We have finally had a taste of winter in the last couple of weeks with a period of frost and frozen surfaces followed by a brief scattering of snow.The course remains wet under foot  so care is required when playing.

                                                snow covered surface lasting a few hours

frost still on the 1st green Vixen at midday

We have carried out some bunker drainage work on the 4th Heron and 2nd green Hawk.These were not draining well after rain due to contaminated  sand or blocked pipes from tree roots.We hope to continue this work on other bunkers when we have the materials in stock.

                                               investigating the problem 4th Heron

                                              trying to rectify the problem

                                                         removing the blocked pipe

Putting in new shingle over the pipe followed by 

clean new sand

The hole cups and flag pin ferrules have not been replaced for some time and had become worn,this meant that in windy conditions the flags  would blow out and lie on the green or lean over damaging the sides of the hole.

                                               Sean cleaning off the pin for the new ferrules

New ferrule and cup

On the Vixen we are replacing the old painted distance  marker posts with new plastic ones,this will be completed  soon

new post looking clean and informative

One of the operations that we regularly carry out through the winter months  is to apply grit sand to high wear areas when the surface is dry.This helps firm the areas up and improves the wear tolerance  of these high volume traffic areas.

Craig sand dressing 9th Hawk

I recently attended the BIGGA and British Turf Management Exhibition show in Harrogate where there are many different  workshops and seminars to attend as well as trade show.It is important to Continue to Develop as a Profession (CPD) so that we are improving our courses and ourselves to benefit our golfers and customers alike.

The outdoor furniture from Chesfield Downs Golf Club has been In our Maintenance Building so that we can repair ,renovate and clean them up ready for use on the veranda of the clubhouse,this work is still on going 

Sam sanding down the wood

                                           applying 1st coat of wood stain

                                                     Craig apply the final coat of wood stain

Unfortunately while many users of the course enjoy playing there golf or foot golf they forget to  place there empty cans in bins around the course or take them back with them.
How heavy is an empty plastic drink bottle to carry anyway .......?

                                       This pile from one tee area on the Vixen in the bushes

                                        Hand mowing of the greens gives good presentation

                                           
The end of January saw Sean Eady my Deputy  finally finish employment at South Essex as he takes up the role of Head GreenKeeper at Ballards Gore G C. I wish him Success.

How to solve Slow play on the course ..............play quicker

We have continued with our Winter work,sanding path ends,traffic control and working to clear ditches.The gorse area near  the 6th tee heron has been reduced in height ,this will stimulate new growth and keep it manageable as Gorse is an important plant for wildlife .

                                               last years gorse now regenerating

                                                  this years gorse cut and ready for regrowth

                                                        ditch work near the 6th Hawk

                                                                 6th Hawk

                                                                    3rd  Vixen

We had some road planing left so we were able to extend another path through a wet area on the 1st Hawk ,Sean and Craig seen here adding road planings

During October we sprayed selected areas of our Environmental rough with a product called Rescue which takes out some of the coarser grasses like rye grass.By removing these species we will encourage the finer leaved grasses,this will help in finding and playing your ball  and produce  a higher quality rough with an improved visual appearance.The product is relatively expensive so it will be a case of spraying areas when we are able to through the coming years as well as continuing with our normal environmental rough management.Those areas sprayed can be seen as they have a discoloured appearance now but this will change as we go into the spring.

Rough  9th vixen sprayed with Rescue

Many of you will know my Deputy Sean Eady who has been with me for over six years, both as a work colleague and friend.He will be leaving us at the end of January to become the Head Greenkeeper at Ballards Gore Golf Club.He will be missed but I know that he will take up the challenge there and take Ballads Gore forward.We wish him all the best for 2015. 

2014 has been a challenging year for various reasons but we have come through it and I hope you have enjoyed playing the course and will continue to do so.As we come to the end of 2014 I would like to thank all those who have followed this blog and to wish all our members and visitors a Happy New Year through into 2015.

On behalf of the Greenstaff I would like to thank the Seniors Captain and all the seniors and Ladies for the invitation to play in Your Christmas Turkey Trot on Wednesday 10th December .It was a bright and breezy day and good fun,with the course playing well after all the recent rain,followed by a Christmas dinner.Sean and I won a couple of  prizes in the raffle and Craig had one par on his card so we went home happy.

The wet weather through October and November restricted the type of work we would normally be carrying out through this period.Our attention therefore turned to other tasks around the course.Ditch work was carried out on the 4th heron removing overhanging branches,bramble  and debris,allowing easier access and ball retrieval.

                                                          blocked by bramble

                                                                      cleared

View from 3rd Hawk along cleared ditch

The prolonged wet spell meant many bunkers required to be pumped out so that limited raking could be achieved 

 The use of pumps through the winter period in wet and muddy areas has a detrimental effect on parts which require periodically to be replaced

As the ground conditions becomes to soft for our machinery  we have to revert to trusted old fashion methods to get the job done  this is especially the case on the Driving Range.Here many hands when available can make light work in hand- collecting the balls.

Craig  emptying his ball collector

We have removed the bramble around the Pond on the 4th vixen to tidy this area which is in view from the entrance road on the course

                                                                              before

after

Our very recent work has been the extension of two paths,the 6th tee path heron and the 3rd tee path on the Hawk,these will direct golf traffic away from the front of the tees and wet areas.The ground conditions were to wet for us to use our tractor and trailer to remove the spoil so this will be removed once the ground conditions allow us to use our machinery.As we are able we will fill in the worst of the potholes allowing better access around the course and enabling golfers to keep there trolleys on the paths.

Below a selection of photos of the work

                                                        edging out the marked path

                                                                       digging it out

                                  adding and raking out the road planings(rainbow for extra effect)

using wacker plate

Hopefully improving areas like this

Its that time of year when we have to start controlling golf traffic around the course especially around the concentrated wear areas . To help protect these areas we dress with sharp sand to help firm the surfaces. It is a great help if golfers would keep there golf carts and when in use buggies on the paths around greens and tees as this prevents marking up the grass  into wet muddy areas. We are aiming to keep the course clean and mud free through the winter months so that by March-April time we can set up and be ready for maintaining and preparing  the course from a better position.

                                      These trolley lines wouldn't be there if the path was used

 As the weather allows we have continued with our aeration program  by solid tining the greens and slit tining fairways

We have cut down the hedge height on the 3rd Hawk as it was unmanageable  but as it is Hawthorn and Blackthorn it will grow back  and its now at a height that we can manage

As we are now into the autumn months our management of the fine turf areas is to prepare the surfaces to with stand the winter months when growth eventually slows down, and recovery from any damage either from disease or golf traffic is slow
The fairways were sprayed with soluble fertiliser, the tees had a slow release granular fertilise applied, and the green also had a granular feed. The  fertilisers used are low in nitrogen as lush growth is not required this time of year, but the potash and phosphates will in courage root development and harden up the plants .

Our Aeration programme continues with the greens and teetops being solid tined as well as slit tined

                                            Geoff Turner slit tining the 8th green Hawk

October is an ideal time to plant bulbs for the spring and this year we have added to those already planted previously with 1500 daffodil bulbs,500 crocus and 100 alliums planted around the clubhouse area.

                                        Sam Cooke planting Daffodils near the Putting green

 

We have been receiving free wood chip from a local arborist which has been used around the flower beds near the clubhouse, This acts as a weed suppressant ,soil improver and aids moisture  retention

 

October has proved to be a wet month especially the week 6th to 18th when we had 100mm of rain but the course is holding up well apart from some bunkers which are slow to drain.

 

There are those who are unaware that golf buggies should not be driven into bunkers

 

  This time of year autumn mists can often  change the views across the course

 

As the autumn months approach  we have now started to increase our aeration programme ,with 2 passes of slit tining and a single pass of solid tining  on the greens completed so far and a  pass on the fairways completed . This will continue as long as the weather conditions are favourable. It is hoped to solid tine the tees and aprons as well.

An end of season spray on the roughs using up our last supply of selective weed control will help to keep these areas cleaner when we reach spring.

The greens have been sprayed with a fungicide due to an out break of fusarium disease and with an application of soluble feed the scaring has grown out.

There was some damage to certain greens with a hydraulic oil leak from the greens mower  but the steady growth from the feed has allowed this to quickly grow out .

The fairways have all been sprayed with a combination of soluble fertilisers to encourage recovery of the turf going into the winter months.

I can now add to my CV  course presentation  of the Ryder cup achieved at very short notice when we hosted the Football Golf Ryder Cup shown on Sky TV.With Brad Freidal representing America and Jimmy Bullard representing England. America the winning team.

Brad Freidal and Jimmy Bullard

 

Sky Tv filming at South Essex on the Vixen