As a result of the agronomist’s report and the subsequent members meeting, it was decided that the following work will take place this September:-
Monday 4th & Tuesday 5th, We will start and hopefully complete the hollow coring of the greens. We will be using 19 mm tines and they will be at 60 mm width spacing and 100 mm length spacing. The thatch layer is 50 mm in depth so we are coring to 60 mm.
Tuesday 5th & Wednesday 6th, We will be finishing the coring and starting the topdressing. I will be looking to dress with around 2 tonnes of straight medium/fine sand per green. This will be achieved with 2 passes throughout the day. Once the first pass has been finished we will be brushing the greens with a sweep and fill brush which has 2 brushes that work in opposite directions to move the sand into the holes. This process will then be repeated.
After the sand has been brushed into the holes we are going to use some vibrating rollers on the greens mower to help get the greens true again. The vibrating action of the rollers will also help work the sand to the bottom of the holes. The rolling will then be repeated for a number of days.
Monday 11th, We are also going to deep scarify the greens using 3 mm blades that will leave a groove 20 mm deep. This groove will then be filled with sand again at a very heavy rate of between 1 and 2 tonnes per green.
Tuesday 12th, Today again is topdressing day to fill the grooves left by the scarifying. The rate is going to be very heavy and again will be brushed in with the sweep and fill brush. This will then be followed up with the vibrating rollers to true the surface and vibrate any remaining sand down into the grooves and any holes that are left. The vibrating roller will then be used for a number of days to get the surface back into a good playing surface.
Week commencing 18th, It may be that we need to do some light sand dresses this week just to top up any remaining holes or grooves. This should not cause any inconvenience as it will only need to be done at very light rates, if at all.
This work is being carried out as a result of the vote by the members at the meeting held on August 21st. The work being done should remove between 1 & 2% of the thatch layer at all the different depths of the profile. The results of which should be noticeable through this winter and into the spring.
I would like to ask for your patience during the work and hope that you can understand that by doing this work it will speed up the time it takes to get the greens to the standard that I want and you need them to be at. If you see me on the course I will gladly explain and discuss things with you.
Regards
Dan
