The weather is still causing problems on the golf course with wave after wave of wet and windy weather.  New T-plinths are all in place but now ballwashers need to be re-sited.
Work is now backing-up but we are continuing on ditches and this is reaping rewards with the discovery of old land drains and the cleaning of old almost defunct ditches.

Ditch behind middle practice ground

The 16th Tee on the Abbotts is finally being re-levelled.  The first job is to remove turf.  Followed be laying in new sleepers.  The ground will be roughly levelled before pegging and the beginning of stage 2.

Ground being broke on 16th Tee

Bridge from Par 3

The bridge above comes from the par 3 course.  It will eventually link the 16th path right through to the clubhouse path.  It will allow staff to use a back path to the Priors at anytime of the year without driving on the golf course.  We will complete this work in stages with the two ends being finished 1st.

Ditching work continues on the course with the digger now clearing the 7th, 4th, 16th and then 18th on the Abbotts.  New T signs are going out on the course as you will have seen.  Although it will take a while to move the ballwashers and other furniture. 

The 1st Tee is having sleepers added to the scrub bed and planting will be increased if we ever see the sun in spring.

Crow damage on certain parts of the course has reached an unacceptable level.  The pecking is caused by the birds eating grubs within the turf.  There are 2 types of grub in the sward 1 is called leatherjackets and will be sprayed as soon as conditions allow.  The other are called Chafer Grubs an these cannot be treated until late spring.  With the milder wetter weather the grubs have moved closer to the surface to feed and left them open to attack from the crows. At the moment we are cutting, brushing and divoting these areas on a regular basis which will hopefully keep these areas clearer.  As we move towards spring we will spray for leatherjackets and then treat for chafers later in the season.

Lifecycle of a chafer grub

The courses are going through a good deal of pain at the moment with the Priors now having trolleys suspended.  Weather for the weekend looks poor but hopefully after we may see a colder more seasonal feeling return.

The picture below are key to improving drainage on the courses.  The first is a before of a ditch located to the left of the 12th fairway Abbotts and the second is the area cleared.  This ditch connects with the 11th T and 10th green both of which are very wet.

Before, What ditch!

There it is

  V-deep tining on the Priors greens this week.  10mm solid-tines down 10 inches.  This aggressive practice should help moisture move quickly through the profile and holes will allow air and root movement through the green.

  We will repeat this process next week on the Abbotts were water movement through the profile has been slow in the last few months.

  Lots of rain in the last 3 weeks and the course is now moving into soft and greasy conditions.  As ever rope and post is going out to protect areas on the course.

   

  A wild and windy start to the week with some serious damage to a number of trees on the course.
The willow on the left side of the buggy park was due for removal in early December as it was diseased.  Unfortunately the wind had other ideas for the main central willow.  Limbs were left hanging and we had no option but the removal of the crown of the tree.

A drastic haircut

It is likely that the central willow will survive but only time will tell.  I think some more planting will be needed to improve the view going up the 18th fairway.

  On the course we had damage to willows on 1, 2, 16 and 17.  Most have been cleared with the rest to be finished by early next week. The Priors has lost most of the Oak on the 1st green.  Once this has been cleared I will inspect the tree for damage.  There is early signs of rot in the centre of the Oak hence why it shattered in the middle but the decision as to the trees future may be decided by a professional arborist.

150 years gone in 60 seconds

  On the course almost 100mm of rain is beginning to take it's toll.  Buggy use will now be monitored on a daily basis, whilst rope and post is starting to go out.

  Fairways that have received work in the Autumn have not filled in as well as expected and too many bare areas cover these.  I think further feed and seed will be used whilst warm weather continues in an effort to fill in empty spots in the sward.  However overall look on these fairways is much better with a clearly defined edge and different colour on the shorter grass against the thicker, lusher roughs.

  As you will have seen of the 1st and 10th tees, the Electricity board have been in remove growth under the power lines.  The 10th in particular will allow more light to that tee and it is a practice we will be expanding over the winter months to reclaim some of the overgrown areas by tees.

Much tidier

  A real mixed bag weather wise this week.  Autumn is definitely here and the course will now slip slowly into winter mode as the month draws on.  However course is still in good shape with the warmer weather surfaces have filled in well following a long dry summer so will enter winter in a good state.
  This week Abbotts tees have been hollow-tined to open up the surface and early next week they will receive a slow release fertilizer.  This is a coated fertilizer that releases nutrients according to the weather.

Hollow-tining the 1st Tee

It allows us to have a steady stream of Nutrient available to the plant throughout the winter but only if temperature and moisture levels go above 'X' giving us control.  Tees and approaches are already in good shape so this approach should see them last well into the winter months.

In the sunshine and showers on Friday we took some great pictures of rainbows across the 13th green on Abbotts.

 Greens will have the height raised during the month which will increase leaf tissue thus aiding photosynthesis with less available light.  The plan is to solid-tine Abbotts greens this or next week down to 2 inches just to open up the surfaces with a deep tine 8-10 inches scheduled early December. Abbotts will be ready for a 2nd preventative spray for disease this week to keep clean surfaces.  

  Priors greens are only sprayed for Fusarium when we spot disease and you can see the pitfalls of this strategy clearly at the moment.  After a warm damp weekend the disease developed rapidly and by Monday was clearly out of control.  Sprayed on Monday and 3 days of good growth have seen excellent recovery but it highlights the aggressive nature of this disease as you can see below

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Close up of fungal Mycelium

Disease has killing a patch of grass

As we pan out we can see the extent of the damage

 

 Fairways on the Abbotts are looking much better after the intensive work of the last few weeks.  The fertilizer and iron together with the good weather has forced them on well.  The seed has yet to come through and believe it or not us greenkeepers now need some rain to help this process along.

 Greens on both courses have been given a light granular feed to help fill in some of the smaller indentations, with a light dusting of topdressing due next week.

  Below is the new information board outside the Pro-shop.  This will be used as your first point of call for things happening on the maintenance of the course.  Each day as needed we will display important information such as Buggies off, or Aeration on an area of the course.  This will give you a better idea of daily works likely to effect your round

  

Next week all being well tees on the Abbotts are being hollow-tined and then feed with a slow release(to last all winter) fertilizer.