CAPEL GOLF COURSE MAINTENANCE

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

Spring Green and front 9 fairway renovations are complete for another year. Despite some interruptions at the mid point with light showers we managed to complete on time (just) with a successful outcome so far.  Over the course of 3 days  Greens were verti cut x 2  1.5 million cores were removed from the greens 60 ton of sand applied and rubbed in  Fairways were cut down to 5mm  6 million cores pulled up on the front 9 fairways before being smashed and rubbed back in With over 200 dedicated labour hours. We also had magnificent help from regular and one off volunteers to pick up the cores. My thanks to the volunteers (to many to name) for their valuable help without it, it would make renovations that much longer and more difficult. sand on greens near dry enough to start rubbing in. Then it rains!!!!! Thankyou to my wonderful staff for putting in the hard yards and long hours for another successful renovations despite the weather   We anticipate a recovery perio