Golf
underway until at least May but, by then, we are faced with the turmoil caused to our members as their season is just getting into full swing”
“We can’t get hollow tining
subject, Kevin chips in to bring the conversation back to winter maintenance. “We schedule in monthly solid-tining of all our greens using 13mm tines on our Pro-Core, along with the Huxley slitter, trying to fit this in around the weather, though the poor conditions provide us with ample opportunity to prepare our fleet for the up-coming cutting season. These months seem to pass in the blink of an eye - with only three full-time greens staff and 120 acres to manage, there is always plenty of work to keep us occupied.”
The club’s lush green blanket of turf that sits at the foot of the Brecons may lead some to infer a heavy-going nutrition and spraying regime, but the reality is quite the opposite. The only nutrition needed in these winter months is iron sulphate, which Kevin orders from local suppliers. Throughout the year, the greens are also only given liquid treatment, with Super N 35:0:0, Farmura’s Porthcawl and Primo Maxx, the three preferred feeds. Glynneath’s course was extended
around ten years ago and some holes are now on a higher level and deeper into the Brecons than the old course, so can often experience different weather extremities. “It’s colder up there and snowfall can often lie for a week longer than the rest of the course,” Kevin reveals. “The new greens are also built to USGA spec, so the combination of lower temperatures and greens specifications mean we have to take a different approach to this area of the course.” Spring is always late in arriving for Glynneath as it sits a few hundred feet above sea level. This can make things difficult for Kevin and the team, as it forces them to carry out their spring preparation work later than many courses in the area - often a month behind in terms of temperature and growth. “We can’t get hollow tining underway until at least May,” says Darryl, “but, by
18 PC FEBRUARY/MARCH 2013
Playing into the 17th green with a stunning backdrop
then, we are faced with the turmoil and unrest caused to our members as their playing season is just getting into full swing,” he continues. “Consequently, last year, we took the decision to schedule coring work in August and we plan to adopt this approach going forward.” Kevin confesses that shifting weather patterns means they are still finishing up some of their projects from the winter. “There’s a limited cutting requirement then, but we are on standby to start full- time cutting when we finally experience temperatures normally associated with late spring,” he says. “We also schedule in an application of NPK 6:5:12, and would do this at the first sign of a rise in temperature.” Once proper growth begins, the trio undertakes light scarifying with verti- cutting to get any lateral growth standing up and to eradicate dead matter that’s developed over the winter. “We follow
this with a light topdressing of straight sand,” explains Darryl. “Due to financial constraints, over the last two years, we’ve used straight sand, which has been passed as suitable for use on all our topdressing.” “We source it locally, so it costs far less than our traditional sand-soil mix that had to be transported in from far and wide. This has enabled us to apply 180 tonnes a season for the same cost as 60 tonnes.”
As spring turns to summer, the limited
growth experienced throughout most of the season turns around in the blink of an eye and, from June to August, the three men are rushed off their feet. “In these three months growth comes with a bang, so it’s crazy with just three of us,” explains Darryl. “Then you have to factor in breakdowns, holidays, fertilising, aerating, bunker work, dressing, and the small matter of the
Heavy clouds over the Brecon Beacons
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