Winter Questions?

As we head into March after yet another record winter of rainfall and it seems an endless amount of storms with silly names. I must say it's been good for me to see a bad winter in my first year. That's not saying I enjoyed the bad weather but It's helped me to gage where we are as a course and what work we need to do to improve it. 

One of the things I have found interesting is seeing how different parts of the course have handled the rainfall. 

Most of the course seems to handle the rain fairly well and other areas are not good at all. I think a lot of this is down to a few variables.

Firstly the soil type. For example the 1st is set on gravel but the 17th in comparison is the more common clay to the course. This straight away will make a huge difference. 

Drainage-  the ditches and land drainage that has been added over the years are really helping. Especially the new ditches put in last winter. Remember pipe drainage only has a life span of around 20 years. So some of the older drains will require work. 

Micro climates- there are so many changes in heights with slopes, banks, holes along the top or holes through the valley. Some areas are surrounded by trees or other areas out in the open. 

Thatch content- some areas of the course will have higher thatch levels than others. Why does this make a difference? Well thatch acts like a big sponge soaking up all the water and expanding. This then can create foot printing or damage to the green. Meaning we may need to close the green if damage gets to bad.

 I have been asked many questions about some of the things we are doing this winter. So I thought it would be good to do a blog to answer some of the questions. 

Why are we having to play a partial course sometimes? The course in the past was either open or closed!

With all these different variables mentioned above, it just doesn't seem right to me to close an entire course because one or two holes are too wet. For example the 13th and 14th greens have been really, really wet this winter with moisture readings nearing 60% (that's twice what we want), meaning those greens became unplayable or they would have caused lasting damage to the surfaces. This left us with the only decision and that was to rest those greens. (The damage being caused just by us walking over them to remove dew was enough let alone hundreds of golfers every week). 

Another example the 17th and bottom of the 15th fairways have been again unbelievably wet, with readings of 87% on the 17th! This meant closing 15-16 & 17 because we couldn't find an alternative pathway back to the 18th with out going through some even wetter areas. The holes our of play were inspected every day until we felt they were fit for play. 

So we may have been forced into closing holes but keeping some of the course open. I  just felt that some golf is still better than no golf. I hope you agree!

Why is the 17th so wet after the new ditch was put in last year and do you think it's working?

Yes the new ditches are definitely working. The amount of water going through the ditches especially the new one across 17th has been astounding. I had just joined the club when this was just being finished so I can't compare it to previous years but the flow of water has been constant and loud. My old boss would say 'it would fill your bath in seconds'! 

So why is 17th so wet? Drainage can be a funny thing but a lot of people get good outlets and land drainage mixed up.  

The new ditch at 17th for example is a fantastic outlet and has sped up the moving of water off the course. 

The greenstaff tell me the damage caused on the 12th, 6th and 14th in the past was awful but we have come out of winter fairly good in these areas this year. Why, because it isn't backing up across the site.

It however will only take a little bit of surface water from the 17th. 

Let's remember how wet the practice ground can get in the winter (until we develop it, more on that to come soon). Let's also remember the 17th is also one of the lowest points on the course that is made up with a clay soil. The lye of the land doesn't even help more surface water get away as it rises up on the left before the ditch! Water needs to run off not run up to an outlet. 

Now, if we combine poor draining soil which moves water sideways as well as up and down, place it at almost the lowest part of the course, in a valley and add to it no primary land drainage or secondary drainage and a slight up hill fall on the land and what do you get? A very wet hole!

 

I know some will say it's never been so wet but here is where we need to ask some questions. Is it wetter due to the new ditch cutting off some of the old clay pipes from years ago? This sometimes happens with new ditches but within a year the water finds it way through and it improves again. Is it really wetter? The hole along with the course would have been closed more on the worst days than this year, so is it really wetter or are we seeing more of it wet?  

No matter what the question, we keep coming back to the real question... 

Can it be fixed? 

Yes, we have already planned some extensive drainage on this hole and across to the lower area of the 15th plus others.

A lot of the drainage issues that I have seen out on the course this winter are fairly easy fixed and something the MC are committed to working on. Our plan is to tackle the worst areas year on year. 

Has removing the trees made the course wetter? Why, Because trees drink so much water! 

In an answer No. Trees do drink a lot of water but this greatly reduces when the leaves are gone. The reason for this is when the leaves are out is when they require energy. When it's producing chlorophyll and in turn absorbing that energy and photosynthesising, this is when a tree requires its water. So during the winter months the trees go practically dormant, requiring very little water. 

 I was always taught at college when doing woodland management that this was a myth, we were also taught that sports turf, in its very nature of not being allowed to fulfil its natural cycle requires more water than a tree!!

If we look at the facts, this winter was wet. Similar to 2013/14 winter. We had slightly higher rainfall in 2013/14 but only slightly! However this year we have 176 wet days compared with 170 wet days 2013/14 . 

In 2013/14 the course was Closed 47 out of 63 days! 

In 2015/16 the course was closed 4 full days. 

Why, what's the difference? I would say air movement and better outlets. 

Wind is the best thing for evaporation in life, working even quicker than heat. How often do you hear the commentator at the golf saying the 'they are syringing the green because the wind is up'

Some clubs didn't get away as lightly as us! 

Other clubs locally and nationally are reporting its the wettest they have ever seen it. At the greenkeepers national conference even the guys on the links or chalk courses were saying how wet it was. Images of St Andrews pumping water off fairways and courses locally to us have started to get advice regarding felling licences because there courses have been so wet this year and no tree work has been done in years. 

Remember the water table rises dramatically in the winter. The soil structure acts like a cup with little evaporation and the gravitational pull is slower than the speed rainfall is falling! 

Why did we have a trolley ban? 

 

As a Greenkeeper there is nothing worse than feeling you have to restrict someone's golf. Golf is just a sport and something we do for fun. Putting restrictions on fun is not what we want as a team or club but sometimes the protection of the course for the season ahead and the costs of repairing damage have to be taken into account. 

We asked every member 'Please make every effort to carry your bag' this is honestly our way of saying the course is getting too wet and its causing damage to YOUR course and if you can, (honestly ask yourself) then please carry so those who can't can still get out and play. 

When we finally brought the ban in due to damage on the course, as club we still allowed those with medical certificates to go out and play but this is always our last resort. Daily inspections took place to see if we could reverse the decision and lift the ban ASAP. 

I hope this blog has helped with some of the questions this winter. Rest assured that we are striving to improve all areas of the golf course and to give us a better all year round course. 

Sometimes a step back can be a step forward! 

Not long until spring now (hopefully)!

See you soon 

Matt 

The projects have started!

Some of you may have noticed the new material bays have now been built at the far end of the over flow car park in the last couple of weeks. Taking advantage of the wettest months of all time, sorry I mean year :-) is something I like to do. 

The Management Commitee backed us to start the first of our many projects as we looked to improve not only the course but our infrastructure as a club. 

The material storage bays for our sands, top dressings and pathway materials was always on our list and was something that will be essential with the increased projects, drainage and course maintenance. 

Not only will keep the over flow car park tidy and save man hours, it will also reduce the amount of materials wasted. 

Firstly I submitted plans and costings to the MC while at the same time Ian Permain, Mark Cox (Architect) and Myself looked at the site with potential future plans in mind. 

The brief was to fit in the bays alongside enough over flow parking for our events now but with bigger events in the future as an option too. We also looked a places for a new Greenkeeping storage area (as our space now is very, very limited) which can also be added in the future. 

Above Mark Cox measuring out the site for the plans 

After some initial site visits it became clear that option D was going to be our best option due to fall on the car park and the required space for parking. 

Having materials lying loose always looks untidy but more importantly it meant the old bays which required the materials to be dropped in the yard and moved by the greenstaff back into place (which also caused the drains to block in our yard and the shed to flood) could be used for the staff in the future. The old bays were also too small meaning materials were also dumped into the over flow car park taking up valuable parking spaces (see below).  

We looked at many different styles, shapes and angles (Arctic lorry turning circles+ widths etc) before selecting the plans above. These were not only cost effective (sleepers and RSJ) but could be built by the greenstaff. 

In the end we decided to build 4 bays. We normally have 5 materials but they are seasonal so 4 would be perfect and double what we had. 

I will try to give a quick over view of the two weeks- 

The greenstaff cleared the site including two large yew trees that were not in good shape. This was a big task and Patrick Trant lent us a 6 ton digger and two dumpers plus a drive Graham and a chipper to help Eric our digger driver to clear the site quickly. This allowed us to move timber extra quick while Eric started to clear the site ready for us to get the levels for the new bays. 

 

 Next we the surveyed the site to check the levels. Even here on the 'flattest' area of the car park the fall was pretty impressive and would require work to get it right. 

For those of you who haven't met Eric with his strong Irish accent and Graham 

Mr Trants estate gardener/digger driver with his strong Hampshire accent  really missed a comedy gold moment as both discussed the best way to get the site level using both of them. I was going to take minutes but I think it was impossible. The greenstaff faces said enough ;-)

We then built up one end to help us get a rough level before measuring out the bays on the ground. 

The entire area was then built up and levelled using scalpings. One RSJ was set in as our marker from that point on. 

All the sleepers were then spilt by lengths and grouped for certain spots on the plan. Firstly they were all numbered then they were then grouped in sixes by a letter. This meant that each group of 6 were the same size and the RSJs could be put in tight against them. 

Then the foundations were then dug out to 1/2 metre wide. 1 metre long and 2ft deep. 

Some of the double foundations were dug out together. The areas for the ready mix were marked so the digger could simply load and swing it into place. 

Once we had dug out the foundations for the back wall we started to move the RSJ's into place and set them in wit the ready mix. This was a curb mix which allowed us to adjust heights and levels (this took particularly a lot of time but it was worth it). 

The optimum lettered sleeper was then placed at the bottom as the RSJs were lowered into place. This also held them in position while the mix set over night. 

The following day was pretty similar with the side wall RSJ going into place. 

These were left over the weekend to set and first thing Monday we collected our timbers and started to shutter the bays and more scalpings arrived for our levels to be finalised. 

 

As the ground moved away so much we  had to drop each bay slightly to get the levels right. This meant there was a slight step from one to the other. We planned to poor bays 1 and 3 on the first poor and 2 and 4 on the second. This is done to allow room for tamping. 

The reinforcement mesh and L bars were then added to the concrete and sat up using mesh shoes. 

At this point Mark Muddimans (a member) ground works team arrived to help with the poor. These guys are professional and we needed a good finish as the bucket tractor would be sliding along these bay floors for many years to come. I felt with the large scale it was worth getting the help at this final stage. It was and they were fantastic. 

As the cement went off the levels and any adjustment were made. 

The next day bays 2 and 4 were shuttered and set up for the poor. Again the greenstaff were under pressure as the lorry arrived early but completed them just on time. The last stage was to shutter and poor the apron this area allows the lorry to back in and gives them more room. Now this wasn't part of the original plan but we were advised to do it as the rest of the car park is made up of different surfaces. All the others I build in the past were next to Tarmac. So I learnt something new and will know that next time. 

Once the concrete had set the sleepers were placed in the back and side walls according to there letter working to complete bays at a time. The digger was boarded at all times to reduce the damage it could cause. 

The greenstaff worked fantastically during the project. I think they enjoyed it. Extra hours were put in when needed to get the job done. 

Finally all the sleepers were added to the walls. 

The bays were now finished and the stock materials were placed back into the bays. 

And here's the team that built them.L-R Steve, Levi, Paul, Rob, Graham and Eric Butler (digger/looks) Charlie and Graham B (away for the photo) and myself (taking the photo). 

All the greenstaff. (A special mention to Graham Hastie for carrying on and pushing it to the finish line while I was on holiday).  

A great job by everybody especially during this really wet spell out on the course. 

It will improve the car park and the way in which we use our materials with less wasteage. 

A special thanks must go to Mark Muddiman, Ian Permain and Mark Cox for giving up so much time to help. Graham and Mr Trant for assisting at the start of the project. Lastly thanks to Eric Butler who has built new bays with me now at four clubs and they always get better! 

Pump house

Another small project which has been completed in the week after the bays is our new pump house. A pump house is exactly what is says on the tin. It's where our Irrigation pumps are kept. 

At the end of last summer both of our irrigation pumps gave up on us and they were 18 years old and beyond repair. 

It was felt that they had never been fitted 100% correct with to many turns in the pipe work meaning air getting in the system. We purchased two more pumps but always intended to move them out of the main shed as room is limited. Lucky for us the good old british summer meant it rained from that point on and we didn't need to fit them. 

Roll on to February and we were able to move the pump house. 

Firstly we purchased a new shed this was built inside our exciting fertiliser store by Steve and Levi. 

We created a pad out from the concrete we had left over from the bays very quickly but it's worked fantastic. A conduit was added to run cables through from our existing shed. 

 

The pump house was put in place and then had marine ply added inside for us to attach our control boards and electrics onto. 

Once the ply has been added the electrics were then moved over (thanks Paul) to the new shed along with the new pumps and pressure vessel. 

Once all the pipe work had been refitted and angles changed on to the tank to reduce air in the system. 

The shed was completed and hooked up to the existing system. 

The old pump room 

The new one. (You may notice this as you walk down the path on the 1st). 

Please be aware that pump houses are very dangerous places. High voltage and high pressure units with water and electric sitting side by side are not to be entered by anyone with out authorisation. 

I think moving the pump house outside has been a good project. It has given us a little more room in the main shed. We now have a light pump house rather than a dark wet room. This looks simple on here but it really is not as this is so important to our summer course. We are building up from solid foundations as we slowly improve the irrigation system. 

Thanks must go to Andy Garrett our irrigation engineer, Levi , Steve and Rob for there assisting work and to Paul the sparky for giving us spark! 

I hope this helped show you that sometimes our work or projects might not be always on the course especially if we can be doing something worthwhile during very wet spells. 

Okay, that's enough from me. I will blog again soon to talk about drainage! 

Matt