Pitch mark repair

Although pitch marks on the greens are not a major problem at Aldeburgh due to the firm nature of the putting surfaces it's still worthwhile learning how to repair them properly.   Click the link below for an excellent video on pitch mark repair created by the STRI. 


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvNVBjI3rhs

USA trip

Last week I was privileged to attend the rather grandly titled John Deere Golf Global Leadership Summit in Florida.  Course Managers and Superintendents from high end golf clubs on both sides of the Atlantic were invited to discuss a variety of topics including

• Measuring greens quality
• Major golf event management
• The challenges of operating a prestigious golf facility
• Equipment trends and technical needs
• Golf course construction and renovation 

About twenty course managers from Europe and a similar number from north America attended and many big name clubs were represented.  Spending a few days in the company of Course Managers from clubs including Augusta, TPC Sawgrass, Kiawah, Atlanta Athletic Club, Royal Aberdeen, St Enedoc, Queenwood and Royal Blackheath was a marvellous experience.

The event also included the John Deere Ryder cup where teams of sixteen greenkeepers from Europe and north America competed.  Europe lost 3.5 to 4.5 but it was a fantastic occasion played in a great spirit.  We played golf on three courses, Plantation Bay near Daytona, the stadium course at TPC Sawgrass and the Valley course at TPC Sawgrass over which the Ryder cup match was played.

Warming up for the big match on the amazing practice facilities

 Assessing the effects of various operations such as mowing, grooming and rolling on greens quality                        Measured with the STRI trueness meter

The 11th on the stadium course

The iconic 17th

The 18th on the stadium course

One of the jobs of the greenkeeping team is dealing with the alligators when they get too large
I learned how to catch one but I'm hoping never to have the opportunity to put this knowledge into practice!

October weather summary

The average figures for the last 30 years show October as the wettest month and this year we had 63mm, by far the wettest of the year so far.  It was the first month this year with higher than average rainfall but well short of our October record of 130mm in 2000.  The total for the year is still only 299mm.  It was also warmer than average at 13 degrees compared with the long term average of 11.9.  October was only slightly cooler than June this year which averaged 13.6.  We recorded a high of 20.9 degrees on the 8th and a low of 4.1 on the 30th. 

Stormy weather

The high winds on Monday brought down many trees on the course and in the woodland. (Up to 67.8 mph was recorded at Slaughden)  The clearing up will take a few weeks.

Here is a selection of photos

Several poplars down on golf lane

Behind the 2nd green on the river course

Jerry Jones making a start on the clearance work

The pump house right of the 9th, several other trees were brought down in this copse

October rainfall

We're half way through the month and it's already the wettest of the year with 36.2mm so far!

Verti-draining greens

We've just started Verti-draining the greens on the river course.  This work will be completed in a couple of days and later this week we'll start on the main course.

Aeration is a vitally important aspect of our management regime enabling us to maintain firm dry surfaces all year round.  It counteracts the compacting effects of foot traffic and machinery.

Although aeration has a short term detrimental effect on the playing surfaces - particularly greens, there are many benefits.

• It improves the air content of the soil creating healthy growing conditions
• Root mass and depth is increased
• Drainage is improved and surface penetration of rainfall and irrigation is faster
• Drought resistance is increased
• Thatch accumulation is reduced

We aim to Verti-drain the greens every four to six weeks throughout the winter and spring.

Weather summary for August and September

The average temperature for August was 18 degrees, the second warmest on our records.  The highest temperature recorded was 25.8 and the lowest 10.3.  The total rainfall was 22.6mm which is less than half the average for August.
September was close to average temperature wise at 14.5 degrees with a high of 26.2 and a low of 6.5.  There was 34mm of rainfall, which kept the trend going of every month this year having below average rainfall.
The total rainfall so far this year is 235mm so unless the remainder of the year is incredibly wet it looks like we're going to have another sub 400mm year.
The four driest years on record (2006, 2009, 2010, 2011 were all under 400mm) have fallen in the last seven years.  2011 was the driest with only 298mm. 
Our average annual rainfall is 546mm and the wettest year on record is 2001 with 750mm.

Grass snake on the 7th fairway

Views of grass snakes are usually brief but today one decided to cross the 7th fairway around midday.  Most of the ones that we see are fairly small but this one was about 80cm long.

Cobwebs

It was misty and damp this morning and large areas of the gorse and long grass were covered in amazing cobwebs.

Overseeding

We're over seeding the greens this week to get more of the fine fescue grasses established.  The greens will be hollow cored first, followed by over seeding and top dressing.  The work will take a few days as the hollow coring and clearing up afterwards is a slow process.  Our aim is to keep all of the greens in play and minimise the impact on members. 

Danny top dressing the 16th green