Mark Smith has introduced a regular monthly newsletter to the members to keep them informed about the work being undertaken by the greenkeeping staff
“This is my first monthly message to the members, I intend to report each month on greens activities over the previous month and for the following month.
We have managed to make good progress on the 4th project work over the last few weeks despite the ‘up and down’ weather conditions.
The turf that has been laid will need time to knit together and settle in as we approach the spring. I am constantly being asked when I think we can open the 4th hole, but this will strongly depend on the growing conditions during the month of March and early April.
When conditions allow, our plan is to work on the three bunker bases, by importing 2” of sand and then compact it as necessary. The rest of the sand will be added just before we open the hole, but with enough time to settle down.
The front section of the green will need time to recover fully and, by regular dressing and rolling, it will improve the overall level and firmness.
We have started the course preparation for the new season. Some of the bunkers have been edged and topped up with sand. The team have also been busy stripping, preparing and re-turfing some of the G.U.R /worn areas around the course, including the lay-up area in front of the brook at the 5th hole.
The greens, tees and fairways will have all been vertidrained to aerate and decompact the soil ready for the season. This will aid drainage as well as improve the soil structure before a season of heavy machine and foot traffic on them.
A sand dressing will be applied to the greens and tees to help improve the surfaces but can only be carried out when we have a dry window to do so.
Disease control measures are in place on the greens as we have aerated, sprayed and are removing dew on a daily basis and, when nature takes its course, the scars will grow out and heal. No one has been more frustrated with the fusarium damage than me and the team but, hopefully, we can monitor it more closely and prepare better in future.
The winter course condition policy is now in place, and available to view on the website, giving information on greens protection procedures and trolley/buggy use notification.
Obviously, this time of year is very difficult to be consistent on some of the decisions made, but we try to keep a balance of meeting golfer’s needs whilst protecting the course.
Mark Smith Course Manager
Working on the 4th green 34 Taking shape Mark with his young team and the two new Eclipse mowers
around 1.5mm to lightly lift out material and moss patches and encourage new growth through the fusarium scars. We fertilised the greens with 17.6.10 Yara Turf Royale, five days before carrying out our Graden treatment in the first week of April. We also went down the sand injection route to help stabilise the turf and draw out any unwanted moisture. I am confident the greens will respond better with an early year treatment, and also recover fairly quickly with the better temperatures and drier working conditions.
We will then concentrate on recovery and surface improvement, with the use of PrimoMaxx and soluble urea to encourage lateral growth and to repair and heal scars. The tees are mown at 12mm all year round and have also been solid tined, treated with soluble iron and heavily topdressed with Fendress 70/30 mix, ready for the season. The tees seem to be in good condition, and only a few built with rootzone seem to leach a bit quicker. These may need additional treatments to match in with the rest, as they seem to lose growth and colour more quickly. The fairways were deep vertidrained to a depth of 12 inches in February, to relieve the heavy compaction, and then treated with Headland soluble iron for moss control and a general pick me up for the turf.
This year, instead of scarifying with the Beaver equipment, I set the groomers on the fairway units to 5mm to stand up the grasses and gently lift any moss patches out. The scarifying equipment seemed too abrasive on the undulated fairways and, with the dry weather, would put us behind on these surfaces.
We will use Monsoon soil wetter when conditions allow, to prepare the turf for the drier conditions throughout the season. This is very important as we have
no fairway irrigation to compensate. I have decided to keep the fairways at 12mm throughout the season, as 10mm seems a bit too low for the plant and this will help cause less stress. The overall coverage isn’t bad for the time of year, and the growth is picking up well. This year, I am changing the presentation of the course slightly and cutting the fairways in a clockwise (half/half) method. This will allow us to keep on top of them better as it takes less time to carry out. It suits the look of the course and also uses less fuel, less man hours and minimal turning in the rough, which means less wear and tear on the mower arms. This will allow me more time to improve other areas of the course. I will not be applying any fertiliser to the fairways throughout the season, only liquid seaweed to keep a good colour and avoid rapid growth. This will help to reduce the frequency of cuts. So, in a nutshell, the changes I have made to the ongoing maintenance since joining Olton Golf Club have been; the introduction of rolling greens to improve firmness, speed and trueness; cutting patterns and contours on greens, tees and fairways; introducing a preventative spraying programme, rather than ‘spray when you see’; early year greens renovation work for increased recovery, so they are stronger going into the end of year; changed the raking methods, using shorter teeth on rake heads and adjusting sand levels and changed topdressing and sand types.
I’ve also replaced all the course furniture that was very old and tarnished. On top of that the staff have been busy, completing their winter works programme, which included some new tees and paths, plus a complete refurbishment of the 4th green.
I like my staff to take on challenging
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