Golf
See what’s new
Pipeline repairs being carried out sensitively in October 2012 between the 6th and 16th greens. The 6th hole remained open for play, but the 16th (far left) was deemed a little too close to the work, necessitating the use of one of the club’s two spare holes
the turf remained stubbornly poorly draining, adversely affecting the health, appearance and consistency of the greens.” Recommending a
reconstruction programme for all nine greens, Kevin was given the green light by the committee and, between 2003 and 2010, progressively rebuilt the greens to USGA specifications.
Beneath each one was installed a new herringbone- pattern drainage system, piped to outfalls on the low side of the green. Using his stockpile of soil, mounding was also created around the greens, adding character and additional challenges. Although costing around £250,000 in total, the work has had the required effect, with the newer nine holes now draining as well as the original nine “push-up” greens built in the mid 1930s when the club moved to its present site.
“It’s amazing the difference that a few hundred metres makes to the ability of soils to allow satisfactory downward movement of water,” commented Kevin. “I would have thought that the push- up greens would have been the ones to have caused problems first, but they remain level and continue to shed water really well almost eighty years after they were built, despite the high rainfall levels experienced in west Wales.”
“Since completing the
upgrade programme, all 18 greens can now support first- class play throughout the year, with a little assistance from ourselves.”
That “little assistance” consists of 13mm hollow coring in March and early September, followed by heavy topdressing of a rootzone material matching the 70 percent sand, 30 percent soil mix used during the reconstruction of the nine greens. The remainder of the 150 tonnes of topdressing purchased each year is applied over five or six separate treatments through the summer.
Amounting to little more than a “light dusting”, the result, says Kevin, helps maintain a consistent putting surface, assisted by a fortnightly programme of verticutting between May and August. “This action helps thin out and weaken coarser grasses, whilst avoiding the build-up of thatch,” he explained. “Verticutting also promotes the gravitation of topdressing into the surface, producing the consistency of ball roll that is the number one requirement of our members, and of most other golfers.” Feeding programmes commence in early spring with Mascot Microflow 17:2:5 plus trace elements, a spring and summer liquid fertiliser formulated for fast uptake and response.
As the soil warms up, and
at the 53rd Doe Show
5th, 6th, 7th February 2013 Ulting Maldon CM9 6QH
NEW New Holland T5 Tractors NEW Case IH Magnum CVT
Ploughing demos from John Hill, World Champion
The UK’s largest agricultural/ construction/groundcare dealer show
Free Refreshments
Ernest Doe & Sons Ltd
Ulting, Maldon, Essex CM9 6QH Tel 01245 380311
www.ernestdoe.com DECMBER/JANUARY 2013 PC 27
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