Golf
Shade and lack of air movement around greens caused some issues
hollow coring as we used the original turf during construction, and this has caused some issues with moisture retention in the top profile. This has required an intensive hollow coring and soil exchange programme, but we have seen the percentage of moisture recorded in the top 20mm fall as a result.” “Organic matter reduction has been our primary focus over the last few years and, using a combination of our Graden sand injection machine, hollow coring, deep scarification and increased amounts of topdressing, we have seen recorded levels drop from almost 11% in the upper 20mm profile to 4%. Similarly, organic matter levels further down the rootzone profile have also dropped from 9% to under 4%. This has required a great effort from my staff and many hours of hard work, but the results are there to see,” Paul confirms proudly. “Around half the tees have
been reconstructed during my time here. We have found that, providing we use a minimum of 250mm rootzone over our native soil, there is no requirement for additional drainage. The remainder are simple push up tees with no drainage.”
During wet spells, Paul often closes holes and makes up a composite course as best he can. “This allows the membership to play at least some golf,” he says, “and I know they appreciate the effort we put in to try to keep the course open. Doing so, however, causes some problems with extra wear on the drier holes and often requires more extreme
remedial work in the spring.” “I’m afraid temporary
greens are a necessary evil here, but they do allow us to keep the course open when it would otherwise be
unplayable. The membership accepts them and understands our reasons and, to that end, we also have a measured course from our temporary Huxley tees to the winter greens.” Fortunately for Paul, the members have come round to his way of thinking. “Shade and a lack of air movement around greens, in particular, has been an issue since I arrived at Fulwell. At first, there was considerable resistance to the removal of, what I would term, scrub, but what the membership termed as trees! Over a period of time, and several question and answer sessions in the clubhouse, we eventually got the point across that preservation is not conservation and there was, indeed, a big difference. Nowadays, the membership actively encourage us to thin out encroachment, which is quite a change of mindset!” Dr Tim Lodge provides consultant agronomy services. “We have built up a great understanding in the short period of time we have been working together. He is a down to earth, practical consultant which I very much appreciate. Our relationship is possibly one of the most important, and it’s great that we both share the same greenkeeping philosophy. He has helped us through the nematode problems we have experienced recently, and was very positive about the
FEBRUARY/MARCH 2014 PC 61
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