard to wild orchids with thousands of things in between.
That said, the single most important consideration is ensuring the golf course remains playable and enjoyable for all levels of golfer. To do this we aim to maintain landing area widths of between 30 and 55 metres. This includes a fairway cut at a height of around 15mm, a first cut of rough at 25mm and a second cut of rough at a height of around 100mm. This ensures that well placed shots are rewarded with a good lie but errant shots are punished incrementally. We think this gives the fairest course set up possible.
The recent weather has given us firm and running conditions on the course of late and this coupled with the height of the rough and the wind has made for some challenging golf. Thankfully the conditions will ease in the next few weeks as the rough dies back and in fact the start of this process is already well underway.