Course Information Blog W/C 17.12.2012

Course Information Blog W/C 17.12.2012

As I put together this blog I am looking out of my office window and witnessing something rare and of which we have not experienced in sometime.  Glorious sunshine! All be it cold, nether the less dry and sunny!
Apologies for absent blog reports recently as myself and the staff have been taking full advantage of the hard ground conditions and concentrated on installing additional drainage to the 13th and 14th fairways.
The drop in temperatures mixed with the odd shower has obviously made ground conditions extremely slippery and dangerous over the past few weekends, therefore, my staff unfortunately made unpopular but necessary decisions to keep the course closed throughout these hazardous conditions.  At present, the ground is thawing but due to the severity and prolonged frost the turf is still frozen approx 3" underneath the turf, this is called 'permafrost' which is extremely damaging to the plant if walked on or driven on, in addition the surface becomes extremely moist and soft caused by the barrier of frozen soil 3" bellow the surface.  Unfortunately temporary greens will be in play until main greens have completely thawed.

7th/13th Drainage

To date we have now installed approx 170m of twinwall pipe drainage.  I am confident the work the staff have put into this area we will see an significant improvement in the removal of surface water around this area.  Additional secondary drainage may be required in places however we will monitor this throughout the winter period.
Staff are now concentrating on the last and final stage of the area's to be drained which is the l/h/s and rear of 7th green.  As expected, this area requires extensive rock removal(there's a surprise!!) in order we can extend the pipe work as far as possible beyond the green, yhis is another area where we have seen surface flooding this summer hopefully not in 2013.

14th Drainage

We are currently upgrading the main drainage pipework from our septic tank located close to our maintenance building, from here pipework flows towards and down parallel with the course road and finally into a concrete chamber to the r/h/s 6th.
This work has become necessary due to the deterioration in the old pipe work and also we are preparing for the proposed additional lateral drainage that myself and recent drainage consultants  have identified.  On this note I have recently contacted Jim Westwood - Drainage Consultant for the S.T.R.I last week regarding our drainage appraisal report.  He predicts this will be with us soon after the festive period now.  On it's arrival myself and the C.O.M will discuss the way forward and inform the membership as to what our intentions are for improving the current and additional drainage issues.

On behalf of the green staff and myself may I take this opportunity to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and good luck in 2013 golf season.

Yours in golf,
Douglas

Course Information Blog For W/C 26/11/2012

Welcome to this weeks blog.

Apologies for the absent blog reports recently as this was due to a staff shortage that i had to attend to at short notice therefore my overalls made a comeback as I mucked in with the staff to continue installing more drainage.  On that subject, we will continue this week installing further drainage to the 7th and 13th area.

To date we have installed approx 85m of 100mm twin wall pipe and back fill, unfortunately, as usual we encountered approx 63m of Cathkin rock which is a slow and monotonous task to remove and one we come across often on the course.

 

Current excavation has uncovered the original clay tile drainage which has unfortunately been damaged during the irrigation installation back in 1999/2000.

 



 

This and the 3 inches of thatch are a contributing factor to the current flooding which can be seen around this area at present.  Although we have drainage plans dating back to 1994 of which Brian Renaux has kindly updated to disc form.  Thanks Brian.  Existing drainage prior to 1994 has unfortunately not been recorded or if so has been misplaced.  However we could possibly identify older drainage using Google earth.

 

R/H/S 14th green/15th rough and 16th fairway

 

Recently our staff have been investigating continual flooding to the above areas the 16th fairway especially is showing signs of improvement due to the work carried out previously to the R/H/S of the 15th green.  The good news is that the main 150mm drain running from the L/H/S of the 16th bunker flows down towards and underneath the 16th tee is flowing fine.  We will continue to remove thatched turf and rootzone on top of the existing lateral drainage to the L/H/S of the fairway and rough.  I have scheduled this to start as and when we have completed the 7th and 13th project.

 

Drainage Consultant Visit

 

I met with John Westwood from the Sports Turf Research Institute (S.T.R.I) on the 23rd and 24th of November 2012 for a 2 day course inspection which will include a drainage appraisal report for Cathkin Braes Golf Club.

Myself and Jim walked over most the flowing current drainage issues especially on holes 14 and 16.  Also lengthy discussions about thatch build up and tree's.

After our course inspection we analysed photographs and drainage plans over a cup of tea in the club house.  As you know our rock sub base is a severe handicap when coming to install drainage but one we will have to overcome to improve certain areas of the course.

Jim will now study his findings and a report will be with us shortly, approx 2 weeks from the time of his visit, Jim predicts!  Unfortunately it would be sooner but understandably he has been in undated from golf clubs requiring his services.

In the meantime I have identified areas throughout the course where in my opinion we require additional drainage and renovation to our fairways and transferred this information on to a course plan in addition, obtaining drainage installation rates from various contractors so an approx budget can be set, however i would prefer to wait until we receive Jim's report in case further drainage requires pricing.

Jim is extremely qualified in this area and has a history of advising high profile clubs including open championship venues, therefore in my opinion we should seriously consider his recommendations so that we can produce an installation and budget drainage plan to ensure the course stays open and playable as long as it possibly can.

 

Pitch marks

 

It has been brought to my attention that pitch-marks are not being repaired on our greens, especially if the flag pin is located to the rear of the green.  Golf balls landing at the front of the green generally roll to the back, therefore, pitch marks are often overlooked. 

Research into unrepaired pitch marks from various institutes have stated that not only do they cause uneven and unsightly putting surfaces but also, damage to the leaf blade can have and effect on disease(fusarium) establishment especially in periods where environmental conditions are favourable IE: Autumn/Winter.

I have included a short video to illustrate the amount of pitch marks to our 5th green.  226 golf balls(mainly Gordon's practise balls) were used but not harmed in the making of the video!!

 

 

 

This highlights the amount of pitch marks on the green, all be it this is a par 3 hole and a small green never the less we have to be more aware especially now the winter period is upon us.

It is in our own interest to protect our putting surfaces throughout winter as this will be extremely beneficial as we enter spring 2013 competition season.

I would also like you to view a short video outlining the procedure on repairing your pitch mark by visiting - Golf Monthly

 

Thank you for your attention and co operation, until next week.

 

Douglas McIntosh