CAPEL GOLF COURSE MAINTENANCE

The course tolerated the extreme heat last week very well with only a few minor issues with the greens, most problems were on the back 9 fairways and roughs mainly from cart tracks and wilted areas due to the inadequate manual irrigation system on the back 9. Most of the Back 9 Fairways could not be irrigated since the Friday before and then when they were in the heat, taking 14 hours to complete one cycle, despite all our efforts most of the irrigation applied was ineffective with the result easy to see. The areas affected will recover in time. This week is also set to be a difficult one with the heat, although temperatures are expected to be slightly lower wind is expected to be strong and gusty, this will have more of an adverse impact than last week with the wind contributing to drying out the surface areas but more importantly also impacting on Irrigation Uniformity. Some dry patch areas are to be expected under these conditions, though we will endeavor to limit any issues withi...

A very busy week this one was, Starting with the preparations and set up for a full field in the  SW Vets on Monday, Bunker Edging to all green side bunkers on top of the Daily and weekly course Maintenance  including the manual irrigation of the back 9 along with edging paths and tidying up tee box walls and edges then rounding it off with laying the turf for the 2nd Black tee box today. I am relieved to finally have this project drawing to completion as it has been a thorn in my side for the past few months with limited time to attend the construction work, doing it in bits and pieces where we could fit it in.  We still have a few minor works on the tee and surrounds to do, including relocating the tee box sign and trimming a few branches for line of sight just to name a few. We will be using portable hoses to irrigate the area till Winter when we will extend the pipe lines and add permanent sprinkler coverage for the area.   But the turf is down and ca...

It was nice to have some rain last week, in all 45mm fell in 24hrs,  it freshened the course up nicely allowing us to turn the irrigation pumps off for the rest of the week giving the staff a break from constant manual water shifts including having to return in the afternoon and evenings  for irrigation on the back 9. Without the need for manual water shifts we were able to spend  a little time progressing the 2nd Men's Black Tee construction work which is now very close to having turf laid once some more consolidation of the banks are complete. It seems like this project is taking forever, we constantly have to remind ourselves we only have 4 staff and with the manual irrigation sucking up huge chunks of time along with the extra mowing requirements of the course through summer with all essential course maintenance taking priority does not leave a great deal left for extra projects such as this one. The recovery of the rough areas from herbicide treatments over th...

The front 9  fairway renovation went well with strong growth occurring, alleviating some compaction and more importantly allowing the gases exchange from the root-zone,  this should hold them in good position for summer. You would have noticed the yellowing saltine in the greens I have taken advantage of the mild weather conditions being more aggressive with measures for Saltine and Crab grass in the greens than previous years. The Saltine will stand out more so than normal as it discolours with the herbicide effect, as a result it may appear there is more than usual in the greens, there isn't it just seems that way with the discolouration making it stand out more. Unfortunately due to the vigorous nature of the grass, control measures are more for   suppression and long term control than immediate eradication. Further due to the high risks of photo-toxicity to the bent grass in warmer weather, product applications are ceased during summer. The initial t...

Fairway renovations were completed successfully today in time for the competition, my thanks to the contractors Sussex Turf Control and our own staff for for the long hours put in yesterday to ensure we were completed by hit off today. Only some product application is left to complete tomorrow.   Renovations went as smooth as they could go, I am expecting a very good result which will be almost immediate but will take a few weeks for the full benefits to kick in and stand the fairways in good shape for summer. As part of the renovation process  we did apply some post emergent herbicide to the short roughs on the front 9  for various weed control, this will cause the turf to discolour (brown off), this is only a temporary side effect and will soon be back to normal conditions. Further spraying to the back 9 short roughs will take place in December with more or less the same effects.  

A notice to all players to advise The front 9 Fairways will be Cored commencing next Monday the 23rd November. Surface disruption will result during the process and for few weeks after till the core holes completely heal.  It is not expected to impact on competition fields as we hope to be well advanced by Tuesday afternoon and other than the initial coring and cleaning off minimal interference with play should be encountered. However unforeseen circumstances may arise that delay or slow down the work which are out of our control,  should you come to a fairway with workers carrying out their duties, please DO NOT HIT , if playing socially miss the hole and continue on the next, if in Competition wait to be called. Your cooperation in this matter is important for the safety of contractors and staff.  Thank you. This maintenance work is vitally important for the continued high standard our fairways are in and expect the success of last years renovations on the ba...

The greens continue their strong recovery from renovations, we have been cutting at 3mm for the last week with double cuts commencing this week .  The greens may still be slightly slower specially for afternoon players as we continue to have very strong growth rates due to the remaining active fertiliser applied for recovery and the optimal cooler temperatures with some humidity also increasing growth rates. At this stage we are not applying any growth regulators to control growth as we still need some recovery occurring but should tamper off over the coming weeks with subsequent improvement in pace. The 9th tee extension will be open soon, a decrease in height of cut and a 3rd sanding to smooth any irregularities will be carried out prior to markers being placed in the area. The 2nd tee is taking longer to attend as it is a low priority task with us only working on the tee when time permits.  Many members would not realise we have been operating at only 75% c...