As the dust finally settles on 2018 and we finally put all the Christmas decorations away and the empty bottles in the recycling bin, it's time to look back and forward.
It's like making the turn on the course and realising how bad the front 9 went, or at least how good the front 9 went but what is for certain, as we look to the back 9 we have HOPE. We hope things will turn round or things will continue to keep getting better and better...that's a human trait.
When I look back over the last twelve months, I know it's been an interesting one! I can safely say it was the hardest year I ve had as a greenkeeper. We all know I am obsessed with the weather and that's because it affects everyday life for us, everyday decisions, everyday outcomes or comments back in. It affects budgets and resources and whatever weather we get we have no control over... None of this can be planned. What we can do is plan our best way out of each situation, we can change plans on the last minute if needed and have back up plans, we can plan using the seasons (even though they are shifting) and we can use the weather to forecast our plans. Last year we have had to learn and adapt more than ever but do you know what? I loved it...
Below is a link to Video I have made summing up 2018 in four minutes. The team at Stoneham have been great during the challenging year and that includes all the clubhouse and pro shop staff. Teams get you through difficult situations, individuals don't. A massive thank you to the team!
Please enjoy the video :- https://youtu.be/v2P71CNDx14
2018 started off started off wet, very wet. This was mainly due to the wet end of 2017, this then carried on with 280mm of rain in the first 3 months plus 10 days of snow. We thawed out from the first round of snow in time for the February greens maintenance, something I had been considering a lot and all the data said it was the best time to do it... we did it and got it finished only for the "Beast from the East" to arrive with more snow and freezing conditions.
I had never seen snow on the beach and told my son he would not see it again in his lifetime or at least until he was a man and then two weeks later it snowed again on the beach! At that point I should have realised it was not going to be a normal year. Interestingly, the greens had fully recovered by the week we were planning to hold Maintenance week at the end of March, meaning we had better greens for extra month nearer the season. Imagine if we had a good spring!
So the cold SSW (Sudden Stratospheric Warming) which is a swift jump in temperatures linked to cold weather was our biggest worry in March and April as temperatures dropped and so did the growth and recovery around the course. The rain came down heavy again in April with low temps meaning no evaporation so things were wet. This highlighted some areas that will required drainage in the future including some greens and the 18th fairway near the top was almost un-walkable. This has since been drained as part of the bunker project and has been good ever since.
By July we were now getting close to beating 1976.. the hottest year on record. The down side was grass coverage and heather. We just could not get enough water out, we watered all day and all night where we could. Golf clubs with fairway watering were putting out so much that eventually they had to make the decision to stop due to costs or licences meaning they would not have enough water for greens. We concentrated on Greens, we moisture probed all day long and applied enough to water to cover ET (evaporation). The tees showed how badly are aging system is and things we need to do to improve it. These were also getting hand watered along with the heather areas that we could reach. Unfortunately the fairways took the biggest hit by August, everything we were taught in college about grass species had gone out of the window. This left Greenkeepers and Agronomists all over the country asking questions to why? The hottest and most prolonged heat for 42 years was the answer.
We had great tans, good bbqs and amazing golfing weather but even that became a chore with evening or early morning golf becoming the answer. In short... even the golf course got sunburnt and now our next three seasons (Autumn,Winter and Spring) will be taken up repairing the damage for the new season.
The other big bonus being there was no delay to phase 3 of the bunker project. We finished nearly 40 days ahead of the previous year, mainly down to the weather. The heather turfing was finished in December like previous years due to only being able to be lifted until mid November.
The work in phase 3 has been dramatic and enhanced some holes that previously not as visually impacting as other holes on the course. What has come out of the bunker project, is a modern version of Stoneham, a more aesthetically pleasing with increased 'risk and reward' for the golfer. I think the changes have been fantastic!
Our other battle, the leaves (remember those trees get bigger each year) started in October and is still going on with small amounts of drift from the winter winds in January, these drifts tend to blow leaves out of woodland areas around the course and these gather in ditches (which have been cleared 3 times already this winter, this alone take three peoples two full days ) They also get stuck in the heather. Again these are constantly blown out. All leaves with the course are collected are moved with Trilo or Grillo (big hoovers) these are not just blown into the woods. We average about 10 loads a day moved from play to dump sites within the boundary and we spend over 900 man hours on leaves alone during October and December each year (as recorded on G2C).
Along with the leaf clearance work, we have been working hard on hollow coring/solid tinning the playing surfaces while topping up bunkers from the sand lost during the year.
The main area for our attention (outside of the greens) has the fairways, these took the biggest impact during the drought and these have been scarified, hollow tinned, wet agents applied, fertilisers applied (both granular and liquids) and over seeded. Over seeding fairways costs thousands of pounds and the club know we may have to go again in spring in some areas. The mild weather at the the end of 2018 finally helped us as most of the seed established. Yes, we still will see an increase in moss and weeds. We knew that would happen due to the grasses thinning out. These are easily fixed and something we will be addressing in the the spring renovations.
During this time the EU Banned some major chemicals from being used within horticulture. The withdrawal of chemicals used to suppress worms has gone, meaning worms cannot be touched and worm casts is a battle that only reducing OM levels and brushing will help. We have already upped our hollow coring in the last two years to fairways and from 2019 we will be boxing off (collecting clippings) fairways as the club have invested heavily in new fairway mowers.
We have also seen bans to pesticides used to stop the grubs from eating the roots of the grass plants (this might not be a bad thing enviromentally). This again will cause other issues as birds will peck these areas as they look for a tasty snack. We are looking at encouraging Starlings as these eat the grubs but they have smaller beaks causing little to no damage. Watch out for more on this...
The big withdrawals have come in for products used to prevent turf diseases on greens or as I would call them the 'get out jail free card' for those of you who play monopoly. Improved cultural practices like we have been doing for the last three years with monthly aeration to keep the plants healthy, good drainage and air flow will be needed too. Looking at increasing our speed of bringing in more disease tolerant grass species. A greater understanding from golfers across Europe is going to have come as disease outbreaks will happen on any turf from time to time but is how quick we can get recovery and keeping the plants resistants up. In other words, we will keep the vitamins high and hope not to get to many flu's!!!
All in all, with the practice ground project, the final phase of the bunker project, the aeration being upped, the woodland management, the drainage work, the drought, the snow, the cold and the mild plus the new regulations, it's been a learning year. It's been a good year and we have a lot to be positive about. Stoneham has come along way this year and in the last three years and we plan to keep improving. When I think of 2018... Wow, what a year!
See you all soon
Matt
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