Course Management

Course Managers Report

July 2010

Included at the end of this report are the weather summaries for May and June. It is worth pointing out some comparisons from previous years. The average rainfall for the first six months of the year over the last ten years is 352.4mm, for the same period this year the figure is 163mm. In fact for June alone the ten year average has been 56mm, this June we have recorded 32.5mm. It becomes very obvious that besides the current dry period we are experiencing, the general trend in rainfall is very low for the year to date.

Greens

We are currently cutting the greens on a daily basis at 4mm, having said that we are taking every opportunity to reduce stress on the surfaces during this dry period. We therefore do not cut everyday of the week and roll the greens on days when we do not cut.

During June in preparation for the busy competition schedule we used pedestrian mowers on the greens and reduced the height of cut to 3.5mm. In combination with this we rolled using our True Surface Roller which really helps to smooth out the surface and add pace without reducing the height of cut. This practice is continued through out the year as it is far more sustainable and less harmful to the finer grasses than constantly reducing the height of cut for short term gains.

The green speed for Captain’s Day was 9.5 and for the Open Qualifier they were running at between 10.5 and 11. This speed was the same as last year but we were cutting at 0.5mm higher than last year. For general play we aim for around 9 feet given prevailing weather and ground conditions.

As part of our yearly management of the putting surfaces we use a wetting agent to help the soil profile hold onto water. This helps dramatically to reduce the stress placed on the turf through drought and also helps to reduce the amount of irrigation water applied through these dry periods. We have been trialling a new product on Highgate greens this year and have found significant improvements in comparison to our original product. In fact the original product is still being used on the Lodge greens and through this current dry spell Lodge greens have suffered significantly more with desiccation and therefore stress than the Highgate greens. As this product is far more advanced than existing products and has greater technology and research behind it, it does cost significantly more but given our experiences using the product I feel it is a worthy added expense. There are many new products which come onto the market, a large percentage of these have no greater value than the products we currently use but this one given our trials and the adoption of this products by many other golf courses has given this product greater significance.

Greens Aeration

The scheduled dates for greens aeration area as follows; 6th - 8th September for the Highgate Course and 13th – 15th September for the Lodge Course. You will probably be aware that we have increased the period between Spring and Autumn aeration, this is largely due to the more focussed approach to our aeration using bench marks in term of Organic matter (Thatch), the reduction over the last five years of fertilizer and water applied thereby not giving the grass plant the conditions to produce organic matter. The other area which has greatly reduced the amount of thatch produced is the increase in top dressing applied which helps to dilute the organic matter along with all the other well documented benefits that top dressing has. These practices have ultimately increase the percentages of the finer grasses which naturally produce less organic matter due to their ability to grow roots which penetrate deeper into the soil profile. The planned work will involve hollow coring using 15mm tines, Verti draining using 15mm solid tines and over-seeding with a Fesue/bent mix. These processes will be followed by top dressing using in the region of 30 tonnes per course. I have recently taken soil sample from six greens on each course to be sent away for testing to ascertain our current Organic Matter percentages (Thatch), this will allow me to further refine my aeration programme as highlighted in previous reports and remove any major aeration from our spring renovation programme, if the results are favourable, and thereby reducing the impact on the putting surfaces at a time in the year when our greens can be below standard given the unpredictable weather during the spring period.

Bunkers

We are currently exploring new bunker rakes which are placed in all bunkers for members use. Our current supplier will cease to manufacture the current model, this gives us the opportunity to explore new models and improve on our existing rake. I have placed a number of new style rakes on the 1st Lodge and the 1st Highgate to enable you to try them out. This rake is being widely adopted by many clubs as it leaves very little disturbance to the surfaces and has a more smoothing action rather than leaving lines in the sand. These rakes will also be used at St Andrews and have the endorsement of the R&A.

I will only start to replace existing rakes when needed through breakage; this will give us time to asses the effectiveness of the new rakes.

General

On Wednesday 30th June Lorne Smith from ‘Fine Golf’ visited Enville with a view to complete a review and include Enville on his ‘Fine Golf’ website. It is worthwhile investigating this site but below is an overview of what ‘Fine Golf’ is about. Lorne will be writing an initial short review with a view to completing a comprehensive review in the future.

Numerous guides have emerged to advise which courses to play describing their choices as the ‘Top’ or the ‘Best’ or ‘Greatest’. Our contention is that Frank Pennick’s book “Golfer’s Companion” published in 1962 and updated by this independent website, is still the most reliable guide to the Finest courses in Great Britain and Ireland.

Lorne Smith acquired a copy in the early 1960s and over 40 years later achieved his ambition of playing them all. In the process he became a fan of Pennink’s attitude to golf and a champion of Jim Arthur’s conservationist  greenkeeping methods laid out in his visionary and most enjoyable book “Practical Greenkeeping” published in 1997 by the Royal and Ancient Golf Club.

Jonathan Wood

Course Manager

Enville Golf Club

July 2010

Winter Renovation Schedule

Autumn 2010 – Spring 2011

Highgate

Bunker and green surrounds renovations

10th – As planned last year

16th – Renovation to existing mounding at rear of the green, a continuation of work completed in 2007 whilst remodeling the bunkers and surrounds left and right.

Tee Renovations

These project listed below will involve taking the existing turf off, leveling the tee and laying new turf. The majority of the tees listed below, with the exception of the 14th white tee, are some of the original tees and are of poor quality. It is our aim to improve the levels and turf quality to bring our tees up to the required acceptable standard.

3rd – White and yellow

7th – White and yellow

8th – Yellow

14th – White

4th – The existing standing area next to the 4th tee is of poor quality through golf traffic eroding the original path material. It is our intention to improve this area by turfing the surrounding area and connecting the path through the carry down the side of the tee.

Lodge

Bunker and green surrounds renovations

6th – As planned last year.

8th – As planned last year.

11th – new green – finish surrounds and contour old fairway bunker area.

12th – Complete new bunker.

Tee renovations

13th – White and yellow

Practice Facility

Short Game Area

It is our intention this winter to build the 3rd chipping green to complete the short game practice facility. This third green will give us a practice facility which will cover all short game shots and complete a facility which is the envy of many golf club members.

If the current dry weather conditions persist then it is envisaged that we will start work on this green very shortly.

Target greens

To improve and give greater definition to the main practice area we are planning to build a number of target greens to refine and improve the existing area. These greens will be raised to give a greater more appealing target.

Jonathan Wood

Course Manager

Enville Golf Club

July 2010

Course Managers Report

April 2010

After a very frustrating February in terms of weather conditions dictating our work schedule we have made good progress on projects on both courses during March.

During the whole of February we were closed for 4 days and restriction in terms of temporary greens were made on 10 days. Once the frost had thawed completely out of the soil profile then main greens were brought back into play. The days when we were closed were all due to snow cover and the snow remaining on the course the following day. As we moved through March the weather did seem to be more settled and the prospect of warmer days is a great incentive for the progression of the golf course combined with the annual furore surrounding the Master, the first major of the season with its lush green fairways and spectacular colour, it all combines to kick start the golfing season.

The greens are now cut up to four times per week, depending on prevailing weather conditions and growth at 5mm with pedestrian mowers. This helps also to lightly roll the surface of the green, helping to keep the greens reasonable true for the time of year. Rolling takes place once a week to supplement the mowing schedule. We will be lowering the height of cut gradually to our optimum summer height of 4.5mm over the coming month. At this time of year we are preparing the surfaces for the coming spring, with this in mind we have recently applied lawn sand to Greens, Collars and Aprons. This product helps to slowly encourage a little growth and also acidifies the surface taking out any minor moss or weed problems. Creating slightly acidic conditions in the root-zone helps to promote the finer grasses which we are encouraging and are indigenous to a site like ours. We have been monitoring soil temperatures so we have been able to predict the most suitable time for this application. The greens soils are currently on average around 9-11 degrees Celsius. These temperatures have been fluctuating due to the frost overnight during the middle part of March and the warmer days. We would expect soil temperatures to get to around 11-15 over the coming weeks which will be adequate for small sustained growth, however that said we have recently experienced cold night time temperatures along with windy chilly days and significant rain fall which will reduce soil temperatures but given a return to more normal weather conditions soil temperatures and indeed growth should naturally pick up.

This week (Tuesday 6th April) we have started the scheduled greens aeration on the Lodge course, we expect this work to be completed by Thursday 8th. Due to our managed Organic Matter (OM) levels this spring we have Verti Drained with ½” tines and over-seeded. As we are managing very low OM levels these is less of a need to complete disruptive aeration procedures so we can therefore restore surface levels reasonable quickly. Top dressing throughout the year and reducing our Nutrient inputs a for example help us to firstly reduce our OM levels and then maintain the required levels. We have over-seeded using a predominately fescue based mix with a small percentage of Bent, the fescue is able to germinate better at lower soil temperatures which we are experiencing currently. The greens will then be top dressed with approximately 30 Tonnes of top dressing. The greens will then be brushed and rolled to incorporate the dressing into the surface and begin to restore surfaces.

This process will be replicated for Highgate later in the month.

All of the tees have now been verti drained, scarified, cut and treated with lawn sand. We are currently cutting the tees twice per week and divot repair takes place twice per week also. During the next week all tee markers will be back on the summer teeing areas.

Lodge

The new 11th fairway is now turfed with the green being turfed on Wednesday 17th March. Over a two week period we have completed 4000m2 of turfing. The routing of the new 11th fairway is know clear and defined which helps immensely to see clearly the new hole orientation. The green will now be left to settle and root down, and then we can start to cut and roll and prepare the surface. The intention will be to open the new hole in the late spring of 2011.

As many of you have pointed out we continue to have water accumulation in the lowest point of the 11th fairway in the approach to the green, this situation will improve over time as the new landscaping settles, the turf starts to root down and establish along with the drainage beginning to draw water. We have made some exploratory excavations to make sure the drainage is running; however there may be a need to install secondary drainage to improve the drainage capacity of the soil and reduce further the situation of standing water during high rainfall periods. This installation, if felt necessary will take place during the summer once the ground has had time to settle.

The new tees on the 12th will be in play towards the middle/end of May. We are currently using a mobile saw mill to cut timber from the 13th Highgate; this timber will be used to create the steps to the new 12th tees. 

Highgate

The alterations to the 6th Green Complex are complete and the new bunkers have been filled with sand in preparation for their opening during the later part of this month. We still have areas marked as GUR but these have settled well and it is expected that these GUR areas will be lifted over the coming month.

The new 11th and 15th Greens are progressing well and a more intensive programme of top dressing, light aeration and rolling will be implemented to present these greens for opening as scheduled during the later part of May.

All of the bunkers on Highgate have been edged and sand added were needed, in some cases there was large amounts of sand but deposited in the wrong areas. This has been rectified along with removing un-wanted stones. The removing of stones is a continual process given our underlying sub-soil.

Given the last two months being very busy on the course trying to make up time lost to the bad weather I have been unable to keep you up to date with progress and management on the courses, a situation which I apologies for and one I was not comfortable with as I believe it is of paramount importance to keep you fully aware of happening on the golf courses. However, I will endeavour over the coming months to maintain monthly reports enabling you to be fully conversant with the management of both course.

I hope this has been of use to you and is has given you a brief overview of the work carried out on both courses over the last couple of months and future work to be completed.

Jonathan Wood

Course Manager

April 2010

Course Managers Report

February 2010

I was very much hoping I would be writing this report with renewed optimism at the fact that we have achieved to make continued progress with all our renovation projects. Sadly this is not the case and the weather has again had a bearing on the progress of our renovation work on both courses. However, we have managed in some cases to claw back some time lost during January, this I will elaborate on later in this report.

During the whole of January we were closed for 12 days and restriction in terms of temporary greens were made on 8 days. Once the frost had thawed completely out of the soil profile then main greens were brought back into play.

The beginning of February has given us some breathing space with a relatively mild and a frost free period. However, as I have been putting this report together we have experienced cold overnight temperatures and snow fall (Wednesday 10th ). The forecast for the remainder of February is not great but we will aim to keep moving forward with work.

We have been able to cut and roll the greens on three occasions during this milder period; we are currently cutting the greens at 6mm. An application of sulphate of iron has been applied to the greens and collars, this helps to strengthen the grass plant and acidify the turf surface helping to prevent fungal disease activity along with taking out any moss which has developed through the winter period. Fungal disease pressure at this time of year is high given the damp, cool conditions added to which the snow cover during January improved the environmental conditions for fungal disease growth. However, that said our overall programme of reducing chemical usage through austere management practices is working with only two full applications of fungicide through out 2009.  Aeration on the greens and collars has been completed in the form of slit tinning; this process has also been completed on the fairways using a larger machine. Aeration continues to be a very important process throughout the year but during the winter period it takes on greater importance to open up the surface and allow air and moisture penetration into the soil structure. Mowing afterwards on greens with pedestrian mowers, helps roll out any imperfections caused by the slitting.

Over the last two weeks we have been able to lay 2000m2 of turf on the 11th and 12th fairway alterations on Lodge. We have used large rolls of turf which measure singularly 20m2 and are laid using a frame attached to the back of a tractor, so this has enabled us to complete this amount of work in a relatively short amount of time. These type of turf rolls are normally used on football and sports pitches were surfaces are very flat and large areas can therefore be turfed very quickly. We have had great success with this system even given the natural undulations we have on our fairway areas and have been able to gain a little time back using this system.

The 12th Lodge fairway is now complete along with a large proportion of the existing 11th fairway. The remainder of the new 11th fairway will be seeded in the spring. Work has also progressed well on the new 12th tee complex with all the tops of the tees being turfed and the banks currently being turfed. We have also been successful in completing the drainage work to the front of the new 11th green and make a positive outfall for the excess water. The new 11th green will be prepared for turfing over the coming weeks. Our attention will know be focused on the formation and landscaping of the excess soil in the old bunkers on the 11th and 12th. The soil on the 11th will be landscape to form natural mounding adding definition and interest to the left hand side of the fairway. The soil on the 12th will be reduced and landscaped to form a feature bunker in this area and some contouring to give a real focal point from the tee.

Renovation work to the 6th  Highgate is now completed. The bunkers will be filled with sand over the coming month ready for opening in the spring.

In light of the time lost due to the weather over the winter period and the prevailing forecast for the remainder of February we have decided to put on hold the outstanding bunker and green surround renovation work until October 2010.  These projects will be the 10th Green surround and bunker renovations, the 6th Lodge green surround and bunker renovations and the 8th Lodge green surrounds and bunker renovations. These projects will be continued in the coming autumn and winter when hopefully we will have more conducive weather conditions. This kind of decision is made very difficult in light of the work completed to date, the eagerness to complete more work and the progress made in previous renovation work, however, progress has been very difficult this winter period and the thought of being held back by the weather conditions with work remaining to complete is more of a problem. Turfing into the early spring is not an ideal prospect and one which could happen if we were to carry on with this type of major renovation work. We will now focus on getting all current work complete and continuing with preparing the course for the coming spring and playing season. The curtailment of the major renovation programme will give us the opportunity to focus on areas of work which would, during a normal winter, have been completed earlier in the winter, jobs such as bunker refurbishment including sand replacement and edging, path renovation work will also be a priority.

We have completed work on the new 11th green in terms of drainage and will be completing drainage work to the approach to the new 15th green shortly. The opening of these two new holes remains scheduled for the late spring of this year.

Jonathan Wood

Course Manager

February 2010

Course Managers Report

January 2010

During this continued period of inclement weather I felt it would be beneficial for me to update you on existing work and the planned work on both courses.

Weather conditions coming into the New Year have dictated work on both courses and this weather pattern seems to be set firm for the majority of January. At the time of writing this report we have had 31 days of below freezing temperatures coupled with this the heavy snow fall experienced on the 5th January and 13th January. The conditions experienced between Christmas and the New Year were some of the worst experienced on the golf course. On the majority of greens, tees and pathways there was a complete cover of ice making under foot conditions treacherous. During the weekend of Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th we did see rain and warmer temperatures thaw the snow but were still left with very icy conditions underfoot and in fact the ice we experienced on the greens and tees during the Christmas period still remains in most cases. As you are aware ground conditions during this type of period are very unstable and can cause long-term damage to the sward, however we will try our best to keep the courses open when possible.

The very cold and frosty weather gives us the opportunity to focus on our environmental management and especially the work detailed in our Higher-Level Stewardship Agreement with Natural England. The main element of this work is the woodland management and the creation and development of a diverse and natural habitat. Thinning work on the Lodge Courses especially the Lodge Plantation is aimed at reducing the amount of Pines and increasing the amount of indigenous broad leaves species such as Birch, Oak and Hazel this will create a more diverse and appealing environment and create opportunities for the development of more heathland areas to bring this particular area of the Lodge course closer to the environment existing on holes 1-3 and 13-18.

The main focus of our work on Highgate during this weather period has been the clearing up operation of the Pouchers Pool area on the 13th. We have made significant progress in this area clearing and making this area more conducive to the golfing environment. Now the poplars have been removed the next stage of the development of this area will be the landscaping of the new water feature, this is envisaged to take the shape of a meandering stream rather than an open lake but will have wider areas of the water course to create more pool like features. This work will take place during the autumn of this year. We have not been able to find a market for the Poplar timber but will be using a mobile saw mill to cut some of the timber into usable sizes to be used on the course for such items as sleeper steps and path boarding.

We have also taken the opportunity to decorate the staff facility and complete facility maintenance. Weather of this nature does give us the chance to complete these kind of jobs which would normally be a very low priority. It has also enabled us to start refurbishing tee markers and 150 disc’s along with other course furniture.

Administration work such as team training and development records have been brought up to date along with other records such as risk assessments for Health and Safety and COSHH assessments.

Obviously during this current period of weather work on the out standing course projects has been very limited and in some cases has stopped completely.

The trufing and reinstatement work on the 11th and 12th on Lodge will continue once we have conducive ground conditions. I remain confident that we will still be in a position during May to open the 12th for general play. This will mean the completion of the turfing on both of the landscaped fairway areas and the completion of the new tees and pathway.

The new 11th green will be turfed, however this has become less of a priority due to the fact that the 11th existing fairway has to be reinstated for the coming season and the green will not be in lay until the spring of 2011 so as long as we can turf during the spring of this year the green will have time to establish ready for the opening. It is my intention as mentioned to turf the existing fairway areas which will be in play for the current hole but any areas of fairway which will form the new fairway and approach to the new green will be seeded in the spring.

Renovation work underway on the 6th  Highgate will be completed very shortly once ground conditions are suitable. The remaining work includes finishing the turfing on mounding to the rear of the green and the completion of landscaping and mounding on the left and right approach to the green. The planned work to the green complex on the 10th will be started once we have completed the work at the 6th  given we have a favourable period of weather.

We have completed work on the new 11th green in terms of drainage and will be completing drainage work to the approach to the new 15th green shortly. The opening of these two new holes remains scheduled for the late spring of this year.

I hope I have been able to give you some relevant information, I would also like to take the opportunity to thank you all for your continuing support and hope we can continue with the excellent progress made with the current committee on the course. It is a real pleasure and honour to work with such a positive and supportive committee and especially the Green Committee who individually give so much time and commitment to the long term goal of producing a quality golf facility.

Jonathan Wood

Course Manager

January 2010

December 2009

Course Managers Report

In my last report I made reference to the sustained period of good weather we had experienced through out October and the beginning of November. That period of weather has been well and truly forgotten given the last four weeks of weather! Rain has certainly been the prevailing weather over the last four weeks. As a result of this both courses were closed all day on Sunday 6th December and a number of other restrictions on buggies in previous weeks. Given the weather we have been experiencing this really is not a bad outcome, work has also been able to progress steadily.

At the end of this report I have included my monthly work schedule which is given to the respective Head Greenkeepers of both courses. This serves as a focus for work to be completed through out the month. A schedule of this kind gives you an idea of the regular maintenance tasks we complete on the course. The focus and priority has to be the set up and maintenance of the course before we then pay attention to the larger more complex development projects.

Winter renovations and Improvements

Lodge

11th and 12th Lodge

The renovations to the 11th white and yellow tee have know been completed. These alterations have involved raising the height of the tee to give enhanced views of the hole and enlarging the tee area to give greater flexibility for designated teeing areas.

The contractors used to complete the major earth moving and shaping on the 11th and 12th have know finished.

Alterations to the 11th fairway and the construction of the new fairway to compliment with the new 11th green have been completed. The majority of the original fairway will turfed over the winter period with all of the remaining new fairway areas seeded in the spring. The new green has been completed with final shaping and preparation work remaining; once this is completed we will be in a position to turf the green and surrounds. The target for opening of the new 11th will be during the spring of 2011.

The new 12th tees have been constructed will be prepared ready for turf over the coming weeks. The new 12th tees are scheduled to be open during the spring of 2010.

The 12th fairway alterations in terms of ground works is complete, final preparations and turfing are ongoing. The centre of the fairway has been raised to take out the severe undulation which could have resulted in an unfair lie.

The second area we have worked on is the approaches to the green were previously the view to the green from the bottom of the fairway was severely restriction. We have now removed a significant amount of soil from the approach to the green to give enhanced views of the green. The soil from this areas was used to fill up the bottom of the fairway, the remaining soil has been stock pilled on the site of the existing bunker to be used for contouring when we construct the new bunker. The improved views will certainly make the hole more appealing and also give an area of ‘lay up’ on the approach to the green for the golfer who is short from the tee and has not got the length to reach the green.

Highgate

Work has also progressed well on the Highgate course with the landscaping of all existing greenside bunkers and banking around the 11th and 15th greens now complete.

The planned bunker renovations around the 6th green are well on scheduled to be finished before Christmas. The alterations have given a much more interesting and appealing appearance to the green complex with greater playability from around the green.

It is our aim to start work on the 10th green complex after Christmas, this work will involve taking out the existing left-hand greenside bunker and re-positioning towards the front right of the green. The surrounds to the green will be landscaped and contoured to improve the green complex as a whole.

Environmental Management

Work on the right hand side of the 13th Highgate in terms of felling the poplars has progressed well and is now complete with cleaning up of the debris remaining. This is the initial phase of attempting to create the old water feature which has been lost. 

All of this work was highlighted in the development work of our Higher-level Stewardship with Natural England. The original water feature was found on a Historical Survey undertaken prior to our acceptance onto the stewardship scheme. The reinstatement of the water feature will enhance the biodiversity of our site and compliment the existing habitat and water feature at the 16th. The work to reinstate the water feature is funded through our Higher-Level Stewardship agreement and therefore has no financial cost to the Golf Club.

The initial tree felling will also help improve ground conditions throughout the 13th fairway and green complex, as the sunlight and airflow can now penetrate through onto these areas.

All environmental management outlined in out Higher-level Stewardship which covers areas such as Heather Management, Heather Creation, Bracken Control, Tree thinning and pruning are all funded through our stewardship. We have a very valuable site here at Enville which offers not only a great golfing experience but fantastic environments with important biodiversity.

In light of our work with regard to our environmental management and work with Natural England with our Higher-Level Stewardship I was asked to contribute to a book which was to be published by the RSPB in association with the R&A. The book is called ‘Birds and Golf Courses’ and has been edited by Keith Duff of the R&A Championship Committee and Nigel Symes of the RSPB. The book details the variety of different golf course environments and their value to the bird population. It also outlines the work undertaken to enhance these environments and the major role golf courses have in the sustained environmental management and improvement.

The book is now on general release and is available from the RSPB and the R&A. The book was recently reviewed in the Observer, and was given a very positive review.

It just remains for me to wish you a very happy Christmas and a prosperous new year. Thank you for all your support through out 2009.

Jonathan Wood

Course Manager

December 2009

Goals and Objectives for work schedule during December 2009

Use the jobs/projects listed below as an outline to your work schedule for this month. The list is achievable; however, all our work has limitations such as weather and staff availability.

It will be your responsibility to work out timings and schedules for the work to be completed over a daily/weekly basis.

The nature of our work is always going to influence work schedules and therefore jobs may be inserted or altered occasionally, communication will be very important.

Highgate

Continue to keep course tidy and presented well by regular leaf clearing, bunker raking, white lines, devoting tees etc..

Pedestrian cutting greens – 2 times per week.

Slit Greens,collars and aprons (areas of collars and aprons to be worked on as part of renovation programme to be left 10th and 6th ).

Slit Tees.

Pedestrian cutting tees.

Slit/Verti Drain fairways.

Apply wetting agent to fairways.

Cut heather.

Construction/renovation projects

Continue drainage on new 11th green (drainage in hollow, alterations to bunker).

Continue with 6th Green bunker renovations.

Tree thinning/turf stripping-Completed when weather conditions restrict above work.

Start clearance of debris RH side of 13th .

3rd tee – thinning to right of tee.

8th Green – thinning to rear of green.

Turf stripping 6th Carry.

If clarification is needed on any of the above jobs please consult Course Manager.

In view of above projects overtime can be used when needed at the discretion of the Course Manager.

Goals and Objectives for work schedule during December 2009

Use the jobs/projects listed below as an outline to your work schedule for this month. The list is achievable; however, obviously all our work has limitations such as weather and staff availability.

It will be your responsibility to work out timings and schedules for the work to be completed over a daily weekly basis.

The nature of our work is always going to influence work schedules and therefore jobs may be inserted or altered occasionally, communication will be very important.

Lodge

Continue to keep course tidy and presented well by regular leaf clearing, bunker raking, white lines, devoting tees etc..

Pedestrian cut greens - 2 times per week.

Slit Greens, collars and aprons(areas of collars and aprons to be worked on as part of renovation programme to be left 8th and 6th ).

Slit Tees.

Pedestrian cut tees.

Slit/Verti Drain fairways.

Apply wetting agent to fairways.

Cut heather.

Construction/renovation projects

Continue with 11th tee path improvements.

Start preparations for turf on 12th tees.

Continue with turfing on 12th Fairway.

Tree thinning/turf stripping-Completed when weather conditions restrict above work.

10th white tee – selective thinning to improve light and air penetration.

Thinning of pines/birches in area for new 12th tees to enable light penetration.

Thinning of area to rear of new 11th green.

If clarification is needed on any of the above jobs please consult Course Manager.

In view of above projects overtime can be used when needed at the discretion of the Course Manager.

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November 2009

Course Managers Report

We are now fast approaching the winter period and the onset of more unfavourable weather and ground conditions. However, we have really been fortunate with the weather through October, with predominately warm days combined with very little rainfall, very conducive to enjoyable golf and completing work on the course.

Routine maintenance work for this time of year, such as regular slit tinning of fine turf surfaces, leaf collecting and heather cutting have been able to progress well due to the good conditions. We have been able to progress well with our planned winter renovation along with experiencing good recovery of all surfaces which will help to with stand the winter period in terms of wear on the course.

Winter renovations and Improvements

The major improvements projects taking place on Lodge have progressed well over the last two weeks. The majority of the trees have now been taken out on both the 11th green site and the 12th tee site. The landscape has certainly been opened up to reveal what I believe to be fantastic sites for both the new 11th green and 12th tee.

Yesterday (Monday 2nd November) saw the contractors responsibly for the entire ground works move onto site to start their part of the project. We are expecting all the ground works to be completed within the next four weeks. We are then hoping to get the green and tee complex turfed before Christmas given some conducive weather. Whilst we are completing this work we will be using the Ladies tee on the 12th as the main teeing ground for the hole. This will enable us to maintain play through these holes whilst the work is being competed.

We also hope to complete the renovation of the existing 11th tee which has involved raising the height of the white and yellow tee and creating a clear divide by between the yellow tee and ladies tees.

Over the coming months also on Lodge, we hope to complete the planned bunker renovation work at the 8th green complex.

Work has also progressed well on the Highgate course with the landscaping of all existing greenside bunkers and banking around the 11th and 15th greens almost complete. This work is expected to be completed in the next couple of weeks.

The planned bunker renovations around the 6th green are scheduled to start shortly with the intentions of completing this project before Christmas.

Work on the right hand side of the 13th Highgate in terms of felling the poplars has progressed well. This is the initial phase of attempting to create the old water feature which has been lost. The initial tree felling will also help improve ground conditions throughout the 13th fairway and green complex, as the sunlight and airflow can now penetrate through onto these areas.

With the winter almost upon us I thought it was the right time to remind you of our policy on winter golf and the management of playing surfaces during this period.

Winter Play on Golf Greens

The aim of our turf management is to keep play on the main greens for as near 12 months of the year as possible. With climate predictions indicating milder winters the demand for year-round golf can only increase. However, this ideal has to be matched with the drainage qualities, soil type, aspect and elevation of the greens in question as well as prevailing weather conditions and the very same climate predictions indicating milder winters also suggest that we will experience wetter ones as well. An indication of the type of damage arising from play under adverse conditions is given below and, whilst appreciating that golfers expect winter play, these requirements must be kept in perspective. The majority of competitive play is played outside the winter period and if the little inconvenience caused by playing to temporary greens of a satisfactory condition and standard is accepted, when necessary, then the putting surfaces of the main greens are better for when they are required and expected to be at their best. It is my policy to create temporary putting surfaces on the collars/approaches to the greens where conditions are maintained throughout the year, this will provide an acceptable standard of temporary green. Where there is insufficient room for a temporary green on the approach/collar, then a green will be cut out in a suitable area.

Wet Conditions

In persistently wet conditions, the soil around the pin is likely to become severely compacted. Fine particles of silt and clay migrate to the surface, resulting in soil-stained patches around pin positions and other well-trafficked routes. All of these effects weaken the turf and impede surface drainage. A sound aeration programme will help minimise ill effects on drainage and the sward. In essence, the aim of greens management should be to develop firm and dry surfaces to minimise the effects of wet weather, this can be achieved through top dressing during the growing season and aeration both in the growing season and winter period. In addition, hole changes should be frequent to avoid regular concentration of foot traffic to the same spot, use being made of the outer regions of the greens as far as possible, although keeping towards the front in very wet spells. It will be my intention to use normal greens in this situation unless conditions are extremely waterlogged.

Frosty Conditions

Damage caused by playing during frosty weather falls into two main categories.

• When frozen, player’s feet easily bruise plant tissues. Following a thaw, it is often possible to see brown footmarks for a number of weeks, particularly around the hole locations. This damage is very superficial and with hole positions being changed frequently, damage can be spread around and not cause more serious damage like prolonged unevenness and thinning of the sward. It is my intention to leave normal greens in play during this type of weather.
• Long-term damage is caused when play takes place during a thaw, which has come after a prolonged period of penetrating frosts. In these conditions the top layer of thatch and soil becomes soft, whilst the underlying soil remains frozen. Root damage occurs from the shearing action as player’s feet move the soft, unfrozen surface across the frozen sub-surface. This disrupts putting surfaces and creates weak areas that may not recover before the height of the competition season. In this situation temporary greens will be used until conditions are correct for play over normal greens. From experience this situation should last for 1 – 2 days maximum.

Every effort will be made to keep play to temporary greens to a minimum. However, the long-term improvement of the golf courses is the main priority, so protection of the putting surfaces will always take precedence.

I will also be using again the white lines around the approaches to greens to help maintain conditions close to the putting surfaces. These white lines have worked very well in the past with your cooperation.

Jonathan Wood

Course Manager

Course Managers Report

September 2009

Introduction

September has been a very dry month in comparison to previous years, however we have been able to complete aeration work on the Highgate greens. August proved to be a more conducive month in terms of weather when completing the scheduled aeration work on Lodge.

There are obviously the positives with the current weather as it has given everyone the chance to play golf in some very pleasant conditions and it has also helped with the recovery of the course from another wet summer; surfaces are firm and dry which can only be good when we are heading into the winter period.

Greens, Collars and Aprons

As I have mentioned above over August and September we have completed scheduled aeration to both courses. The over-seeding has proved to be very successful and will be a major factor in increasing the percentages of the finer grasses in the sward. Aeration will be scaled down over the coming years as we are creating a much more favourable environment in terms of establishing the finer grasses and creating sustainable soil and turf conditions. The organic matter content and grass species composition will be monitored so we are able to tailor our aeration and over-seeding to maintain conditions.

The need to create sustainable turf surfaces by increasing the finer grass content is well documented; the benefits are substantial and a management regime, which the major governing bodies are endorsing fully. The R&A are currently working very hard on spreading the word on sustainable, austere greenkeeping (Please read July Report).

The greens are currently cut between 4-5 times per week at 4.5mm. The frequency is dependent on growth and the height will increase over the coming weeks to our winter height of 6mm. Pedestrian mowers will be used to relieve pressure on the greens and to help the new seed establish in the sward.

Fairways

Over the last four years we have completed significant work on the fairways including deep aeration, over-seeding and wetting agent applications. The fairways are now showing signs of real improvement in terms of grass cover and species content. We do still have some weak fairways in comparison but will be completing further work on these to improve these fairways further. Hollow coring has been completed recently on 9th , 11th ,12th and 13th Highgate fairways to help improve further the conditions on these fairways.

We had scheduled to complete over-seeding on some of the weaker fairways but have had to delay this due to the dry conditions; we will endeavour to complete this work before soil temperatures fall too low.

Winter renovation and improvement programme

Highgate

The new 11th and 15th greens are on schedule to be opened for play during the late spring of next year. To this end we will be removing the existing fairway bunkers and two greenside bunkers at the 11th along with mounding around the existing green. This will enable us to landscape these areas to blend in with the orientation of the new holes.

The same process will be implemented at the 15th, however, in both cases an area of existing green will be kept as a temporary green so we are able to rest the new greens if needed in their establishment period. It is expected that a temporary green will need to be used during the first winter.

Tee and path improvement

3rd – Tee path and approach to the tee will be improved.

7th – Walk off from green to tee will be renovated and improved.

8th – The yellow tee will be levelled and enlarged to incorporate the winter tee which presently is separated.

11th – The existing winter tee will be incorporated into the existing yellow and ladies tee.

16th – The tee path will be renovated and improved.

Lodge

3rd – A new path will be created and defined with the heather carry being renovated at the same time.

9th – The pathways leading across the open ditch will be renovated and improved.

11th – The white tee area will be raised and levelled to give increased views of the fairway.

17th – The tee path leading to the green will be completed.

The programme of bunker renovations is listed in a separate report for your perusal.

The committee has approved the proposed alterations and improvements to the 11th and 12th Holes on Lodge and work will commence towards the end of October. The work, which will be completed by contractors, is expected to take three weeks, then the final levelling and landscape work will be completed over the winter period with turfing expected to take place by Christmas.

As with all our improvement and renovation work we will endeavour to keep disturbance to a minimum.

Environmental Management

The work scheduled under our Higher-level Stewardship Scheme will continue this winter with the main focus being on heather restoration and management. We will also be commencing work on restoring the water feature to the right-hand side of the 13th Highgate which many years ago was a prominent feature. The watercourse was drained many years ago and planted with the poplars which are there today. These poplars will be removed and the water feature reinstated which will create a great environment and completely transform this area, which has become very untidy and overgrown. We are receiving funding from Natural England to restore this feature, which will compliment our existing water feature on the 16th in terms of habitat.

Jonathan Wood

Course Manager

September 2009

Course Managers Report

July 2009

Natural Golf – Preserving our Natural Heritage

Throughout the golf course management world there have been recent articles and publication making stands for both the traditional method of greenkeeping; focusing on the encouragement of the finer grasses and the firmer more sustainable surfaces they produce and the more short term management approach of over feeding and watering to produce dense carpets of turf which can be then cut short to produce short term speed and target golf added to which the grass produced is completely undesirable and has no longevity or year round playability. The management for this type of surface is very intensive and disruptive.

As a course manager subscribing to the traditional methods and values, which I believe is more beneficial and in line with the way our courses should be set up in this environment. I have put together this report based on an article written by Alistair Beggs, a senior agronomist working for the STRI who conducts work for the R&A Championship Committee and is also a keen golfer with a Handicap of 4 and plays his golf at Royal Liverpool Golf Club Hoylake.

“It is of importance that greenkeepers realise that the fundamental principle of successful greenkeeping is the recognition of the fact that the finest golfing grasses flourish on poor impoverished soil and that more harm is done by over rather than under fertilising. Tom Simpson, The Architectural Side of Golf, 1929.

Although penned some 70 years ago by Tom Simpson, one of the foremost golf architects of his time, these words encapsulate the crisis in modern greenkeeping. In an age when we know more about grasses and soils than ever before the condition of the nations courses continues to decline because of an excessive desire to create perfection in green. Golfers are being influenced by ill-informed media machine, and greenkeepers are assailed by a commercial world of allegedly magical potions and lotions. This has an impact not only on our courses but also on the very fabric of the game of golf and the way we play it. The artistry and craft of the game are being anaesthetised by the production and promotion of dartboard type greens on over-watered and over-fed courses more suited to feeding cattle. As a consequence, golf is no longer played on the ground but through the air, and more and more clubs are encountering problems delivering the year-round golf our climate allows and the modern golfer demands.

The origins of golf lie on the windswept links of Scotland where a combination of infertile soils and harsh climatic conditions made the land of little use for any other purpose.  Nature’s hand revealed impoverished grass swards amidst sprawling dunes which were gradually moulded and mellowed by the elements to form the ideal terrain for the game. Greens and tees were simply located on appropriate flat areas of ground, and the erosive process, started by the weather and aided by golfers and sheep, led to the development of sand bunkers. The popularity of the game dictated the move inland, often to sites that were less well suited to the game. Here, heavier soils and poor natural drainage were commonplace and restricted play to the drier months of the year.

It was nature, rather than man, that dictated turf condition in those early years – indeed it was not really until 1906 in Horace Hutchinson’s book “Golf Greens and Greenkeeping” that man’s involvement was first discussed. Over the years, the hand of man in golf course management grew, as did his expertise. By 1930 however, Alister Mackenzie, the famous golf course architect, wrote “Now, alas, most of these old seaside courses have been ruined by well-intentioned but injudicious effects of their green committees to improve upon nature”. The negative influence of man had begun!

It must be appreciated that although our knowledge and skills have improved, nature still has the final word with regard to what can be achieved on any golf course in the UK. It is essential to work with nature – accept what nature has given us and try to maintain a harmonious relationship with it, rather than creating artificiality at great expense and then having to perpetuate it at even greater cost. Natural golf, or real golf as you may wish to call it, is a product of a natural site managed in a natural manner. This is true for parkland and woodland sites as it is for heathland and links. However, where the ground is less well suited to the game, appropriate management is so very important if the correct playing characteristics are to be provided.

Where these characteristics do not occur naturally we now have the knowledge to manage in a way that encourages them. Why is it, therefore, that so few clubs seem to fulfil their true potential, the condition of their courses fluctuating from one extreme to another in the face of changing committees and changing focuses of emphasis?

There are many reasons and too many to list and elaborate on in this report but such things as media pressure in the way of receptive, dark green courses televised on the American and European tours, pressure from members and visitors alike to play on so called fast greens without being educated in the management required to achieve this over the long term with out the detriment effects of trying to achieve this by cutting shorter and shorter for short term gains.

Our site is a very natural site which will give us year round golf if it is managed correctly and by adopting traditional greenkeeping methods and producing surfaces dominated by the finer grasses we can continue this longevity. It would be very easy to produce fast greens over the short term but the effects would be far reaching and in fact, once the finer grasses have been established the qualities of the putting surfaces improve naturally in terms of pace, evenness of grass cover and consistency. A high profile example of this will be the course set up at Turnberry for this years Open, the management practices adopted there have been in place for many years and the promotion of the finer grasses has been ongoing. The greens there will be cut at around 3.5mm giving ample speed. In the past the course set up at Royal Liverpool (Hoylake) for the Open in 2006 was again a testament for sustainable greenkeeping, cutting at 4mm they produced some of the best surfaces played on the open rota dominated by the finer grasses.

In both of these cases pace and consistency has been achieved through basic sound practices such as top dressing, rolling and the encouragement of the finer grasses, all of which are fundamental tasks in our management here at Enville.

It is my belief that continuing with this type of management is not only the way forward for the improvement of all playing surfaces for the benefit of members and visitors alike, but will establish and cement sustainable conditions and year round golf for years to come.

Jonathan Wood

Course Manager

July 2009

Course Manager’s Report

April 2009

Benchmarking and quantifiable improvements.

Improvements in playing conditions are always a subjective and emotive subject and primarily based on personal opinions and observations.

Here at Enville I have always been keen on drawing a line under past management regimes and setting new goals and benchmarks to monitor progress and improvements in a more professional manor.

To this end I have formulated some research and benchmarks that have been implemented over the last four years and will be continued to be monitored in the future. The criteria for this type of monitoring are very precise and in some cases rely on laboratory testing to ascertain results based on methods researched and used by the Sports Turf Research Institute.

The results from the testing procedure can be used to tailor future management practices and enable us to be very precise in our management practices in terms of aeration, over-seeding and top dressing. Therefore making our management more effective, efficient and precise with greater results over the long term.

Grass Species Composition.

This procedure enables us to identify the quantities of grass species in our greens. Using a single point quadrate completes this procedure. One hundred points are taken across the front of the green, one hundred points are taken across the middle of the green and one hundred points are taken across the back of the green to provide statistically accurate percentages of the component grass species. Three greens from each course are measured to give good representation of the greens, it is expected over the coming years we will conduct this research on more greens but due to the fact it is a very time consuming task the amount of greens completed is limited.

This procedure was first conducted back in 2005 to give us a good benchmark as to the percentages of the required grasses. These figures are shown in the table later in this report. The latest procedure was conducted March 2009 and has shown significant improvement. The period in-between the testing has been decide upon to give management practices time to establish and for weather patterns to even out over the period.

What are we trying to achieve?

The finer grasses that are commonly mentioned in this report are Agrostis spp – bent grasses and festuca spp – fescue grasses. The unwanted weed species is known as Poa annua (poa) – annual meadow grass.

As we have made such large advances forward over the last three years in increased percentages of agrostis species it would be very easy to think we can improve the percentages of the desirable species very quickly however, progress can be very intermittent given environmental pressures but we are certain further improvements can be made. It would be our aim to achieve in the region of 90% Agrostis species with the addition of fescue and very small percentages of poa annua. Over time as we are creating the correct environment for the desirable grasses to establish and thrive we are hoping we can increase the amount of fescue within the sward also. Fescue is much more difficult to produce given its exact requirements but once established will give a very fine true surface as you experience on true links courses were fescue thrive naturally. Some of our fairways approaches and collars are predominately fescue dominated and give a fantastic playing surface.

The conditions we are experiencing with the greens currently (Early spring) is largely due to the undesirable grass species namely poa annua developing more slowly than the desired Agrostis species resulting in an uneven surface creating bumpy inconsistent surfaces. These conditions are completely unacceptable for me and I am very focused on correcting this issue at this time of year, it simply is not what we want at Enville Golf Club and are taking steps to limited these conditions as much as possible over the short term with light top dressings and rolling to help relieve the problem. It follows easily that given higher percentages of the Agrostis species we can combat this annual problem. It always concerns me that conditions are not acceptable at this time of year given the uneven growth and especially dry cold conditions coupled with these poor conditions we have the perfect playing conditions associated with the Masters at Augusta on our television screens, which does not help the situation. However, that said, I am confident that given the continued management to improve the percentages of the finer grasses in our playing surfaces we can significantly improve conditions at this time of year.

Why do we strive for the finer grasses?

The higher the percentage of the finer grasses will result in a firmer, truer, more consistent and environmentally sound putting surface- fact. There are times when poa annua dominated greens can be prepared to a very good standard but this is short lived and soon it will take a large amount of resources to maintain these conditions. Significant inputs of fertilizer, aeration, cutting and irrigation are needed to maintain poa-dominated swards to any kind of standard. These swards also deteriorate very quickly on the onset of winter and take longer in the spring to recover, this as mentioned earlier in this report is the fundamental reason for unsatisfactory conditions during early spring when the finer grasses are growing well and the poa is struggling giving very uneven surfaces. The finer grasses are therefore able to tolerate extremes and changes in weather more easily than poa annua mainly due to their ability to establish longer root systems deep into the soil profile gaining access to nutrients and water more easily.

There are also the improved playing conditions not just in terms of ball roll, but also in longevity. Swards dominated with the finer grasses are playable for a longer period throughout the year given their increased resilience and deeper root system. They require more sandy, free draining rootzones, which leads to improved playing surfaces during prolonged wet periods.

Soil Organic Matter testing

Organic material is an essential part of the soil profile within all greens. However, it can deliver either positive or negative properties depending upon how much there is, where it is, and how it is managed. We commonly know organic material near to the surface, hopefully only contained within the first 25mm or less, as thatch. Thatch is best described as the amount of live, dead and decaying organic residues between the base of the plant and the green’s upper soil rootzone layer. It is often sponge-like in texture and should be porous as well as ameliorated with top dressing. Its nature controls many key physical aspects of golf green performance, not to mention management requirements. Beneath the thatch will be more organic material forming part of the rootzone structure/texture.

On golf greens, we rely partially on that to produce the positive qualities of surface resiliency for ball-to-surface interactions. It is also the combination of thatch with other important criteria, such as sward cover and soil type/condition, which often determine many performance traits. Other performance aspects related to greens surface and thatch properties are water infiltration/permeability rates, amount of surface stability, protection for the plants/soil rootzone and resistance against compaction forces. Too much thatch or organic matter anywhere within a green profile is invariably problematic. It will create many problems such as soft/un-resilient playability, greater disease incidences, excessive water retention, anaerobic soil conditions/poor gaseous exchange, increased dry patch, insulation of cold/hot soil temperatures, promotion of shallow rooted grass species, whilst restricting root growth in desirable grasses through premature root ageing. Too little thatch and the greens become too firm, eventually leading to thinning sward quality problems affecting ball-to-surface performance and management requirements.

Humus-like organic matter within the rootzone profile beneath the thatch is needed to help stabilise soil ph, retain moisture and nutrition for plant development as well as providing environmental stability for soil-based microorganisms in which to function. This will hopefully help brake down the thatch and release nutrients. Too much or too little soil organic material and these highly beneficial aspects that we rely upon will be negatively affected.

The STRI,s (Sports Turf Research Institute) ongoing research and practical experiences have concluded that the ideal range for organic matter quantities on a UK golf green lies between 6.0 and 7.0% (20mm depth) by volume. The amount of organic matter falls as depth increases by approximately 1% for every 10mm. We thus have a good idea of the target values we need to aim for.

Four to six 13mm cores to a depth of 100mm are taken from various areas around the green surface. Once received by the STRI the samples are put through a process that accurately measures thatch and organic matter amounts at different depths in the profile. The important benefit of the testing is that by measuring organic matter at various depths within a green profile, we can assess specific areas where improvement is needed. The tests are conducted at 20mm depth increments that are 0-20mm, 20-40mm, 40-60mm, 60-80mm and 80-100mm.

A process of burning the organic matter establishes organic matter content. This is very accurate unlike the digestion method sometimes employed. Testing at the measured depths is the only way to fully understand the profile and address organic matter problems.

With this information we are now more able to plan, implement and justify coring, scarifying or other organic matter control operations when the target values are known together with a full understanding of what machines are best used to yield the best return. With this information to hand we have tailored our aeration programme for the coming month, we are only completing solid tine operations combined with over-seeding and top dressing which will be far less disruptive to the surfaces than coring.

We will be undertaking this testing procedure on more greens throughout both courses in the future to enable a more detailed assessment of the golf courses. We can therefore tailor our management even more precisely targeting poorly performing greens.

All of this data will give us exact benchmarks to assess management regimes and practices for the long-term benefit of the golf courses and ultimately for the benefit of its members and visitors.

Jonathan Wood

Course Manager

April 2009