We're all in the same boat!

 

Hi All,

 

I wanted to take a quick recap of recent developments out on the course, the changing weather patterns and an update on the reservoir project. 

 

As we all know the rain has been relentless and I can’t remember a wetter period in my career but there are signs things could change for the better soon as the high pressure pushes up from the south bringing warmer afternoons and hopefully less rain. It might even feel like spring has arrived… for now! 

 

It’s worth noting that with all of the modelling, things can change very quickly but this is the forecast right now and it’s the one we need, so I am sticking with it :-) 

 

So far in 2024 we have gone from brisk winds to heavy downpours, the climate has tested the resilience of the course and really highlighted where we can make improvements. 

It’s vital we have time this summer to make those improvements while the ground conditions are dry enough to withstand the heavy machinery.

 

The weather data for this winter looks like this.

 

 

As discussed before, you can see we finished up in 2023 at 1115mm of rain out wettest recorded yet but you can see the issue we have had when laid out against the averages.

 

2024 hasn’t eased up with 85mm of rain in January and 145mm in February and 49mm already recorded in March giving us a grand total of 277mm YTD. 

 

Coming off such a wet end to 2023 and then an awful start to 2024 has meant we have seen an increase in course closures caused by the weather. This is something we never want to do but with the water table being so high and the soils are at field capacity, meaning there is simply no room in the ground, causing any rainfall to just flood the course.

As we dry out going into spring the soils will dry down at a fairly quick rate as they can only ever hold the same amount of water, it’s just overflowing now but we will get a dry period of at least two weeks at some point!

 

A talking industry

As a greenkeeping industry we are all very open and very friendly, we spend our evenings still talking turf and other challenges with each other. 

I am very lucky that I can be speaking to up to 500+ golf clubs through various group chats each day. These range from as far north at Royal Dornoch to the South Coast in Devon, across to the Kent coast and everything in between. I also speak to Course Managers across Europe, Canada, the US, Asia and Australia regularly too. 

I also speak with most of local clubs at least weekly and have access to many of their weather stations. This allows us to compare closures, discuss and talk about the weather. If the rain is coming in from the west I would normally get a message from Parkstone to say they are getting it and it’s on its way to us. Same from the east with Hayling etc. These conversations help us plan when we can spray or fertilise. We all do the same for each other as we know how expensive applications to our turfs can be but it also allows us to compare course closures and trolley bans plus other things, so we know tend to know what is going on in most clubs.

 

One thing I can tell you from all of the conversations from the clubs in the U.K is, we have all found this a tough, tough winter. Even the courses on sand/chalk and not just the courses on clay like us.

The loss of golf is having a huge impact on many clubs not only the revenue streams, competition diaries, and construction/project works along with staff recruitment. The industry is really struggling to find good greenkeepers, especially ones that want to work in the dark all winter and never ending rain and this winter has been a really tough one. 

 

The good news is we are coming out the other side of this storm and we may have some waves of wet and cold but on a whole the weather should keep improving from now on.

 

Maintenance week 

As mentioned in the last blog we have moved the maintenance week in a hope to actually make an impact and to allow us a chance to get some much needed topdressing into the soil profile and to help dilute the thatch in the top 20mm.  Getting machinery around the course has been nearly impossible this winter, let alone tons of sand being driven around. 

 

It would be easy to say let’s not do any aeration after the winter we have just had with the amount of days lost on the course but we need to aerate now more than ever. If you were held underwater and with little no air you might struggle… the grass plant is the same. It needs air to keep healthy and to establish roots. Roots that will feed the plant throughout the season ahead. 

Roots are our insurance policy in a water-deficient period. They enable the grass plant to survive periods of drought more efficiently and with less stress. Less plant stress = less risk of plant diseases.  Aeration isn't just about the present, it is about heading off potential issues in the future. Issues that could impact the playing surface. 

Bunkers being renovated

 

Bunkers

One of the highlights out of the recent weather has been the completed renovation of sixteen bunkers by the skilled hands of the team. 

These bunkers are all part of a rolling continuous improvement plan to help protect the members investment and to stand as a testament to the club's dedication to quality. The newly renovated bunkers are marked as GUR around the revetted edge and newly turfed areas. Please do not play from these until the GUR is removed.

Bunkers edged with irons for a clean fresh look

Most of the remaining bunkers that haven’t been renovated have now been freshly edged by the team with only a few remaining and these should be finished this week. Getting these areas of detail done while the weather in against us feels like a win and will improve us for the season ahead.

 

During the last days of January in the last dry period, we took the opportunity to start to top the bunkers with sand. Once the ground conditions improve the rest will be done as soon as the course is dry enough for us to be running sand about. 

 

Turfing

You also may have noticed the team have been turfing many of the weak areas around the course. These are GUR, please don’t play from any of these areas, they will be reinstated into play once they have rooted.  

 

Reservoir Project 

With the completion of the site clearing, the Heartwoods team attention turned to the extraction operations. It is hoped this will be completed this week and the repairs to the top car park can be started.

The site operations have been slowed by the recent weather but the impact of all the extraction has left some areas within the site area up to 4ft deep in un- walkable mud. Lots of work to establish firm roadways will be started in April while additional works with the second stage clearance works (tree stumps) starting in May. Our Ecologists will continue until July working on various wildlife mitigations. It is worth noting that although a great number of trees have been removed from site, these all had low ecological value and will be replaced as part of the planting scheme with much better species composition, we will also see some of these works on the course too.

I would like to thank the Heartwood team for their professionalism and dedication. We had a lot of ecological restraints, reduced timescales because of bird nesting season (with 56 days of work needed in 29 days) and high rainfall and they still managed to deliver what was required to allow us to continue this project.

I would also like to say ‘thank you’ to the Ecologists. We had seven different Ecologists involved over the last month all working with a Senior Ecologist, this included five Ecologists for Dormouse and two climber Ecologists for bats, all of them making sure we were doing everything set out by Natural England and lastly a ‘thank you’ for the greenstaff who have had to be adaptable and work within the site with a forestry team and being always guided by Ecologists, which is not their normal job but it meant we kept the project to the timescales with them being so flexible. 

 

We will keep you updated on the next phase of the Reservoir Project in the coming weeks and I will be doing site walks when dry enough to show you the members the project. Please do not try to enter the site at any point as this is a “live” site.   

 

Car Park Changes

In response to the evolving needs of the Reservoir project, we have implemented a new layout in both car parks.

The overflow car park has seen bays marked in it to maximise the space. The greenstaff installed a new fence along the bottom to try and hide our material bays but leaving enough room for our sand deliveries.

The roadway widths in between the newly marked bays have been measured correctly to allow cars to be able to leave each space. PLEASE DO NOT PARK IN ANY OF THESE AREAS as you will block someone in and maybe asked to leave the course to move the car (which has happened a few times already).

 

The main car park has seen a new layout which was approved by the planners during our planning application with the council and the clubs safety consultant. In the last two weeks the curb stones were taken away, it was then lowered and tarmacked to give us the second lane.

You will have noticed all the markings have been done apart from the top car park which will need to be added too once Heartwood leave site. 

 

The new two-way road layout through the middle of the car park has been implemented to allow two way access for you the members and for the delivery Lorries for the day to day business of the club.

The member car park will have the right of way over the Lorries and has been marked accordingly but please make sure the Lorries next to you on exit and entrance have stopped and seen you. Please use this two way road through the middle of the car park as the roadway will be out of action soon. We are looking at implementing a secure crash barrier type fencing between the member car parking spots and the road the Lorries will be using.

Yet again we will keep updated with developments on this and will let you know when we can open the top car park again.

 

BTME 2024 and Education

As part of our ongoing commitment to professional development, some of the team recently attended the BTME 2024 conference in Harrogate in January. The team attended courses on irrigation systems, plant soil microbe interactions, biodiversity, bio controls, the R&A vision of sustainable golf, the young

greenkeepers conference and many more.

 I was lucky enough to present a workshop and receive my 4^th Milestone Certificate for CPD.

Levi Pethick successfully completed the FTMI Class of 2023, further enriching his skills in the management side of the industry. This initiative is one of the most recognised in the industry with winners in the class attending weekly webinars, visits to Ipswich for training along with three intensive days at BTME followed by there graduation. A massive congratulations to Levi on completing FTMI.

We also have others in the team undertaking qualifications, Freddy Banks and Matthew Strutt Donnelly have started their Diploma in Greenkeeping Level 2 at Windsor College and Harry Horn going straight back after achieving his “Distinction” in all his Level 2 exams to complete his Level 3 in Sports Turf Management. This participation in further training and education underscores the club's dedication to staying at the forefront of excellence in golf course management.

 

Conclusion

Please do follow the new layouts in the car park, I understand that parking could become harder on busy days but this short-term pain will be worth it in the long run. Please think about car sharing if possible or feel free to come up on the bike if you are close enough and have a locker. Anything would be appreciated and would make a difference. We are only a few parking spaces down with the new layout as long as everyone parks within the bays.  

Despite the weather the team have been extremely busy with a lot being achieved in what will be our wettest period on record. I am proud with how the team have handled this winter and I appreciate the patience and understanding from the membership. I think we are all ready for the sunshine again and to get this season underway.

If only we already had the Reservoir built, it would have been filled by now.

Until the drier weather comes we are all literally in the same boat!

 See you soon

 Matt