July Golf Diary 2012

Mowing and course preparation will be the priority in July, particularly with the additional golf competitions planned for this time of the year.

Prior to mowing, the surface should be thoroughly brushed. Continue to brush greens and tees daily to remove moisture from the grass surface, stopping the spread of disease and facilitating an improved quality of cut on the dry grass.

Maintain the greens at their summer height, which for many greenkeepers will range anything between (3-6mm). In the main, most club course managers tend to maintain their greens at around 4-5mm, however, there are some who choose and are able to maintain their greens at incredible low mowing heights (2.5 -3mm) to attain the speeds they desire for their golfing customers.

Other tasks that complement this work involve the use of grooming and verticutting units to remove unwanted thatch and side shoot growths. The frequency of grooming is fortnightly and verticutting monthly.

Many greenkeepers will be keeping an eye on green speeds, aiming to achieve faster greens for their premier summer golf tournaments. This, for many, usually involves dropping the sward height to around 3mm which, in the short term, is ok but ideally for no longer than a week. Keeping the sward at this length any longer will result in the grass plant becoming stressed, which may lead to some long term problems, particularly increasing susceptibility to disease.

Some greenkeepers also resort to using turf irons to help firm up playing surfaces. These are specific motorised self-propelled machines that roll greens, often used between mowing schedules. Also, a number of greenkeepers use a combination of double cutting and rolling to help improve green speeds.

Inspect, weed and rake bunkers. Most courses tend to rake their bunkers every other day to keep the sand well presented and on the face of the bunker. Repair any damage from rabbits or other animals, maintain sand up the face of the bunkers to prevent erosion.

Mowing /As required:- Maintain the greens at their summer height (3-6mm). Other tasks that complement this work involve the use of grooming and verticutting units to remove unwanted thatch and side shoot growths. The frequency of grooming is fortnightly and verticutting monthly. Mowing frequencies can vary from daily to twice weekly operations dependent on the growth of the grass and the standards set by the course manager. Mowing heights may vary depending on local conditions, type of course, course expectations, sward type and mower type.

The mowing heights are a guide, and will be subject to local weather conditions, but remember not to remove more than 1/3 of total grass height in each cut. The less stress that is placed on the grass at this vital time, the better the results further on into the season:

Greens - Mowing height should be maintained at around 3-6mm.
Tees - Mowing height should be maintained at around 10-15mm.
Fairways - Mowing height should be maintained at around 15-20mm.
Rough, Semi rough grass areas - Mow and tidy up these areas.

Irrigation/As required:- Check and monitor all sprinkler head controls/valves to see that they are working, and check the spray patterns and timing of each and every sprinkler head. Also check any manual systems, hose pipes, sprinklers and pumps. It is very important that irrigation is uniformly applied to keep the grass plant alive and healthy and to prevent dry patch occurring. Many golf courses have formal garden/ornamental areas that require watering, especially when new summer bedding schemes have been planted.

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Disease/daily check:- Greens, Tees, Fairways. Keep an eye on fungal disease attack, and use approved fungicides to treat infected areas. With the hot, humid conditions some golf courses are experiencing outbreaks of fusarium, particularly on their greens, and red thread on the fairways caused by the heavy rains leaching through the feeds.

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Fertilisers/As and when required:- Fertiliser treatment and turf tonic can be continued in accordance with your annual programme. If you don't have a fertiliser programme, have your soil tested; try an independent soil analysis company for an impartial set of results.

Most greens staff will be applying their summer fertilisers to maintain vigour and colour, aiming to cut back on the (N) nitrogen input and (P) phosphate elements, and apply something like a 8:0:6 or 9:7:7 or similar NPK fertilisers.

Straight compound fertilisers that act instantly to the conditions are generally used, rather than slow release products that can initiate or stimulate growth when you don't want it. USGA sand based greens tend to be hungrier for fertilisers compared to the pushed up soil greens. Most course managers would then look to colour up the greens with an application of iron and seaweed products prior to competitions and tournaments.

In recent years, we have seen more and more greenkeepers tailoring their feeding regimes to include a range of organic products, bio stimulants and micro nutrients. These come in the form of compost tees or specifically formulated products such as sugars and carbohydrates, which offer proven benefits to plant health and soil nutrient provision by stimulating microbial activity within the soil. Sugars and carbohydrates act to improve the plant's resistance to disease and pests, and can be applied as soil conditioners and as a micronutrient addition.

The choice of materials and how well they work can be dependent on factors such as soil type and weather, with moisture and and air temperatures being the catalyst for growth.

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Hole Changing/ Weekly:- Changing of holes should be carried out regularly, however frequency will be dependent on a number of factors, green size, greens construction, tournaments, amount of play and condition of the green. During wet periods, it is likely the hole will wear more quickly, resulting in a crowning effect and surface wear. This wear is more apparent if the green has thatch problems. The hole will tend to wear quickly and form a depression caused by the placement of the golfers' feet. You may be looking to change the hole positions more than three time per week during wet periods.

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Aeration and Topdressing/As required:- Aeration and topdressing operations will continue on the course. Many are now adopting a little and often approach to topdressing greens, applying smaller quantities of dressings throughout the year, less than 0.5 tons per green. This has several advantages - it ensures there is no build up of layers of rootzone materials, which can lead to rootbreaks in the soil profile; it avoids smothering of the grass plant and also creates minimal disruption to play:

Greens - Generally from May through to September any aeration completed on greens is done with micro tines only, so as not to disturb the playing surfaces.
Tees - Generally no aeration carried out on tees during July.
Fairways - Generally no aeration on fairways during July

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