Course update
Another productive week for the team with new team members settling in with the group.
Gavin McDougall, our new first assistant has joined us from largs GC, he has already shown his experience this week in a verity of tasks.
He leads the team now in golfing ability with a 4 handicap 🏌️♂️
Lots of rain now posing one or 2 drainage issues which we had been monitoring in the hope that the weather could turn and we might have been able to get through the season before taking action.
unfortunately with over 120mm of rain in July already!!! and the forecast not set to improve much. We considered also having finally gotten our staffing levels in place we would undertake some much needed drainage works to the back of the 13th, We repaired a small area around 10m2 last month when irrigation was softening it up.
That same area was the worst effected area but now with excessive rain it seemed fine but a larger area for around 70m2 had become really saturated around it.
We decided based on the forecast it wouldn’t improve and would likely spread the decline so action should be taken asap.
We cut out all saturated turf to one side and hand dug out the 4” of thatch built up across the area. We again, found the old drain running straight through the area, we scraped it clear of thatch and poured 40L of water to see if the drain was percolating, it wasn’t, as the fine sand backfill was so tight that even when we punched holes to aerate it still didn’t pull the water as it should.
We hand dug out the old profile and replaced it with a 6-8mm drainage gravel and capped the levels back up in rootzone.
We decided it was too risky to put the thatch turf back down here so nicked enough good quality turf from around the wee pitching green right of the laddies 3rd tee. We replaced that with the thatchy turf and will manage it back to standard in this less problematic area.
The turf is all down on the area at the back of 13th and ropped off as GUR with drop zones in place until roots establish.
There are one or two other “small” areas between the bunkers at 13 & 15 and if this method proves successful we will look to do similar jobs here, as the drain we have just repaired looks like it runs through these targets also.
We have now targeted the next priority area at the back right off of the 1st green between 2nd tees. We will do a very similar job again here as we expect the same issues, (deep compaction in old drainage bringing excessive thatch levels)
Work will start early next week but be complete like the 13th well ahead of pros day next Saturday.
We see this and next week as small windows of opportunity to have this work done ahead of our major events to make sure they are at least close to being back in play for club championships and certainly for members guests day.
It’s not the sort of work we want to be undertaking at this time of year but these ares will only decline and spread and be GUR anyway so why not be GUR but with a recovery process in place.
This weeks workload.
Some great work put into the original bunkers this week, all banks fly mowed, edged, weeded, sand distributed.
very labour intensive, it the new bunkers just fly mowed and raked.
All bunker banks sprayed growth regulator
greens cut daily, rolled for 9 hole medal
tees cut 4x
approaches cut 4x
fairways cut 2x
surrounds cut 3x
All signage and distance marked strimmed.
greens sprayed nutritional mix and growth regulator.
All practice ranges cut
selective fairways seed divot
Machinery maintenance and set up.
tee set ups daily
Drainage works as explained
Quick note:
We are planning some light greens maintenance early next week (Monday) all ahead of golf (Weather permitting.)
Greens 2x scarification to remove organic matter tension
2 x veri cut (refine & remove lateral growth)
6mm pencil tine for aeration and improve root’s development.
cut and blow clear.
light Sand dressing in the evening.
Granular Fert application Tuesday morning if rain forecast.
All works will have settled before pros day.
Glasgow Greens team🌱🏌️♂️⛳️😎
