Last week was spent mostly between spraying rescue and working on the new Green at Rawcliffe. We had hoped to get the bulk of the spraying completed however most of the days were too windy.
This wasn’t a major problem though as instead of spraying we began transporting rootzone for the new green at Rawcliffe, from the old green site at Clarks Brook. Interestingly it was quickly evident that there won’t be enough rootzone on Clarks Brook alone, as while excavating we could see a lack of depth to the original construction. This will mean additional material will be required to obtain the correct depth of rootzone so to properly complete the new green construction at Rawcliffe. We will need to order some additional rootzone which will hold up progress however we have now started to build the second green side bunker instead. It’s now beginning to take shape though and I’m looking forward to getting the seed sown in what should only be a matter of weeks!
Everything is still being mown as growth is still strong. Turf condition is excellent and this bodes well for successful treatment with rescue as the active ingredient will be well absorbed by the plant. We can already see signs of the turf discoloring and over the next couple of weeks yellowing will occur to the course species of Ryegrass and Yorkshire fog. This will then lead to some thin areas as well as potentially bare areas too. Depending on the severity of turf loss will dictate what action we will take next.
Rough and Fairways are unlikely to need any further action, with the turf filling in on it’s own in time. Areas closer to the Green that suffer any significant turf loss may need overseeding, fertilising and in isolated areas maybe even returfing.
The removal of the course grasses result in better quality playing surfaces but will also reduce maintenance requirements. In the Rough it will thin down aggressive growing species leaving finer, lighter roughs.