Golf
similar over the site, even on the newer greens. Shade is a minor issue given the proximity of some of the pine trees to greens and tees, but worse is the dryness underneath as the tree roots take up all the available moisture leaving very little for the turf. The sand here can also become quite compacted owing to its relatively small particle size so we have to keep on top of the aeration on greens and tees. Hole changing in summer can become quite challenging when the greens are dried out!
We have irrigation coverage on all playing
surfaces, but it is rarely used. The greens are generally hand watered with hoses or by manually operating the sprinklers. In an average season, there are perhaps 10-12 programmes put out using the computer. Tee irrigation is normally only used to water in wetting agent. The fairway irrigation is only really used manually in areas of high divot pressure to help seed germination and recovery.
We only have drainage in the low lying corner of the course where the soil is
“
heavier. The remainder of the course is sandy and free draining. The drainage works are something that we plan to look at over the coming few years as they don’t perform as well as they could. Air flow has also been a problem in the past as a result of the gorse and broom becoming massively overgrown. We are currently in the process of cutting it all back to ground level in winter and allowing it to regenerate, before maintaining it with a flail mower. Flooding can be an issue in the low corner
of the course, especially in winter. All of the drainage system empties into a burn crossing the course, but it’s not unusual for high tides to cause this to back up as the River Tay is only a few hundred yards away and only a few feet or so lower. Winter is not an especially hard time, but spring can be challenging. It is generally cold, dry and windy, so we struggle to get any real growth until well into May. This makes life difficult as the majority of the club events are in the first half of the year. It’s just not a great time to present the best surfaces for competition, so I’ll be campaigning to have
the fixture list reshuffled! We can’t force anything to grow in the
spring, so the only way forward is to ensure that we have the best possible cover of grass going into winter. Following that, it is essential to manage winter wear, which is the hardest thing here. Lots of posts and rope fences to direct traffic and the use of artificial mats on tees goes a long way towards relieving wear, but the greens still suffer. The club’s frost policy is currently under review as a result. Temporary greens have only really been
used for the two wet holes in the corner but, with the review of the frost policy, this may change to the point where we have them around the whole course for use in certain conditions. There are other options, like closing par 3s for play, except during competitions, to give them a rest. We will see what comes up in discussion with the club council. This coming winter will be relatively quiet
for us with the bicentenary next year, we will be focusing on the surfaces more than new projects. Last winter was probably one of the
The decision was made to remove the turf and lower the green by around two feet to preserve the plateau nature, but increase the playing area by just over three times
22 I PC AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2016
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