Water be the key to life!

Wow, it’s been nearly two months since I last blogged.
I can only apologise, it’s been unbelievably busy with so much going on




Driving Range and Short game area

The new look 18th

 

New 1st tees growing in

 
 
The first tees have been moved and the short game, the green and bunker construction have started. The area we call Phase 2 of the driving range has been cleared and the fill has started. The short game area was our Phase 1, this has been done first to block the view from the clubhouse so we don’t need to look at a building site for to long it also gives us an opportunity to grow in the short game area and open it a year ahead of the range. 

Subsoil shaping of new Short game area

Out on the Course
Out on the course, we have gone from total despair to feeling happy following April’s 36mm and May’s 21mm of rainfall. This for spring is hugely low and the entire industry, Agriculture and other horticultural business were extremely worried. Last years drought had put us into a huge deficit and with a driest winter I can remember, our hope for spring was a wet one to help balance the water table. I would have bet a lot of money that the rain would come and it didn’t. 

Lots of hand watering April/May

May saw 21mm of rainfall but due to some hot spells (but cool nights) our evaporation was 53mm. So in fact, going into June we were in another drought state and the grass plant was dying back. All the work the team had done was dying, we re-turfed around 40 bunkers, over seeded fairways, worn areas and bare areas but we couldn’t see any evidence of the seeding because it was just so dry.
The turfs around the course from the Bunker project started to die off and we had all the new turf going down for Phase 1 of the practice ground project to keep alive. We ended up with two members of the team permanently watering. Just like last summer trying to keep things alive. We have certain areas we can’t get water too so this was sprayed using our sprayer filled with water but volume wise it wasn’t a lot but we felt we should try something.
At this point I could not believe what we are experiencing again. Last June was the month that Killed us. It was the first month EVER (since records began) that we recorded a 0mm in Southampton. Never before and I prayed it would not do it again and it didn’t!!! June 2019 has been our wettest month this year. Let that sink in...
We had more rain in one day than the whole of May. I was the only one loving it out in the course but we needed it. 88.1mm so far in June and the course has started to improve. “Water be the key to life” they say and the are right.
The seed from Autumn last year had started to come through and my worry was and still is without rain this will die back but has now established as grass plants. The seed from the spring has just popped meaning we are getting better coverage in areas. 

Seed coming through but more hollow coring work and seeding required in areas

We know there is still a lot of work to do in some places and getting the thatch out of the way is the first stage to this. This is something we are going to be working on between now and the autumn again.
The turfs we re- turfed are looking healthier or at least alive in areas. The noses of the bunkers will always dry out on us. The angles and the shallow depths of soil against the revetted edges make this a hard growing medium.
The entire course including the bunkers got sprayed with wetting agents when the rain started to try and force this into the ground and not to run off the surface. This has helped but as those of you who came on the course walks saw with your own eyes, it’s still like dust underneath and that’s my big worry. We just don’t have any moisture reserves going into July and August. A hot spell with no rain and we could be chasing again. The courses with fairway watering are coming into there own at the moment, but we don’t have this so we have to do our best and pray.

You may have also noticed a lot of weed spraying taking place.  Again due to last years drought the areas that are thin and bare in the roughs and outfields have had weed invasion. We all know how this happens from our gardens and flow beds or driveways. This is why it’s so important for us to increase grass coverage.
The only areas we haven’t yet sprayed are the fairways themselves. This is because we felt the new seed isn’t quite strong enough to take the hit off the herbicide. This is something I will watch, depending the heat.
Our normal liquid fertilisers  have started going out, again we had to wait for some moisture to get these applied. 

Boxing off (collecting grass clippings) Fairways has started. This reduces thatch and worm activity but take more man hours

5 Ton trailer full of clippings is becoming a regular site

We fertilised the fairways with no regulator to give them a kick and boy are the growing. This week alone we took over 50 tons of grass clipping off them.
We also gave them a reverse cut this week to tighten up the grass. The greens and Aprons are cut in different directions daily to stop nap (grass lying one way) but on outfield areas the more you cut in the same direction the better presented it looks. The trouble with this is the heights are false because if you brush it the other way the grasses having growing along the line and not up to the sky. For example a 15mm fairway might be 20mm as it’s laying down. So reverse cutting and raking stands this up and we get a clean cut at 15mm. We carried this out on the semi too but unfortunately it does look dull when we do this but the surfaces are so much better after. We can now step up the presentation of these areas. 

Fairways divoted at the Divot Trophy, thanks to all those that helped

Bunkers
The bunkers have had a lot of attention, with regard getting on top of the detail work on the banks. Flymoing and Strimming round each bit of heather and getting a consistent look.
The sand levels are checked when we rake them as best we can while staying ahead of the golf in the mornings (we can’t be moving sand around during competitions and with our busy golfing calendar, finding days to dedicate time to this is hard)but we do try our best daily.

We have been going round topping up the low ones and are happy if you let Richard or Lawrence know in the office if you notice any that are low so we can get this looked at. Please remember we cannot guarantee you a perfect lye in the Bunker, we smooth rake the edges daily giving the ball the most chance to return to the middle bit sometimes this won’t happen. Bunkers are a moving thing rain will move sand slightly through the bunker, golfers move sand all day through the bunker. Remember that our rakes are best at being push rakes not pull rakes. Please push the sand back towards the middle as you walk out. Most sand is found at the backs of the bunkers. The team move as much as they can but like I said this is done ahead of the golf teeing off at 7.30am and with 60 bunkers to rake it can be hard to stay ahead let alone move vast amounts of sand.
Sometimes you may find the rubber, but before you would have hit the clay. That motion itself would bring the clay particles into the bunker sand and following rainfall, the fines of the clay would work there way down and block the drainage meaning the bunkers were full of water. Sometimes you may bounce out but this did happen with the clay (granted not as bouncy) sometimes this will be lucky sometimes not but I can guarantee we are doing our best to minimise this. Occasionally getting a stance in the bunkers might be hard but like I said earlier we cannot guarantee the perfect bunker, I cannot guarantee the perfect stance in a ditch, or behind a tree or in a bush or in the heather as these are all HAZARDS that should be avoided. One thing for sure is we spend more time on bunkers than anything. We spend more time on bunkers than we do greens...


Staff
It’s been very busy for the team with lots to catch up on but they have been fantastic and I know how hard we are working as a team.
Working with the teams from TJ waste, Profusion, James Edwards Architect , The Tree management company along with the course has been hard and is something of a juggling act to get this Driving range and short game facility built but this obviously needs project managing from the clubs side. Along with checking the loads, the delivery notes and making sure everything is being done how we want it. The office have had to spend hours counting lorries and checking that everything is right also with Nick Clayton and Richard Arnold plus myself spending many hours on this project. During this the team have to cover work so I know how busy we have been not including all the additional work from growing in the first tees and building the pathway at 18th etc.

The MC have backed us by allowing us to bring back Matthew Moules for July and August while he’s back from University. It will be great to have him back as he knows the club well from his two years with us before and this will help agin back some of the hours lost on the project.   

Levis (left ) leaving meal. Jack opposite Levi

Levi Pethick our First Assistant left us in May for new job opportunity working as a Landscape Foreman. Levi had been a major part of our success over the last three and half years and we will miss him greatly but wish him all luck in the world and know he will make a successful career in this. I am sure he will be popping in to catch up with the team and the course.
Following Levi’s departure we have appointed Jack Wills to First Assistant. Jack came back to us from Ferndown last year and has great experience including working in Australia and will be a great addition to the management of the team. 

Matt Tubbs wanted to join a team on the up..

We have appointed a new member of the team who will come in and learn his trade and hopefully carve out a career in Greenkeeping. Matt Tubbs has joined us following a successful professional football career. He played for Bournemouth, Portsmouth, Wimbledon, Crawley and Eastleigh. Matt is also a qualified personal trainer and brings a very level headed approach and passion to succeed.

Members v Staff Match- Well this has not been played since 2007 and we felt confident with players like Lawrence, Adam, Steve, Richard, Graham and Rob all in our team but unfortunately it wasn't to be with the members winning 4-2 after Lawrence conceded a rumoured 20ft putt on the last and our team Captain Mr Young wasn't impressed as he doesn't lose at golf... a record that he has held for years :-) Next year 




Other changes?

You might have also noticed the new yardage posts on the tees and the new 150 posts on the course.  These have been planned for along time and with a Horse Chestnut being taken down from the 7th last year. This was the dried down and made by member John Bolwell. These were then treated by the team and the bonfire crew along with some help from friends, with Handy man Mart finishing them with the spikes. A massive thank you to John for all the hard work and to those that helped. The picture of the post went out on twitter gaining over 12,000 views and loads of positive comments. 

That's all from me and a brief catch up on where we are out on the course. 

Lets hope for some rain showers at night but a great summer for golf!

See you soon 

Matt