August Greenkeeper Update

Another month with very little or no rainfall has meant the majority of the course is looking extremely dry.  These prolonged spells put extreme pressure on the course and although we have irrigation its only really enough to be able to keep the greens, tees and approaches watered fully.

Despite continued spiking and spraying of water retainers and even hand watering there are still some very dry spots on those areas and also some wet areas where the water collects due to the amount of water needed each night. The Irrigation starts at 10 pm and is still running at 4 am in the morning to be able to get the amount of water we need onto the areas, by that time the tanks are empty and need to be refilled.

We have not irrigated the 5 fairways that we have it on as it would mean reducing the amount of water and time on the greens, tees and approaches. I have not know a year with more broken irrigation and especially the sprinkler heads and I suppose it is to be expected with the constant use, most other years we have been able to rest the pumps and the system when it rains.

We have had these conditions partially before and eventually grass returns with some prolonged rain, so hopefully it will be the same again.

The greens are performing well and their condition is good with reasonable growth and good grass coverage especially where we reseeded. We continue to spike them every other week and apply the nutrients to keep them in good condition, the thatch eater that was applied in April/May is doing its job well and reducing it year after year. Every month the greens, surrounds and the tees are fertilised using biological stimulants which helps promote great root growth, strong disease control but without the luminous lush and soft green sward that chemical only courses get which is better for the upkeep.

I have one eye on September and the approaching Autumn as historically we get the first Fusarium outbreaks in the first weeks of September. This along with early leaf fall can make the summer turn very quickly into autumn and after mid September we start to clear and mulch leaf covered areas to stop the build ups.

Hopefully we will get some prolonged rain at some time soon so that the aquifers start to fill again and our grass can recover before winter.