News from the fairways of Arcot Hall

 

Since Thursdays update we’ve had another 66mm of rainfall on the course, bringing the monthly total to 187mm.  Below is some photos from the 3rd, 10th, 11th, 12th and the 18th showing how the downpours have affected the golf course.

We currently have our pump on the 3rd to help clear this area.

 

In September an email from the greens committee was sent out to the members outlining a greens programme of works designed by the committee along with the agronomist’s and gre♥en staffs recommendations.  One of the first operations to be carried out from this was the hollow tining of the main greens, this was successfully carried out at the beginning of September by using a Toro pro-core machine.  Once this was complete the greens were then top dressed a total of 3 times to allow the green staff to get on over 60 ton of sand into the soil profile.  This will help to reduce/dilute the Thatch level down the profile at around 40mm and to also help with the anaerobic soil conditions below the surface allowing more air into the soil to help dry out the greens and to allow for stronger root growth.  The greens were also over seeded with bent grass prior to the 3rd dressing of sand, signs of the growth of this were seen 2 weeks after the application.  In the weeks that followed this work the greens seen a marked improvement in colour, increased sward coverage and most importantly improved playability.

In October we moved on to the drainage of the 1st and the 17th greens.  We start the process by cutting the turf lines then lifting and removing the turf to allow us to then dig the drain lines out and inserting the drains.

As you can see from the pictures above this work has been carried out.  However recently we’ve seen the weather take a turn for worse, with storm Babet hitting the area last weekend, bringing strong winds and heavy downpours.  Over the weekend we seen a total of 54mm of rain which unfortunately has meant we’ve had to move away from work on the greens due to the saturated ground conditions.  Below are some photos to show how the rainfall and wind from the storm affected the golf course.  Below are a collection of photos of flooding on the 3rd, 10th and 11th holes, the ponds on the 9th and 10th overflowing due the heavy downpours and a few examples of the damage caused by the strong winds.

This week we’ve moved to the right hand side of the 3rd green, where we will be removing the trees and bushes to expose the ditch that runs along the side of the green from the 16th path area to the 4th path behind the tee box.  Once this is done there will be more work done on the other side of the ditch to thin out some of the larger trees to help with sunlight to the 3rd green during the winter months, this final work will also help with the airflow to both the 3rd green and the 15th green on the other side of the trees.  Below is a picture to show the work that has been done so far.

With more rain overnight the total rainfall for October has reached 121mm, with 77mm falling in the last 7 days, Which is well above the average rainfall for October which is reported at around 65-70mm.  So with that in mind we’ve had more than a months rainfall over the last 7 days.  Once the ground conditions allow we will be returning to the drainage work on the 1st and 17th greens with this work being the priority over all other work on the course.  In the mean time we will be carrying out other jobs that are in the winter work programme.

Since the last update we’ve unfortunately seen a large amount of rainfall, totalling in 106mm which is just over 4 inches of rain, with around 2 of those inches falling over the weekend of 22nd-23rd leading to course closure due to the greens becoming unplayable.  Below is a selection of photos taken on the morning of the 22nd, holes 1, 4 & 17 are shown.  Once the rainfall ceased the greens drained well and they were playable by the Monday morning.

   

All of the greens were then tined, the work took 3 mornings with all the greens completed by Wednesday, this time of year we tine the greens using 1/4 inch tines to a depth which is comfortable, usually 2-3 inches, however with the large amounts of rainfall the greens were very soft for this time of year so we were able to achieve a greater depth of around 4 inches.  After the greens were tined we applied a liquid fertiliser to the greens called ‘stress buster’, this contained a small amount of nitrogen and iron to help the greens recover from the large amounts of rainfall.

The golf club have invested in a number of divot bags that can be filled with divot mix and be taken out on the golf course by the members to fill in their divots or any other divots that they can see as they are playing the golf course.  The plan is for the divoting to be concentrated on one hole at a time.  The location of the Divot Bag Stand has been reviewed and to avoid damage by intruders on the course it has been decided to locate this on the 1st tee each day complete with full divot bags.  There will be a sign on the stand each day advising which hole that the greenstaff would like the divot mix to be used on that day.  The bin for empty bags will be left at the side of the appropriate green each day for collection.

Following the latest Greens Meeting below is the latest update on work on the course.

Summer 23 /Autumn 23 / Winter 24 Programme schedule.

ARGONOMIST REPORT

The Agronomist visited AHGC on 28/06/23 – a copy of the report will be available in the bar from Thursday.

The report has now been received and reviewed by the Greens Committee and actions will be taken to follow his recommendations with a Winter Work Programme followed by a Summer Work Programme as per his recommendations.

Regular “tinning” has been recommended on the greens to reduce the high volume of thatch in the soil that has built up. Sand and seed (bent grass) being applied on a regular basis will provide a more uniform colouring of grass on the greens and a smoother putting surface.

This will then be followed by Hollow Coring in September 2023 then March / April and August 2024 with sand applied on all occasions.

The Fairways will be verti drained in November to aid drainage during the winter period.

Gipsum will be applied to Fairways on 13 / 14 / 16 in order to aid the breakdown of the clay and again aid the drainage in these areas.

As per the report a number of areas we will have trees / hedges removed to aid drainage and air flow around these areas.

Remove the hedge between the 1st Tee and 9th Green – to be replaced by a smaller more manageable hedge and to allow sunlight / air flow to the 1st Tee / 9th Green.

Remove the trees behind the 1st Green.

Remove trees behind the 9th Tee in order to thin the area out.

Remove the hedge behind the 15th Tee – to be replaced by a smaller hedge to allow sunlight / air flow to the tee box.

All the above to be landscaped as appropriate.

GREENS

Following receipt of the quote from the 3rd Party Company to drainline the greens which ranged from 8K-10K plus VAT per green, the decision has been taken to continue with the work in house with added manpower.

Autumn / winter work to drain 4 greens will be completed on the 1st, 5th, 6th and 17th greens from early October,winter greens will be prepared in advance.

PATHS

Contract handed to 3rd Party to complete Phase One in 2023.

Phase Two to complete work in 2024.

This work is privately funded and not from the Greens Budget.

TEE BOXES

We have a plan in place to start replacing Tee Boxes from the Winter of 2025 through a privately funded project following the completion of work on the paths around the course

IRRIGATION SYSTEM

This is still on track to be updated in September when the Gemini Decoders are due in stock at the suppliers

5th HOLE

Water is draining from the fairway but is becoming “stuck” on the right hand side.

Work to be carried out to drain this away into the ditch / main drain in front of the 8th Tee Box.

6th / 7th HOLE

Due to Health & Safety concerns regarding the uneven area between 6 and 7 and based on the R & A agronomist recommendation it was agreed to cut down and level with soil and allow the heather to grow back.

BUNKERS

It was agreed not to cut around the bunkers and allow the grass to grow to try and eliminate the “bare” areas to produce a better playing area.

Rainfall totals:-

February 14mm, March 65mm, April 66mm, May 23mm, June 46mm, July ‘ongoing’ 21mm.

Over the last few months we’ve seen varied amounts off precipitation, March and April were both wet and cold contributing to a slow unpredictable start to the season.  Cold ground temperatures meant that the growth of grass throughout the course was slow and weak, regular snowfall in mid March also adding to this issue.  Once into April the temperatures did start to get back up to normal seasonal numbers, we were able to get a ‘cold start’ fertiliser applied to the greens.  This has a high amount of Nitrogen in to help get the grass growing and helps to harden off the turf.

Around a week after the fertiliser application we were then hit again with wet weather.  A number of greens that have not been drained really struggled in this period, when we come to top dress the greens holes 1 & 17 were too wet to dress using the top dressing machine so we decided to top dress by hand with a thicker dressing, the aim was to help the surface dry out and to allow these greens to come back into play, this proved over the following weeks to be a success and the greens soon showed good signs of progress with growth and grass coverage.

From the end of April into mid May the rainfall subsided somewhat and the golf course was starting to take shape nicely.  We were able to get on with jobs that would usually happen at this time.  Mowing of all surfaces, verti-cutting of greens, tees and surrounds, Liquid fertiliser application to the greens and rolling of the greens were all in full flow and are continuous throughout the season.  The photo of the trailer below shows how much material is removed from the greens during the verti-cutting process, this can be up to twice the amount depending on the depth set on the verti cut units, they were set to 1mm below for this pass, they have since been set down further to 2mm below to help remove more organic matter from the profile.

A four week period through May and into June seen no rainfall whatsoever ever, Meaning we were moving from one extreme to another, during this time the irrigation system was working though out the nights in order to get as much water onto the greens and the tee areas.  As required the greens were given more water using hose pipes and a wetting agent applicator, using this helps the grass plant to take in the water better than just applying water.  Areas that show the most stress at this time are drain lines as even in a dry period the drains are pulling as much moisture from the surface a possible.

Typical of drought conditions the greens were showing signs of dry patch, we applied a product called Aquaduct which we’ve used in previous summers with excellent results.  Aquaduct helps with the recovery of dry patch as it enables water to penetrate dry areas by reducing the water repellency of the soil allowing the turf to take in water and recover.  The picture below shows the 14th green 2 weeks after the application of Aquaduct showing uniform coverage throughout.

Moving to the last week or so, as well as the regular mowing of all surfaces around the course the tee areas have had a application of fertiliser.  The greens have had a double verti-cut followed up with a top-dressing and the rough areas around the course that were thinned out over the previous winters have been cut back using the large cutting deck.  Below shows a before and after of the left hand-side of the 12th hole.

Since the last update we’ve had a mixed bag in terms of weather, the end of February was relatively dry allowing us to get machinery on the course and a bit of cutting done.  Tees, greens, greens surrounds and fairways were all mowed.  Since then march has been wet for large parts, we also seen a cold snap from the second week which seen snow fall and temperatures dropping to around -5/-6 lasting around a week.

 

In total we’ve had rain/snowfall amounting to over 70mm over this period, with cold temperatures and very little wind it means that ground conditions have not been able to dry out and recover.

During the cold snap work continued on the thinning out of trees on the left hand side of the 3rd/16th hole, removing a number of trees to further open the area up to better airflow and to allow stronger trees to become more established.  There was also a few trees removed from the small copse between the 1st and 9th holes.

 

Once the ground had thawed out we moved on to edging  bunkers.  Using a motorised trimmer we go around the entire bunker leaving a nice clean edge, once the waste is removed we then us a cultivator to turn thee sand over.  Finally we rake the sand around the bunker evenly leaving a nice tidy bunker.  Once ground conditions allow work will continue on the addition of sand to bunkers where required.

 

Rubber tiles have been inserted at the path ends around the pond on the 9th and at the back of the 18th green.  These have been inserted to try and help minimise the damage caused to the turf in high traffic areas.

At the end of February the greens were verti-drained with the 1/4 inch tines to a depth of 6 inches.  Adding to the aeration process the golf club this week hired an Air2g2 machine, which was used across all of the greens.  The machine has 3 probes which go into the ground to a depth of around 12 inches, it then blasts air into the ground loosening up compacted soil, this process relieves compaction and will help to relieve stress on the putting surface from foot and mechanical traffic across the surface, also aiding the natural draining process of the putting surface.

As we approach the golf season, we can provide the following greens update.

Irrigation Update

As per the update last year the club have committed to replacing all the current valves on the green and install new valves on all tee boxes in order to make the irrigation system more stable, reliable and efficient at a cost of approximately £50,000.

The materials have been delivered to the club this week and we hope to have the engineer on site during the first week in March to start the work on the tee boxes. Other staff will follow shortly after in March when they have completed their current project at Alwoodly Golf Club in Leeds, and we hope that the work will take approximately 3 weeks to complete. During the work there will be disruption around the course (mainly tee boxes and greens) and the contractors will have priority on the course during this period

9^th hole

Work on the 9^th hole has been completed and the new turf has started to bed in. As the warmer weather hopefully arrives this will expediate the growth will help from manual intervention by applying fertiliser we hope to get the hole back in play as soon as possible. A review of the hole will be undertaken in mid-March with a further update on the timescales to open the hole to be provided – at the same time, the re-opening of the 8^th hole will be reviewed.

8^th green

The work on the green has been completed and the green staff are monitoring the recovery of the turf to bring the green back into play as soon as possible.  Again, this will be reviewed mid-March but is weather dependant.

 

6^th green

Work on the 6^th green will be delayed until next year due to weather restrictions in the last winter.

Tee Boxes

The 3^rd Tee Box has been re-turfed, and recovery is being monitored.

Work on other tee boxes will commence once the new irrigation values have been installed.

One of the issues we have found is the number of tree roots that are coming onto the tee boxes and ultimately sapping water from the tee boxes. In order to rectify the problem and aid growth to the tee boxes we are removing a number of trees from around the tee boxes.

Tree / Gorse Removal

Most of the work has been completed with trees removed around the 3^rd, 4^th, and 15^th tees and also around the 15^th green.

Other tree work has been carried out on the left hand side of 8th/9th holes and the copse between 2 & 17.

 

In order to aid recovery of the surrounds around the 15^th green, the right-hand side of the green has been roped off. A walk off path has been made at the rear of the green for players to use to save wear on this area.

The gorse behind the 13^th green has been removed to bring the ditch into play.

    

    

Following work on the right-hand side of the 10th fairway (gorse removal) last year, the stumps have now been removed and this area is NO longer GUR and is in play. Likewise, the areas on the right- and left-hand side of the 5^th fairway and NO longer GUR and are in play.

Removal of stumps is ongoing in other areas and if any stump is marked with red paint interferes with your swing / stance then a free dop is allowed.

Agronomist

Following Co-Vid, the agronomist will be returning on 13^th March to provide his recommendations on the course – updates on his recommendations and report to follow.

Disappointing update

As reported work on the 9^th hole has been completed.

   

However we are disappointed to report that someone has been “practicing” on the 9^th hole with divots taken out of the tee box, numerous pitch marks on the green and up to 50 balls recovered from the pond ! – we are now monitoring the hole, and anyone found playing the 9^th hole will be banned from the club with immediate effect.

 Footprints and divot taken out of the new bunker on the 9th.

During the winter we have had limited damage to the fairways (due to fairway protection) however we are now finding that more play is being made from the fairways without the use of matts. Hopefully, the fairway protection will be removed shortly so if all players can adhere to fairway protection it would be appreciated to protect the course.

In addition, getting into the habit of repairing pitch marks (not just your own) on the greens would be appreciated.

Next winter

We are planning to include the 6^th and 17^th greens in next year’s work schedule.

A further update on the above points will be issued during March.

Over the last couple of weeks work has began on the drainage of the 8th green.  This began by taking a main drain line across the front of the green, we then removed the turf and dig out a trench so we could run the drains through the green to this point and pipe across to a main carrying drain.  The main drain was located in a rig towards the lefthand side of the green.  This is a drain we inserted a few years ago to drain the green side bunker.

   

We then measured across the green marking a distance of 2.5 metres between each drain line.  Once this was marked out the drain lines were cut using the turf cutter and the turf was removed from the green.

 

Once all the turf was removed we were then able to get on with the trenching through the green.  We firstly removed the top layer of soil from the trench, we will use this soil on the damaged area on the corner of the 8th which was used a haulage root when the work was carried out on the 9th hole.  Once this was removed we were then into the clay layer which was taken away and tipped in the woods.  Depending how wet the clay is it can take 2/3 runs to get out the required amount of clay.  Each trench is taken down to a total depth of 24-27 inches which enables us to insert a 4 inch pipe and at least 8 inches of gravel to help pull water through the surface.  Once the gravel has been inserted we then top off with 10 inches of rootzone.  To date we have completed 3 of the 6 drain lines on the 8th green.

 

Work on the green stopped last Thursday as we needed to spray the main greens which a fungicide as wet/damp conditions had aided an outbreak of disease across the greens.  The spraying was carried out on Friday and has been a success with the disease being suppressed.  Unfortunately last weekend and the start of this week seen enough rainfall for the 8th green to become to wet to continue.  Once the green dries out a little we will be back on to finish the remaining work. Work this week has moved on to the removal of trees from around the 15th green.  This is a continuation of the work that was carried out last winter to allow better airflow throughout the hole.  There is still more trees to come out along the left hand side but as you can see from the photos the trees removed around the back of the green have already made a noticeable difference.

   

Going forward we will be looking to get on with the drainage work on the 8th green once ground conditions allow, until then work will continue on the removal of trees.

Unfortunately (although some members may be happy!) due to storm damage we have had to take one of the large trees down from the left of the first fairway

Here is the tree surgeon taking it down

Video courtesy of Mick Hall

Previous Monthly Updates are on the following links :

Attached is an interesting arcticle from February’s Greenkeeping publication explaining the key factors affecting green speeds