The
cold dry weather has been limiting growth on the greens over the last few weeks
and this has resulted in them looking very patchy as the difference between the
fine grasses and the struggling meadow grass is emphasized. Things are now warming up slowly and the
heavy rain on the 31st of May (doubling the monthly total) will give
us some growth to work with.
This
winter’s very mild and wet winter has given the meadow grass a real boost which
is unhelpful as our long term strategy is to minimise the percentage of this
weed grass in the greens. The fine
grasses that dominate our greens give us the best chance of providing high
quality playing surfaces all year round. We can’t afford to let the meadow
grass get too much of a foothold and after this winter it is at historically
high levels. We will therefore be making
a big effort to create conditions that favour the fine grasses over the coming
months. This primarily involves putting
the weed grasses under mild drought stress, so expect the greens to continue
slightly drier and firmer over the summer.
Our
overall work programme will be very similar to previous years and as always is
based on low inputs of fertiliser and water combined with over-seeding with
fine grasses.
Key
elements of the greens maintenance programme include:
- Maintain
a height of cut of 5mm or above unless a slightly lower height is required for
major events. Rest the greens from
mowing at least one day per week and more when they are under drought stress
and growth is limited. There is clear
evidence to show that as cutting heights are reduced the chances of maintaining
fine fescue grasses also reduces.
- Use
nitrogen only fertilisers from acidifying sources at low rates. We plan to increase slightly our application
levels from previous years to maintain green health under the planned mild
drought stress. Timing of the main
fertiliser applications will be from June to the end of July when the fescue
grasses are at their strongest.
- Keeping
the greens as dry as possible without stressing the fine grasses too much. Irrigation will be applied to maintain a
moisture content of circa 10% so that we maximise the time that the greens are
under mild drought stress.
- Using
groomers, brushes, verti-cuts and rollers just enough to maintain surface
refinement but no more as any over use favours the meadow grass.
- Top
dressing every four to six weeks to maintain smooth surfaces
- Regular
aeration to maintain a free draining, uncompacted soil which encourages deep
rooting and a healthy soil
- Over-seeding
to increase the percentage of fine modern grass cultivars in the greens
Green speed
Our
strategy for maintaining all year target green speeds between 8 and 10ft for
normal play centres on developing greens dominated by fine grasses that naturally
provide higher speed and keeping the greens as dry as possible. Many of the standard practices for increasing
green speed such as lowering the height of cut and increasing the frequency of
rolling, brushing and grooming are known to adversely affect the finer grasses
– particularly the fescues which dominate at Aldeburgh. We therefore have less short term ability to
influence green conditions than other courses with non fescue greens, our conditions
being reliant on excellent long term management techniques. If we push too hard we will lose out in the
long term. As can be seen in the key
elements of greens maintenance section above we are attempting to strike a very
fine balance with many aspects of greens maintenance.
Clover
The
mild winter gave clover in the fairways a real boost and this spring there was
much more than we normally see. As soon
as the weather warmed up enough in May for good growth the fairways were
sprayed with selective weed killer. This
has been very effective in knocking back the clover.
Rough
The
mild winter has seen the formation of a dense base to much of the long rough
contrary to our aim of maintaining wispy rough during the summer which is thin
enough for golf balls to be found but challenging to play out of. We are closely monitoring the position and some
areas have already been cut as it was getting too thick.
Last
year the rough remained thin throughout the summer but this year it looks like
we’ll have to cut the thickest areas when they get too dense and penal. When we cut the rough we always remove the
cuttings as this helps to thin out the sward by removing nutrients.
Approaches
Our
approaches are an area of weakness with too much coarse ryegrass which is
unsightly and has a detrimental effect on playing quality. This year we intend to focus on improving
these areas through, over seeding, top dressing, aeration, verti-cutting and
use of a selective herbicide called Rescue which controls ryegrass and
Yorkshire fog. We tried this product out
on the 17th approach last year and it worked well. The weed control work will take place in late
summer and will result in temporary discolouration and thinning of the turf.
Gorse, bramble and
bracken control
Over
the last few weeks we have been spot spraying encroaching bramble and
gorse. This work will continue over the
summer. Later in the summer we will
continue with bracken control work throughout the course and heathland.
