Ecology Update

This week as part of an ongoing ecology focus for the golf club we have been working on transforming an area of degenerate gorse on the 8th carry into a natural sandy waste area. This is part of continued work to improve the links characteristics of the golf course, improve sustainability and enhance species diversity.

The gorse in question was old, degenerate and encroaching on the carry which was blocking the view of the left half of the fairway. Hopefully members will now appreciate the improved view and also that we have managed to create an area of fantastic ecological significance at the same time.

These two photos show the original degenerate gorse.

The gorse was cut and removed for burning. This of course left the are open to regeneration however we wished to transform the area and not simply allow it to return to its original state.

The gorse stumps and roots were removed where there was not room for burying.

Where possible, holes were dug and the roots buried to prevent regrowth. The natural sand that was excavated was then replaced on top.

Clean sand was brought in from another area to give the area better presentation and improve the sand depth.

Natural dune species were then selected from other areas of the course. These included natural Fecsues, Bents, Dune Rose, Marram and Heather along with many others.

Some of the Marram was more efficiently transplanted using a front loader to dig out as much root as possible.

As you can see from these before and after photos the area has been truly transformed.

The area has gone from supporting a single mass of degenerate gorse to 20-30 different species of natural dune plants and grasses. This has improved the links characteristic of the hole and provided a great habitat for local species. The team are very proud of this work and hope that the members also appreciate the ongoing program of links restoration.

Winter Construction Update

Whilst the weather all over the UK hasn't been ideal to say the least, we have managed to make good progress with our winter projects this year. Members will have noticed that most of this work has concentrated on the 16th hole with some bunker construction also on the 18th and path end repairs over the whole course. 

We apologise for the current closures on the course however the rainfall has been extreme for the start of the new year and whilst we are currently verti-draining and using an air injection machine to combat the water, the sheer amount of water has necessitated some course closures.

16th hole progress

All three fairway bunkers on the 16th have been rebuilt this winter along with all of the tees. The bunkers have been raised so that there is less of a step into and out of the bunker and this should help members who are unfortunate enough to find themselves in the trap. 

The bunkers also had to be raised to that they were more visible from the new, lower tee complex.

Work on the tee complex has been time consuming as there was a lot involved in their construction. This was all neccessary as the railway sleeper wall had become unsafe. We also wished to remove the metal handrail as it was unsightly and blocked the stunning vista of St Ouens bay. 

The white and yellow tees have both been lowered by around 3 feet, with the yellow tee being moved to the left giving a straighter line into the fairway. I believe the membership will agree that this has vastly improved the aesthetics of the tee and now gives an infinity effect over the bay. Members driving on the 5 mile road will also notice that the handrail is no longer visible from the bay.

All of this work on the mens tees meant that the ladies tee would also require relocating as it now blocked the view of the fairway. The next project was to lower and move the ladies tee to the left. 

The work on the ladies tee has improved views and also now fits better into the landscape without the sharp bank right in view from the mens tees.

The greenkeeping team now awaits the arrival of turf from the UK early next week. Once the areas have been turfed they will have a chance to root in preparation for the beginning of the golfing season.

Brief Update

It has now been a month since maintenance week and we are seeing recovery from the greens along with good germination after our overseeding work. With the weather remaining unseasonably warm we are still seeing a fair amount of growth so our cutting regimes are still in full operation. This adds some pressure as we move into winter and begin our construction projects for 2016. Members will notice that we have already completed some path end repairs, with these areas being roped off for the time being to protect them as they root. The turf for these areas has been stripped from the 16th tees. Members I'm sure have also noticed that work is now well underway on this construction project. The original tee was constructed with a railway sleeper wall on the left side which had become unsafe and led to the tee subsiding. To remedy this the white and yellow tees have been lowered slightly and re-positioned so that a retaining wall is no longer necessary along with the unsightly railings. We hope that members will see the benefits in 2016 with improved views, a level teeing surface and a better line of sight to the fairway. The 9th ladies tee has also been stripped and re-leveled. I hope to bring you more news of our winter work as it progresses along with some photos to show the differences.

Yesterday was a nice, dry day so the decision was made to hand cut greens for the lady captains drive in. I shot this time lapse video of the 8th green being cut to give an idea of the process, I hope you enjoy it.

In the next update I hope to include some more photos and news of our progress.

Autumn Maintenance Week 2015

Having just completed this years Autumn maintenance work we would like to provide you with an update on the works completed and what we hope to achieve from these essential tasks. Given that it is becoming quite late in the year we have been very lucky with weather conditions this week. Soil temperatures have remained high enough to encourage germination and light winds have enabled the greens to dry quickly so that we could complete the tasks effectively. We hope that temperatures will remain stable in the next few weeks to give the seed its best chance to survive and germinate.

Pre Maintenance Work

Two weeks prior to maintenance week a graminicide was applied to the greens which targets the undesirable, coarse species of Ryegrass and Yorkshire Fog in the sward. This was completed using a pedestrian sprayer which was more time consuming but gave us greater accuracy of application. After ten days the greens were showing clear signs of the chemical taking effect. This may have caused some concern to members as the greens had turned a shade of brown! However this is normal as the chemical kills the coarse species but also causes temporary stress to the finer Bentgrasses in the sward. We were pleased to see that the Fescues remained healthy and noted the high percentage of this fine grass that was present in all the greens.

Maintenance Week

Greens

We began early on Monday morning by brushing the greens to disintegrate as much of the dead Ryegrass as possible before we began our main tasks. We then scarified the greens to a depth of 5mm to get into the thatch layer and remove organic material, making sure we carried the work on into the surrounds as much as possible.




Scarifying the 17th green.



A light top dressing was then applied and dragged into the slices cut by the scarifier. This is a major part of our on-going thatch dilution program which aims to improve water infiltration, surface firmness and ultimately greens performance.

Drag matting 17th green.

We next began overseeding the greens with fine fescue seed using the Vredo disc seeder. We did two passes on all greens and followed with a heavy top dressing to provide the seeds with soil contact which will protect the seed and aid germination rates. A total of 200kg of seed has been applied to the greens this week and we hope to see germination in the coming weeks. This increase in Fescue will improve our species composition leading to smoother, firmer and more sustainable greens. We hope the golfers will see the benefits in 2016.


The greens were top dressed again later in the week to fill in any remaining slots from the seeder and improve surface levels. A total of 40 tonnes of sand has been applied to the greens in just a week which brings us closer to achieving our target of 150 tonnes applied for the year.

8th green after renovations completed.

Approaches

After the work to the greens was completed we began some maintenance on the approaches. This included a double pass with the scarifier which removed a massive amount of thatch! (see picture) Followed by a single pass with the overseeder and a double pass with the top dresser. 40kg of seed and 9 tonnes of sand was applied.


Thatch removed from approaches.

Another pass with the overseeder and top dresser will be performed in the following week in another direction to improve species composition and firmness.

If you have any questions or comments please feel free to post below. We also now have a Facebook page which contains small updates and pictures of our work and can be used to ask any questions, so please 'like' the page if you are interested, see link below.
 La Moye GC Greens


Course Update

This update must of course start with an apology for the lack of posts since November! The greenkeeping team has undergone some major changes of personnel and roles in the past few months. First of all congratulations must go to both Richard Cutler on his new role on the Club's Management team and to Andrew Ricketts, our newly promoted Head Greenkeeper. Richard Le Moignan has also recieved a promotion along with myself to the position of Deputy Head Greenkeeper. With Richards' departure from the main greenkeeping team, he has passed on the updating of this blog to myself, (Matthew Amy) and Andrew. We hope to keep you informed about the ongoing maintenance and improvements at La Moye as diligently as Richard did. Now, I have a lot to cover since the last update so lets get started!

Winter Projects

As shown in the last post our major project this winter was the reconstruction of the 1st tee complex. This was completed in preparation for the captains drive in and we hope that the members are happy with the result. The old tee complex had been due for re-leveling for some time and so the opportunity was perfect to also increase teeing space on this short par 3. Members will notice that we have increased the surface area of the men's yellow tee by 50% which allows us to better spread the wear on the surface. 

Aesthetically the tee has been much improved by removing the old Elaeagnus hedge which had become aged and bare in places. The banking to the tee has been recreated using pure sand and replanted with Marram Grass (Ammophila). This native dune grass has been collected from other areas of the course and St Ouens sand pit, with the greenkeepers planting an estimated 2-3000 individual sprigs! The Marram Grass has been selected to give golfers an instant impact of the links character of La Moye on the first hole.

Newly turfed yellow tee on the 1st

Other winter work has included the rebuilding of some of the bunkers. Holes 10, 11, 12 and 18 have all seen renovation to their front left bunkers. The work completed on 11 and 12 saw a more extensive remodeling of the ground around the bunkers, which we believe has created a fairer obstacle for the golfers and made the bunkers look more natural in their positions.

Reconstructed bunker on 12th hole

Reconstructed bunker on 11th hole

Acorn Jersey Open 2015

After the completion of our winter program and the beginning of the main golfing season our preparations began for the arrival of the European Seniors Tour for the first time in five years. A program of regular verticutting and 'grooming' of the putting surfaces was put in place to refine the surface and remove the seeds of the Poa annua in the sward. This program is used every year for the benefit of the members and we saw especially good results this season with a prolonged period of dry weather. Two applications of top dressing were applied in the lead up to the tournament to improve surface levels and as part of our ongoing thatch dilution program. 

Greens were double cut and ironed every day of the tournament along with cutting the surround, approaches and tees. The greens performed brilliantly during the tournament with speeds beginning at 9.5 on day one and peaking at over 11 on the final round as the sun dried up the surfaces.

Perhaps the most marked improvement this year on the course has been the presentation of the fairways. The golf club invested in two John Deere 8000A Hybrid mowers and they began to pay dividends almost immediately. The fairways were cut regularly in different directions and the improvement in quality of cut from the new units has provided better ball roll and lies. For the tournament itself the fairways were cut every evening and we reverted to a 'block' pattern, which is more in keeping with the traditional links character of the course.

All of the greenstaff worked feverishly for the week before and during the tournament, putting in plenty of overtime to present the course to the highest standards. The comments we gratefully received from the professionals, spectators and members were fantastic and the whole team is very proud of their hard work. 

15th Green

Head Greenkeeper Andrew Ricketts changing holes on day 2

17th Green on final day

12th Green on final day

Next on our busy program for 2015 is the Natwest Island Games. Preparations for this tournament have already begun along with our day to day work maintaining the course for our members. 

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

Driving Range Enclosure

The new driving range enclosure is now fully open with all ten bays operational. Wooden bay dividers have been installed which both look good and meet safety requirements. The area in front of the enclosure requires to be landscaped and this will be done soon (it has been airbrushed in the images below!). With the new enclosure and the revamped external area we feel the driving range now offers a fantastic environment to practice golf and hope to see as many members as possible taking advantage of this facility.