Peter Fenton Greens:
We seem to suffer the worst luck around greens renovation time and this month was no exception! We originally had a contractor booked for the 12th to deep scarify the greens to 30mm with a tractor mounted Sisis TM1000. I was contacted the day prior with the disappointing news that the scarifier had broken its main shaft on the previous job – these things happen! The subsequent dates offered were unworkable for us so alternative arrangements were made to source anything available around that time on a date that suited. In the end we were able to hire a lighter duty scarifier and do the work in house, the downside being the maximum working depth of this machine was only 8mm.
Our Blec Overseeder was booked for the 19th of the month, however due to the sad passing of Her Majesty RIP, the bank holiday resulted in us not receiving the machine on that date. It was therefore booked for the week after, originally being told it was available, only to be let down once more, two days prior, with news that the machine had been doubled booked. Once more the weekend was spent frantically sourcing a replacement, although successful, the plug was pulled at the last minute due to the horrendous wet and wild weather forecast for the week ahead – the overseeding procedure demands calm, dry conditions. Subsequent free weeks in October are less than ideal, as the weather turns colder and germination of seed isn’t guaranteed – we will try again next Spring!
Both the above hire agreements were arranged back in March, high demand during peak times for these procedures means that early booking is essential. Whilst hire machinery offers a cost-effective way to pick and choose the absolute best machinery for the job, it often means zero flexibility come the time, which is always challenging in an ever-changing landscape such as greenkeeping. Having said that I believe hire arrangements are still our way forward, with such machines running into the tens of thousands to purchase, and only used a couple of times a year at most.
Regarding treatments on the greens, these have been very limited as we approach disease season. The worst and most common disease, Fusarium often occurs as temperatures turn cooler combined with over fertilizing in the late season. Although no guarantee of success, this is the reason I made last month’s Nitrogen application my last of the year.
We have all but eliminated inputs of Iron sulphate due to the negative impact on soil health this mineral salt has. If Iron is used at all these days, just light spot spraying (of moss) on the new greens is all that is required.
In place of Nitrogen then, they have received a little Potassium and Seaweed instead, typical for the time of year. Then just after scarifying we put down 10 litres of Terralift Rocastem, which is a liquid aerator that will clean out the soil profile and let moisture through to depth, helping keep the greens dry and firm through any heavy rainfall.
Fairways, Surrounds, Tees and Rough:
All these surfaces were looking a little worse for wear coming into the month, however with some nice rainfall and late season inputs it is amazing how quickly they recover. There are still some bare sections on some tees and surrounds, these will be rectified with top dressing in early October.
The moisture has also resulted in gaining a bit of definition back on the rough, creating a nice balance between fairness and penalty at its current length and thickness.
One of the most disappointing aspects of not being able to overseed this time is that our chipping green was due to be included in the procedure. Some of its bare areas have struggled to recover from the drought and weed removal. It will receive a spike and heavy top dress in October in an attempt to breathe a bit of life into it.
Machinery:
Not a bad month for the machinery, but once more we cannot escape incident as the Kubota Tractor needed a new battery. The new PTO shaft on the spiker that is due to us under warranty, has of course got lost in the post! Arrangements have been made to ensure we are back out on the spiker in early October, to make a start aerating fairways. All aeration on the greens will cease until the current crane fly egg laying session is over, normally lasting a couple of weeks. Holes in the greens at this key time will only encourage higher infestations of larvae.
Looking towards next month…
The first week of October will see us top dressing the greens, a couple of weeks later than planned due to renovation plans being so disrupted. Next month is where the focus typically shifts towards projects large and small. This will begin with clearing and bottoming all of our ditches in anticipation of any heavy rain falling late Autumn.
We shall continue our work in cutting and collecting of our longer rough back to the fences and walls. This has been introduced at this time, in an effort to keep on top of these areas on a more regular basis. Once cut they will be sprayed of weeds. The long term benefit should be a lift to the overall appearance of the course along with speeding up play.
Thank you to all our members helping out this past month, Ian progressing nicely to cutting semi rough, Bill on moles, Liam with a host of jobs once more and continued help and support from Ali, Amanda and the board, Sam and team.
Wishing you all the best in the coming month. Peter, Jack and Gordon.
