The team have been doing an excellent job on the course and conditions are pretty good overall. There are a couple of issues currently which I will explain in this weeks newsletter entry.
Firstly, there is a growing concern with a lack of rain and we must now turn our attentions to keeping the grass alive.
Secondly, Clover is beginning to show it’s ugly head and we will have to begin to tackle this too.
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Drought
Although we have been enjoying a nice dry spring so far, unfortunately there is always a downside to every good thing when you are a Greenkeeper.
The lack of rain has led to the turf starting to show signs of stress and over the last few days the cold easterly wind has exacerbated this, causing the turf to go into shock.
There are never ideal conditions unfortunately and it is all about how we respond to the ever changing weather conditions that we face.
Irrigation is the obvious step in keeping the turf alive and our priorities will now turn to the watering system. Over the next week we will be taking the following steps to manage the turf through this cold dry spell:
- Making repairs to the system in order to have it operating as well as possible.
- Mowing will be carried out much less to avoid causing additional stress to the turf, particularly on the greens.
- Wetting agent will be applied to help maintain moisture levels in the soil.
Although we can take these steps to help the situation it is important to be aware that the surfaces may not perform as well as a result.
- The irrigation water is colder than rain which lowers soil temperatures, further slowing down growth and recovery of the turf.
- We also only have irrigation to the greens so it is possible that other areas may suffer a loss of grass cover.
- Less mowing will mean that the surfaces may be less even and the ball may not roll as well as normal.
- The team of Greenkeepers may need to be on the course watering whilst you are playing.
Please be as tolerant as you can and we hope that your enjoyment of the course is not severely impacted during this time.
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Clover & other weeds
Clover has always been a problem at Hunley and it is the time of year where it begins to spread and become an issue. There are other weeds on the course that need our attention too, but it is clover that has the biggest impact on play due to balls being lost beneath its foliage.
Here is a bit of information in regards to the weeds on the course:
- Clover, dandelion and daisies are the main turf weeds on the course currently.
- The size of the course makes it difficult to keep on top of the problem.
- Chemicals are more and more limited now and less effective than in the past, which is due to more and more legislation being imposed on their use.
- The cold, dry spell we are currently experiencing will mean that the chemical will be slow to take effect as the plants are not actively growing like we would expect.
- We have begun spot treating weeds near the greens and on the tees first.
- Rough will be the next area to be treated in an attempt to reduce the risk of lost balls.
Despite these difficulties we will make every effort to get the course as good as we can and limit the issues that can detract from your enjoyment of the game.
Finally there will be a course walk held in the not too distant future and more information will be sent out in due course.
Hope you all have a good week and there will be more from me next week.
Cheers
Greg