CAPEL GOLF COURSE MAINTENANCE

Welcome to another update of the maintenance Blog. Following on from the last instalment, the tees are making a very good recovery from renovations, justifying the decision to postpone the work till warmer conditions could hasten the recovery process. Getting a headstart at 4.30am with alot of work to get through, met with a nice sunrise. and no we don't start at 4.30am so players can also arrive, the course opens at 6.45am the early starts are critical for staff to attend certain duties without worry of players of which we contend with for the rest of the day. Tees were scarified and cleaned off  one tee picked up 17 more double tees to go. Cut down to 5mm with the old walk behind  Solid cored   and sanded  Some tees like the 10th great wall of Capel can't be sanded with the spreader. So it was synchronised sanding  The sand was rubbed in, all tees fertilised ready for recovery. 2 weeks later 

Pull up a chair, grab a coffee and enjoy the latest instalment of the maintenance Blog. During the week I sacrificed the mid morning coffee on one of the warmer days to share some chlorophyll with the locals  now that is sorted .... We have finally started seeing an increase in growth rates from our warm seasons turf areas, (Tees, Fairways and 1st cut Rough) after what has been a very mild spring and particularly cooler November with below average temperatures and overcast conditions. Our warm season turf requires at least 8 hours of direct sunlight and temperatures of 25 degree plus for healthy growth. Temperature and Light intensity play a critical role in photosynthesis in order to produce enough energy to grow and recover from normal wear.  The turf hasn't had the climatic conditions to provide the energy to do so. In the field, the mild conditions have held back recovery growth from winter wear from player traffic on our tees,  a

During the past week we finished preps for the 5th tee ready for turf. Rotary tilled the good stuff in ( organics )  Connor loves the stuff, he says it's good for the immune system ! Jack not so much wearing his charcoal disposposble mask and arm length hi vis. After final levels were set, we also applied carbon products along with molasses, kelp and various elements to "charge" the soil profile, ready to sustain turf growth. All under the ever present watchful eye of our supervisors  he wasn't happy with that particular level  She just wants the turf down  We will turf the area early next week and plan to have it ready for play by the end of December, in time for the 2023 Capel Open.  1 Green RHS improvements. Though this work was not scheduled to commence for a few weeks, with Ron Grant and the loan excator both available and on site with no guarantee when both would be free in future we had to make the most of the opp

Greens are now at 3mm, normal heights in great condition, though will remain a little slower and soft for a few weeks as the nutrients levels balance and we transition from promoting growth for recovery to maintenance mode. They are knitting up nicely and will only benefit from more cuts and a balanced nutrient input. 5th tee works finally moved forward this week. We are not exclusively working on this project, only as time permits between other maintenance tasks. With a small staff and a huge work demand, we are forced to take a longer approach to some projects. With no impact to play,  there is no ETA on completion, but once stage 1 is completed will give us an extra 120m2 of tee space to handle an extra 2000 rounds a year.  More information on stage 2 ( black championship tee area) to come, watch this space....... Volunteers are making progress on the shed with thumbs up 👍  Graham Colton leading the troops. Lastly,  the fairways are responding we

You will have noticed extra rope off areas and hi vis tape near cart path exits and high wear areas. With the increased populatarity of cart use extra wear mitigation measures above that of existing programs are required.  These areas will remain roped off to allow recovery from winter wear. Once recovered will be alternated on a regular cycle. We are also trialling turf cells on path entrances close by greens to determine if they are beneficial in increasing protection preventing premature wear after turfing. Our home made compost from grass clippings and leaf debris is being utilised to even out ruts further from the paths. As we are planning to extend and vary the route of some paths, not all entrance/ exits are being attended to at this time,  or are only having temporary works until the paving works by volunteers is complete.  Should the turf cell trial prove successful they will be added to all new path areas at that time. Please fo

Over the last few days the greens have really kicked along, responding to some extra measures to hasten recovery to claw back some of the lost time. Green Heights are now 4mm and with no sand pick up, are being cut daily. The lower cut and increased frequency will encourage lateral growth and "knitting in" of the surface. I anticipate they will be back to 3mm by the end of next week. Greens will remain soft and a little slower for a little while yet and will gradually firm up and gain speed as we progress the transition away from recovery. Please continue repairing your pitch marks, it is an important part of the process. Till next time Happy Hooking.

There comes a point after renovations during the recovery process where the greens are at their absolute worst to play on....you know the feeling of putting away the putter and pulling out the driver ! As greenkeepers we don't like to admit that the greens at this point are, let's just say, no fun to Putt on, and whilst we don't do renovations for fun, we do enjoy it, as we know all the long hours, hard work and player dissatisfaction during the period  has huge longer term benefits for the greens for the upcoming season. Amending soil profiles, increasing air and water infiltration / perculation and generally increasing root health so the top surface can better withstand the upcoming summer period is an age old recipe for green health without which the greens would rapidly deteriorate during the environmental stresses of summer. I'm pleased to say we have now passed that point, the past weekend was that point where the greens were at their absolute worst to play on, al

7 days after renovations and the stark difference a lost day during renovations can make is very noticeable. I mentioned in my last update, we had an interupted renovation period, particularly when sanding the greens. Once the sand is out we need it dry to be able to rub the sand into the core holes and beneath the turf canopy. Unfortunately everytime the sand was dry enough to rub in, we had a shower of rain. If rubbed in wet, the sand bridges the core  holes and does not fill them, smudging the crowns of the plant. picture on Day 6 shows still too much sand on surface on a green that could not be rubbed in when due. At day 6 it is looking at the stage we would expect day 2. This green was one of the few we managed to get rubbed in before showers. At the stage we would expect day 7. The difference between the two highlights the loss of one day during renovations puts us 6 days behind in recovery. It isn't just the rub in process that is affected, it also fl

I was out on the greens Sunday morning and was surprised to see how many unrepaired and incorrectly repaired ball marks were left from Saturday. We know they were definitely only from Saturday as the greens were broomed late Friday and no marks were visible. I was surprised because our members are normally very good, repairing there own and others. some greens had up to 30  a small section of 2 green A timely reminder the greens are at their most susceptible to damage immediately after renovations during their recovery period. The more damage caused during this time, the longer the recovery process so extra care on and around the green is critical at this time.  An incorrectly repaired ball mark which would take 14 days to heal !!!  In the course care section on this blog there is an instructional on how players can repair pitch marks correctly.  see here So on Sunday I spent a few hours repairing as I went around. Here is a typical sunny side down b