Colchester Golf Club
Greenkeepers Report 2nd June
Greenkeepers Report May 2023
Another month has passed by in what seems like the blink of an eye. I reported to the course committee at the beginning of the month that seasonally, and condition wise, it felt that we were a couple of weeks behind where we would typically be in early May. This was evidenced by the late establishment of leaves and blossom on many of the trees, the reduced growth on many of the surfaces, and the absence of the seed heads we often endure on the greens surfaces caused by the Poa annua (Annual Meadow Grass). This was short lived during a spell in the middle of the month following 46mm of rain in 72 hours followed by daytime temperatures of 18 – 20 degrees. A period of substantial growth to the established grass plant across all playing surfaces dictated the need to focus most of the attention on mowing and clearing of playing surfaces.
The renovation practices during the early part of the month showed encouraging signs of recovery aided by the increasing day time temperatures and soil moisture levels following natural rainfall. Overnight and early morning temperatures have remained quite cool though, and at the time of writing this report the temperature gauge showed 6 degrees on arrival to the golf club. The second half of the month saw a reduction in rainfall and nothing has been registered since May 12th, this accompanied by increased windy conditions and noticeable moisture loss has necessitated the use of the irrigation system recently, all surfaces with irrigation have been accounted for with individual irrigation programmes based on soil moisture tests. This has also been supplemented with hand watering hoses to maximise irrigation efficiency. We are aware of a couple of damaged sprinklers that will be replaced. In addition a recent electrical failure to one of the three Grundfos pumps has resulted in some reduced irrigation programming.
Remedial work has been carried out to the grass mounding and infilled bunkers on the 10th, 12th and 15th holes. The areas have been Terra-Raked, to remove a volume of thicker undesirable grass and plant species, dressed with a high sand content rootzone material, and overseeded with a mix of fine fescue to continue our attempts at producing a finer, wispier sward.
The practice green has also had further remedial work carried out with an overseeding of ultrafine rye grass, and applications of topdressing applied. The moss levels have been effectively treated and given the encouraging signs of recovery in other areas of the course I am hopeful the green will continue to improve.
The driving range tees have been relocated onto the grass area to provide more natural practice conditions, accommodate more people, and give the artificial mats some needed rest to reduce wear. Please use the rootzone mixture provided to repair divots.
The drier conditions in the second half of the month have seen an increase in seed head activity from the Poa annua present in the greens surfaces, this increase is natural as this specific plant overly produces seed under stress, and supports the theory that seasonally we are slightly behind as we normally experience this during April. As a solution to this and part of the long-term programme to improve the greens surfaces, we have increased the frequency and varied the depths of our verti-cutting processes to reduce and eventually eradicate the high percentage of Poa that exists. We will continue to incorporate top-dressings and encourage the seeding of more desirable grass cultivars.
The tees are noticeably the weakest surfaces, and despite regular maintenance, overseeding, dressing, and divotting have struggled to recover following last summer’s drought, additionally the frequency of play and activity over a reduced area to ensure that competition requirements are met have added to the duress and inconsistent recovery. To continue to improve these surfaces, regular soil surfactants have been applied to create effective soil moisture balance, and nutrition/bio stimulants have been applied to promote balanced growth and stress reduction.
The Course continue to improve, and a priority focus on surface performance has seen an increase in the process of verti-cutting to reduce organic matter levels and seed head dominance, supported with an increase in top-dressing input to achieve a consistent surface. Health wise there has been a good balance of soil-air and moisture supported by the regular use of soil surfactants and penetrants. In addition, previous applications of nutrient / bio stimulants and growth regulators have resulted in reasonable root development and plant health.
The fairways have had a recent application of 15,5,15 granular NPK slow-release fertiliser to aid with balanced growth and stress reduction as we approach the summer months. Applications of soil surfactants have been applied to the fairways that don’t have irrigation in an effort to retain soil moisture for as long as possible entering into drier conditions.
Sand levels in bunkers have shown to be slightly inconsistent in recent weeks, and following a period of heavy rain earlier in the month where many bunkers were full of water there has proven to be a mixing of bunker sand material and soil substrate as most of our bunkers do not benefit from a separation lining. Sand levels are being addressed and approximately 8 tonnes of sand have been recently distributed among the worst so far. This process will continue and all bunkers will be monitored going forward.
Staff update – One of our assistant greenkeepers Adrian is working his way towards completion of an NVQ level 2 sports turf qualification. Fellow assistant greenkeeper Michael Clarke is scheduled to commence the first part of his NPTC Chainsaw maintenance and cross-cutting qualification early next month, I wish them both luck, and thank the club for providing the resources to continue to upskill and develop staff in house.
Please enjoy your golf
Kind regards
James Rattenbury
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