This week has seen the beginning of our annual September course renovations period, with the East Course first to receive treatment this year. It is a very busy period for the staff, who put in a lot of additional hours to ensure the large amount of work we attempt to cram a short time frame can be achieved. The entire process is carried out with the help of the Glenelg Turf Ace crew, who supply us with additional machinery and staff for each week of the renovations.
Greens
Once again this year, East greens were brushed and double cut prior to coring, which was carried out with our Toro Procore 648 utilising 9.6mm (3/8”) tynes. Cores were windrowed by the machine and collected by the contractor’s core harvester.
Following core collection, greens were blown clean and rolled prior to a spray application of wetting agent, preventative insecticide and fungicides and a trace element mix to boost root production.
Topdressing with sand then took place, which once dry was brushed in using our sweep and fill brush, which does a great job of ensuring all core holes are filled with sand. This year on the east course we used approximately 40 tonne of sand across the greens.
Once the greens were brushed, an application of granular gypsum, and a balanced multi source organic fertiliser was applied, which once again was washed into the profile. Over the next week or two, follow up fertiliser applications, both liquid and granular will be applied along with plant protectant products deemed necessary as the greens recover and get back up to speed.
Tees
All tees have been scarified, and after clean up of the debris were cored with our Verti Drain utilising 15mm (5/8”) tynes. Following coring, drag mats were used to break up the cores, returning the sand to the turf canopy with the remaining plant material blown off and collected. Tees were then mown, with shapes restored/adjusted to where they need to be. Tee surrounds and carry shapes were also cored.
Green Surrounds & Fairways
This year on the green surrounds and fairways, there was no scarifying or verti mowing of the turf undertaken. In assessing the thatch levels at the end of the summer and through the winter months, it was felt that there had been no increase (our measurements confirmed this), and the variance within fairways from differing turf establishment methods during the East reconstruction some years ago remained, resulting in many areas that are quite lean and firm.
With this in mind, it was decided to just core the fairways, once again breaking up the cores produced and returning the sand/soil material to the turf canopy. By not scarifying or verti mowing, we are offering the turf a better opportunity to continue to develop an adequate layer of thatch that will provide the slightly softer surface that is preferred whilst still de-compacting and aerating via the coring process. As summer progresses, we will continue to monitor the turf and if we find there are areas of significant development these can be verti mown as required to keep them in check.
An improved topdressing was achieved this year from coring via the use of a new machine provided by the Glenelg Turf Ace, a Toro Procore 1298 fairway unit that was able to achieve a tighter pattern of core holes, therefore removing substantially more material that we were able to rub back in. Being a larger machine, it also greatly increased productivity, allowing the job to be finished earlier in the week than in previous years.
With the aim of developing the fairway turf this year, we also undertook some individual treatment plans depending on the results required. These plans included processes such as harvesting cores from selected heavier areas of fairways followed by topdressing with a free draining sand, topdressing areas where further levelling is required to smooth playing surfaces, applications of gypsum to improve soil structure in the areas where a greater percentage of clay is present and the addition of organic fertilisers into the leanest sandy areas to boost organic levels and the nutrient holding capacity of the sand. Along with this, all couch areas received an application of wetting agent to boost water penetration and insecticides targeting both adult and larvae Black Beetle and a balanced fertiliser blend, with heavier rates once again applied to the leaner areas of turf.
The rain has been timed pretty well, with the majority of our clean up completed by Wednesday evening, and our spraying and fertilising requiring to be irrigated into the profile meaning we can use the precipitation to our advantage.
As always, thanks to the hard work of the groundstaff, who have once again gone above and beyond to ensure the East course was completed in the week allocated for the works, and to the Glenelg Turf Ace and his crew for their assistance. Thanks also to all members for their patience and understanding not only during the week of the works but for the coming couple of weeks while the turf is returning to full cover.
We look forward to the week beginning Sunday 18th September for the West course renovations, which will include scarifying fairways along with the coring processes detailed above for greens, tees and fairways.
Richard James
Course Superintendent