Chipping Area Update

We plan to open the chipping area on Saturday 1st May following the redesign work carried out over the winter. The turf has taken well and surfaces have been worked on as much as possible given the recent weather conditions. From now on the main green will be maintained in exactly the same way as the greens on the course so in time it will be of the same standard. Only short chip shots should be played to the main green.

 Mowing The New Green

A teeing area has been built to allow longer shots to be played to a landing area about 65m away. All shots from this area should be played from  the area defined by ropes.

 The New Teeing Area

The new bunker practice area has a dedicated landing area. Players should ensure they play towards the dedicated area only.

 New Bunkering With Landing Area Beyond

No Rain + Easterly Winds = Poor Growth

Jersey is officially in a period of drought. It is now 19 days since any rain has fallen on the golf course and our monthly running total currently stands at a shockingly low 9mm. The near constant easterly winds that we are experiencing have meant that the turf is extremely dry and grass growth is almost non existent. Although our irrigation system is fully operational, the persistent cool air and soil temperatures are preventing us from apply much water. A soil temperature of around 10C is required to enable good growing turf. Cold water landing on already cool soils only serves to further lower soil temperatures lessening the chance of any growth taking place. Irrigation is taking place during the warmest days but it is impossible to apply enough water without cooling the soil too much.
Evapotranspiration (ET) is a term used to describe the sum of evaporation of moisture and plant transpiration from the ground to the atmosphere. Evaporation accounts for the movement of water from the ground to the air while transpiration accounts for the loss of water from within the plant itself. We are currently seeing an ET rate of around 3mm per day, just over 70mm for the month so far. The 9mm of rainfall that has fallen and 26mm of irrigation that has been applied in the same period has left a large deficit.
We use wetting agents on the greens which help the soil particles hold onto available moisture for an extended period, because of this the moisture level in our greens is being maintained at an acceptable level despite the difficult conditions. We do not have enough moisture to promote strong growth but there is enough to at least ensure survival in this testing time. Of course ideally, at this time of year, we would like a more typical spring weather pattern with sunshine and regular showers. A cycle of sunshine and showers is ideal to promote grass growth and allow recovery from the harsh winter months we have experienced. Current conditions means that any fertilizer applications are compromised and frequent top dressing is impossible. Mechanical operations carried out to refine the turf texture and smooth the surface have been postponed until stronger grass growth comes. All this leaves playing surfaces in a less than perfect state for golf and makes the job of a greenkeeper a very difficult one. We can't fight mother nature, we must simply wait until conditions improve enough to allow us to work effectively on the surfaces once again.

Maintenance Week Update

Despite the high winds and rain work on the greens this week has progressed well. All surfaces have been scarified using the pedestrian machine pictured above. Due to the need to work in dry conditions, much of the work was carried out between the many rain showers we have had in the last three days. Half the team worked late in dry conditions yesterday afternoon to ensure the work could be completed.

Overseeding

Overseeding work has been completed on 18 of the 20 greens. Only the 11th and the Western putting green remain. Two passes of the seeder were carried out on holes 4 and 6 to improve sward density following the application of herbicide last autumn. All seeded greens have been top dressed and ironed to reinstate levels and smooth out the surface.

Spring Maintenance Week

Our spring maintenance week starts from Monday 29th March. We plan to carry out a number of tasks which I will explain in this post.
Greens will be scarified in two directions to remove some organic matter from the base of the turf. A pedestrian scarifier will be used and the arisings will be collected. This process will not disrupt the short term playing quality of the greens. Dry conditions are required for this task to be carried out effectively.
Following the scarification we will overseed the greens. Our disc seeder will be used to introduce a browntop bentgrass mix of seed into the greens. The new grass will help fill out the sward, improving density to achieve a smooth as surface as possible. Greens 4 and 6 will particularly benefit from this process following the chemical treatment carried out in those areas last year. Again, dry conditions are required for this task to be carried out properly.
Finally greens will be top-dressed. We aim to apply around 20 tonnes of material to the putting surfaces. Dry weather is again required for this task to be carried out properly so fingers crossed for a sunny few days next week. To allow work to be carried out in good time, one tee starts will be in place and greens will be removed from play while work is in progress. Disruption to play will be kept to a minimum but I hope all players will understand the importance of completing the prescribed work in a timely manner.

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.

Chipping Area Redesign

The chipping area behind the 1st green has been in need of refurbishment for some considerable time. With bunkers that are too deep, greens of poor quality and a generally uninspiring layout it was decided to try to make significant improvements to the area.

Just before work started 

Following a period of consultation to agree the new design, it was established that we needed to make more use of the limited space available. Long pitch shots and an array of short chip shots needed to be accommodated along with bunker practice .
We lifted the turf from the existing greens first and layed it out at the turf nursery area in the valley. Next we constructed the landing area for pitch shots. This area is around 350m2 in size and will allow shots to be hit from the practice tee around 65m away.

 The new landing area

We then began the construction of the teeing area. The area was cleared before stakes were put in to establish levels. A sand sub base was brought in then 100mm of rootzone was added to the top.

 Top soil is brought in to the correct levels

Irrigation pipes and heads were positioned next.
























The 250m2 tee was then turfed using sods from the centre of the chipping area. When open, play from this area will be restricted to marked sections between ropes so as to control wear.

We then cleared the rest of the turf from the new green site and rotovated the soil. An excavator was hired to shape the new green and green surround.

 Initial shaping of the new green begins

 For the green we tried to ensure there was enough flat areas to have around 5 pins at any one time. On the surround we created hollows, swales and banks so a large variety of chip shots can be practiced.

 

Once we were happy with the shape we used mechanical and manual means to firm and rake out the ground ready for turf.

 

With the final raking completed we were able to begin turfing the 550m2 green. 

Two new bunkers are currently being constructed on the south side of the practice area. These will play to a dedicated green away from the pitching and chipping areas. This will allow more people to safely use the facility at the same time.

Course Update

My apologies for the length of time since the last blog post.

Lots of work has been done on the course in the last two months of which I will give a brief outline of in this post. A number of more detailed posts will follow soon which deal with individual projects we have been undertaking.

The course has fared quite well recently despite the testing weather conditions we have been experiencing. Surfaces have remained reasonably firm and dry for the time of year which has been great for golf. All putting surfaces were verti-drained in February to ensure we continue to have good movement of air and moisture through the soil profile.  Although the holes from this operation are currently still visible, the effect on putting is minimal compared to the huge benefits this operation has to the on going health of the greens. The 38mm of rain which fell in the early hours of Sunday morning caused no problem to the greens, unfortunately the same cannot be said for some the clay fairways!
The winter programme has progressed well. All bunker refurbishments have been completed and are looking good. Sand will be added to all bunkers in the next fortnight so they are ready for the start of the season. Lots of work has been carried out on trees and gorse around the course as per the Ecological Plan and I will post more about this shortly.  To round things off for now, we have spent a lot of time rebuilding the chipping area recently. I will post a seperate blog entry on this topic tomorrow.

December Course Update

Ryegrass Control

Following the chemical control to the 4^th and 6^th greens on the 8^th October, I am pleased to report that the product applied is working! The broadleaved Rye and Yorkshire Fog grasses, which were targeted with the chemical, are now in serious decline causing a number of bare areas and a general reduction in sward density. Seeding and top dressing of the two greens in question has taken place and recovery of the surfaces is underway.

Bunker Refurbishments

Work on rebuilding some of the most worn out bunker faces has progressed well with the bunkers by the 15^th green and the two bunkers nearest the 11^th green now complete. . The bunkers on the 15th were last rebuilt in 2007 meaning they have only lasted two seasons. This is the absolute minimum amount of time we would expect a bunker face to last and thankfully most bunkers on the course will last much longer than this. A variety of factors influence the length of time a revetted bunker will last, these include; the frequency visited by players, the quality of the turf used in the construction and the position of the bunker in relation to the sun. 

Aerating The Turf

Aeration is one of the most important maintenance tasks carried out on turf. The word aeration means quite simply to get air into something. In turf it is simply the production of holes through the turf surface into the underlying rootzone (soil) to allow gases (oxygen etc.) in and out of the soil and for water and grass roots to move down through the soil.

Since the middle of October we have been running two verti-drain type machines over all areas of the course. Fairways and high wear walkways were tackled first, followed by greens and their surrounds. These machines allow us to make lots of holes in the turf and at sufficient depth to enable the movement of water more quickly through the soil beneath. The action of these particular machines also allows a certain amount of "heave" to be put on the soil. This lifts the level of the ground slightly allowing air and moisture to penetrate and relieve compacted areas. Compaction in the turf is caused by the regular movement of people or machinery over an area, wet soils compact more easily as the water in the soil acts as a lubricant allowing the particles to slide closer together and form a bond. Our clay soils on holes 10-13 are particularly prone to compaction.

All greens and surrounds will be verti-drained again in February and thereafter every October and February.

Chipping Area Redesign

Work will start soon on the redesign of the chipping area. We plan to construct a large central green which will facilitate a wide range of short chip shots. The intention is to maintain this green to a higher standard than the existing chipping greens, enabling the shots to roll out in a way that is similar to the main greens on the course. This higher standard of green can only be maintained if players use the green in the intended way - only for short chip shots. If players decide to ignore this and play longer shots to the new green it will quickly deteriorate to a level similar to that of the chipping greens now. The new green is to practice short chip shots only. A separate area will be constructed next to the new green to allow longer shots to be played into a designated target area. The area will allow shots of up to 70yds to be played. Finally, one of the existing greens will have two new bunkers added to create a dedicated bunker practice area This redesign aims to make the most of the relatively small space our chipping area offers for practice.

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.

End of Season Aeration

Once again we have arrived at the time of year when our most intensive period of aeration takes place.

Aeration is one of the most important maintenance tasks carried out on turf. The word aeration means quite simply to get air into something. In turf it is simply the production of holes through the turf surface into the underlying rootzone (soil) to allow gases (oxygen etc.) in and out of the soil and for water and grass roots to move down through the soil.

Starting this week we will be running two verti-drain type machines over all areas of the course. Fairways and high wear walkways will be tackled first. For these areas we use twelve 18mm x 300mm solid tines on each machine(see pic above). This allows us to make lots of holes in the turf and at sufficient depth to enable the movement of water more quickly through the soil beneath. The action of these particular machines also allows a certain amount of "heave" to be put on the soil. This lifts the level of the ground slightly allowing air and moisture to penetrate and relieve compacted areas. Compaction in the turf is caused by the regular movement of people or machinery over an area, wet soils compact more easily as the water in the soil acts as a lubricant allowing the particles to slide closer together and form a bond.

Next week we will start on greens and green surrounds. For these areas we will use a tine which is smaller in diameter but of a similar length. This smaller tine, coupled with some lightweight rolling will allow quicker recovery of the turf in these key areas. We hope to repeat this process in greens and surrounds in February 2010 and in future every October and February.