Page 37 - RCGC Mag

Course Report – November 2017

Robert Brown – Chairman of the Greens Committee

Autumn Maintenance

Over the past month we have carried out numerous tasks and operations under the banner of autumn
maintenance and are as follows-

Scarifying of all greens and approaches, the sand filler is a useful machine that will cut into the
surface and lift and collect any debris/thatch. Kiln dried sand from a separate hopper will be
dropped directly into the grooves created along with any added seed.

Verti draining of all greens, tees, approaches, fairways and all traffic areas. This is a massive task
and will take one man three/four weeks and use many tines in the process. Verti draining is
physically driving solid tines into the soil at depth and as they return the soil is literally lifted,
cracking the soil and in turn aerating, thus reducing compaction.

Hollow tining- all tees were hollow tined, here a plug of soil is removed from the surface removing
thatch and any poor quality soil which is then replaced with a specified root zone.

Over seeding of greens, tees and approaches. Top quality bent seed is mixed in with the sand filler
on the greens and if you look carefully the new grasses are clearly visible. On the tees and
approaches we use mostly dwarf rye, a fine bladed grass which is very hard wearing, ideal for tees.
Top dressings are applied to all areas, this is to restore the disturbed surfaces and replace any soil
removed with quality sand and soil.

Fertilisers are applied to encourage controlled growth, we use slow release fertilisers low in
nitrogen with added macro nutrients such as calcium, iron, and potassium, all help strengthen the
plant, give good colour and help resist disease attack.

Whilst all the above is being programmed we have still to maintain the rest of the course, as a result
some areas are not cut as much as usual. Autumn maintenance was delayed a little due to wet and
damp weather but overall went fairly well.

Currently we are trying to get on top of the cutting program, in particular the rough which is still
growing at a ridiculous rate, some areas have just been too wet to use machinery.

The ditches are being cut and strimmed in preparation for the coming rains.

Drainage

Unfortunately, Whitehorse (our Contractors) had to withdraw from the contract (to complete later)
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due to wet ground conditions. They have managed to complete the 12 , 16 , 17 and 18 with
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only the 1 and 5 to complete.
The sleepers on the first fairway were removed to make way for the drainage contractors. Unfortunately
due to the very wet conditions the drainage work was stopped, therefore finishing the fairway was moved
down the list of priorities.
The following is a current list of jobs in order of importance.

Set up the golf course i.e. Cutting Greens, Tees, Fairways and Rough. (We still have a full cutting program).

Clear ditches.