The weather has been kind to us over the last 2 months and it is good to see the continued improvement in the course, which has been helped by the return to work of most of the staff. The conditions for growth have been ideal, which makes it difficult to keep on top of the cutting, but now the greens are running at a good pace and the fairways and rough are being kept at an acceptable level. All in all the playing conditions now are at as good as I have seen them.
This year the late season green treatment has been brought forward and is due to begin on the 17th of August. Because we have sand based greens it is essential that we carry out two treatments each year. Normally the preference is to hollow tine twice a year, which removes solid cores from the greens. With each treatment about 17% of the green surface is removed and over a period of 3 years theoretically the whole of the green surface will have been replaced. Each tining is followed by overseeding and top dressing which not only ensures that we are replacing with the right grasses but also removes organic matter and relieves the compaction that builds up over the season. If the organic matter is not removed the greens would become soft due to the build up of thatch and its removal should ensure the firm greens that are essential to a modern golf course. Having said that this year the August treatment will be with solid tines which will be less disruptive and should see greens recover quicker. This is considered to be better for this earlier treatment and we can then decide on the programme for the future once we see the results of this change.
There have been some comments about the surface of the greens and the different growths which are present. While this does not affect the playing surface it is worth some explanation. We have three different types of grasses on our greens which are bents, fescues and poa annua and the distribution of these grasses is consistent across all our greens. It is the combination of these grasses that is essential to a good playing surface. Poa annua in particular seeds during the year which gives rise to the presence of small white florets on the greens. This is completely unavoidable and does not affect the quality of the surface. It can be seen throughout the course in roughly the same proportion on all of the greens.
Another growth that we have seen recently is the appearance of so called ghost grasses. These are basically weak stems of grass with small or sparse leaves that are pale yellow or bleached white. The weak colour identifies that that the plant is lacking chlorophyll and is putting all of its energy into growing fast and tall to get as much sunlight as possible for the rest of the plant. It affects poa annua mainly and although its cause is not fully understood it has probably been exacerbated by the wet and warm conditions we have been experiencing recently and the use of growth regulators on our greens. Growth regulators are used to slow down growth to encourage roots to grow deeper, which is essential to healthy greens, but ghost grasses are probably a side effect of the stress caused by this treatment. The good news is that with frequent cutting the speed of the greens should not be affected and the rogue grasses should disappear shortly.
An area that is of concern on the course is the lack of attention put into repairing pitchmarks on the greens. If we want a high quality course it is essential that we repair not only our own marks but also others on the greens. The problem is not only confined to visitors and is particularly noticeable after the weekend, so please play your part in being vigilant and maintaining the excellent condition of the greens.