Contrary to what the title might suggest, this edition of course corner is not about stories of broken dreams following that shot that destroyed your round! No, this edition is to let you know about works that have gone on this week to take advantage of the superb growing conditions we have had and look like continuing to have for the next month or so in preparation for winter, and a fantastic course going into next spring. This week our friends at Twin View Turf have brought in a machine with a strange name to give our fairways a renovation prior to the end of the growing season.
On Monday and Wednesday of this week we had TVT’s Aggravator running around the fairways. This machine features 200mm long / 20mm diameter solid tine aeration on a roller with vibration action. As opposed to standard hole punching aerators such as our Pro-Core which is used on our greens and surrounds, the Aggravator aggressively looks to break up compaction of the ground, shattering soil underneath to improve water infiltration and root density. As you can see in our video, the soil penetration and disturbance created is extensive, which allows for increased absorption of water and fertiliser through increased water penetration and better drainage.
This level of ground disturbance obviously comes with some impact on course playability in the short term. Whilst we have rolled and cut fairways following these works, which has greatly smoothed the playing surface, the match committee have been advised that there will be a period of play that requires the use of preferred lies. We anticipate this will be limited to a 2 week period, but keep watching those local rule boards for further information.
In conjunction with the fairway decompaction programme, we have also run our Pro-Core across the greens for a light aeration in continuation of our long term, minimally invasive greens protocol. Our goal is to present the greens year long in the best condition possible without the need for invasive and extensive renovation periods. From the feedback we have been receiving, this programme has been appreciated by members. Greens will typically run a little slower, but have better health and consistency across the course and week to week. Congratulations to James and the crew on the implementation and management of this system, and also on getting rid of those pesky mushrooms…. Next target around the course are those ant mounds….
Following last week’s storms we are still in course recovery mode, with many bunkers still out of play. We are continuing to work through these items, including the course mowing programme, bunker edging, bunker repair, tree branch removal, reinstatement of waste areas, and general clean up. We have been greatly aided by the increased grass coverage across the course which has reduced runoff and limited erosion which has typically been a major impact in sudden storm events. Given the amount of water that fell, we are very happy with the course’s resilience and playability, and hope that all of our members have had the chance to enjoy the course and the softer conditions!
