Technical We started working with Shrewsbury in
2007; the greens were dominated with poa and, often, the club had to employ temporary greens in the winter months, as the surfaces were unstable and could not tolerate play in spells of heavy rainfall. This was mainly due to the greens having impeded drainage and higher than desirable thatch levels that adversely affected the greens performance. At this time, the club were spending
precious time and resources improving the standards of the temporary greens due to the amount of time spent playing on them in the winter months.
freer draining sub soil. As well as aiding drainage, the frequent
aeration encourages root growth and, along with the topdressing programme, helps to control the thatch on the greens to desirable levels without the need for any intrusive thatch removal processes. As stated, the greens in 2007 were poa
dominated, with only small pockets of bent grass on the backs of some drier greens. The objective from the start was to produce good quality, quick putting surfaces that could be played on all year round. Seeing this was being achieved with poa, there was little reason to change the grass composition.
“ The greens at Shrewsbury being slit Rather than continue with this, we chose
to put more emphasis into making the greens fit for winter play. This philosophy has seen drastic improvements, and now only on very rare occasions is a temporary green required. These improvements were initiated by a
more vigorous topdressing and aeration programme. On average, the greens at Shrewsbury receive approximately 120 tonnes of sand per annum. The club did originally use a traditional 70/30 mix dressing but, due to cost, turned to using straight sand. The sand is applied on a little and often basis, and is applied as frequently as weekly.
In the early years of this more intensive
programme, the greens where deeply scarified using a pedestrian Graden scarifier. This, coupled with more dressing and solid tine aeration, has seen the thatch reduce significantly from 9% to just over 3%. With the thatch now down to a manageable level, the greens are tined with 8 or 11mm tines on at least a monthly basis to a depth of between 125-200mm. By constantly keeping the surfaces open, it gives the greens the best chance to cope with any heavy rain that they have to endure. In the winter months, the greens are regularly slit, sometimes on a weekly basis. The slitting again aids the drainage of the greens by keeping an open passage so that water can flow from the surface to any tine holes or
The problem, if it was a problem, was that
the greens were to such a high standard there was little appetite for changing grass species. Therefore, instead of chasing the so called
“more desirable” grass species, we have concentrated on producing top quality, sustainable poa putting surfaces that the members are proud of. To obtain the greens speeds required, the
current height of cut on the greens varies from as low as 2mm in the summer to 4mm in extreme winters. In the summer months, the greens are
verticut lightly, usually on a weekly basis. This helps to remove lignin rich material from the grass plant and, in turn, helps with controlling thatch accumulations. As well as helping to control thatch, the verticutting has a positive affect on greens speed. This, coupled with the use of the club’s vibrating rollers, allows us to achieve the smoothness and the speed that the members desire. In the early years of working with
Shrewsbury, fertiliser inputs on the greens were very minimal, with approximately 40kg of nitrogen being applied per annum. This was mainly attributed to nutrients
being released as the thatch layer in the greens started to degrade in situ. To encourage soil life that, in turn, would accelerate the breakdown of thatch, cold processed seaweed was applied at monthly intervals.
The problem, if it was a problem, was that the greens were to such a high standard there was little appetite for changing grass species
Shrewsbury Golf Club in a parkland setting
Profile of the greens at Shrewsbury. Note the dark coloured peat right at the bottom
These low inputs continued for the first
five years until it was clear that the greens started to need more nitrogen. Nitrogen was then tank mixed with the seaweed as a tonic, to take the stress off the greens without creating excessive growth. To control growth further, applications of Primo Maxx growth regulator were made at 300ml per hectare at monthly intervals. Keeping growth on the greens to a minimum ensured that the greens speed or quality did not deteriorate through the day.
PC DECEMBER/JANUARY 2015 I 113
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