Works on the 13th East are well underway, with the collar of the green being stripped of turf and the soil removed to a depth of between 200 and 300mm as we attempt to remove as much couch material as we can from the profile.
We are also finding some poorer quality soil that was used during construction to shape the collar, which has been giving us headaches during previous summers from a moisture management perspective. The picture to the right shows the difference between the grey “greens mix” that exists under the green and the brown native soil that is in the collar which compacts more readily and has a higher level of hydrophobicity during summer, repelling water leading to dryness issues.
There are areas where the couch has encroached quite a way into the putting surface on this green as delineated by the blue line in the photo on the left, which all needs to be removed to ensure we achieve our aim of having no couch in the bent green and collar. As thorough as we can be, it is very hard to achieve a full removal of all unwanted material, with a lot of hand work required to achieve the desired result.
At the same time as the collar is being stripped, drainage works have begun on the left hand greenside bunkers. Drainage pipe is being installed to pre-set levels throughout the bunkers in a herringbone pattern, which will run to a pit that will be buried on the approach of the green. The two front right hand bunkers are also to be drained back into the same pit, from where we will install a pump to lift the water away from the area.
All works on the 13th are hopefully on track to be completed by the end of next week, from where we will move to the 8th green for the same collar replacement and bunker drainage works to be undertaken.
Richard James
Course Superintendent