Wednesday 17 August 2016

Course maintenance review

The work is done now rest. If only that was the case...!!!!
Last week we carried out our course maintenance works and hopefully this post will give an insight into how we carried out the work.
The first task we carried out was to verti-cut the greens, this involves using verti-cut units attatched to a ride on greens mower that helps remove excess lateral growth from the grass plant. Verti-cutting helps to promote density & sward coverage.




Once the greens had been verti-cut the next work carried out was to hollow core. This maintenance week we carried out a micro hollow tine using 13mm diameter tines working to a depth of 75mm.
Hollow coring allows us to remove poor soils and exchange with more desirable rootzone mix.







After hollow coring the greens were topdressed with sand and this was then brushed in using our Sweep N Fill brush that ensured all the sand was brushed into the holes.





After the initial dressings were brushed in the next phase of works was to deep tine with the verti-drain. Using 19mm tines working to a depth of 200mm this helps increase air and water infiltration into the rootzone. These tine holes were then filled with more sand to help improve the rootzone composition.



After the aeration works all the greens were over seeded and a granular feed applied to help aid recovery. As the week progressed we encountered one or two problems, mainly with tyre punctures & some machinery breakdowns, but the greenstaff battled on and all the surfaces had most works carried out.
In addition to the greens, aeration work & topdressing was carried out to the tee's, aprons & greens surrounds.








So a week after course maintenance week the heatwave has continued that has meant plenty of water applied to the surfaces we can irrigate but the recovery of the surfaces is on track. 
All the work carried out is aimed at preserving the quality of the playing surfaces into the winter, thanks again for your understanding and enjoy the sunshine.








Sunday 7 August 2016

Course Maintenance works

As we enter the period of course maintenance works this forthcoming week I'll explain our proposed works schedule and explanation behind the works.
Course maintenance weeks allow us to carry out a number of tasks on the golf course to help improve the playing surfaces & characteristic's and to be more efficient in the timings of the works and also in the quicker recovery period.
This course maintenance week the work we will be carrying out on the greens will involve hollow coring with a micro tine followed by deep aeration with the verti drain machine. This will be supplemented by the addition of over 60 tonnes of sand dressing to the putting surfaces. The greens will then be over seeded and a granular feed applied to aid recovery.
Works to be carried out on the Tees & Aprons will be similar with less sand applied and we are aiming to hollow core areas around green surrounds.
Why carry out the work?
Aerating Turfgrass helps relieve some of the stresses we put the surfaces under during the playing season, creating air space in the soil profile and creating spaces for roots to grow and develop will lead to healthier grass plants that are better able to tolerate stress and also allow the surfaces, combined with the drainage works being carried out will help us have better playing surfaces for longer periods of the year. The addition of sand top dressing across all surfaces improves ball roll, smoothness & drainage performances of the playing surfaces.




Follow the blog this week and I'll post more pictures from the work we are carrying out.
I'd like to finish by thanking the membership for there understanding whilst we carry out these works and as ever we will endeavour to keep the disruption to a minimum and aim to have the surfaces back in play as soon as possible.
Many thanks.