GREENS
The greens had been hollow cored with the Yellow course
completed in the past 10 days. Hollow coring of the Blue
greens is not required this autumn; instead, pencil tinning
will be carried out.
All greens had been over seeded with the velvet bent
grass cultivar Greenwich on Monday, September 18th
as part of the programme to improve the quality and
performance of the greens while at the same time
reducing disease incidence.
Over seeding with velvet bent grass will increase the
percentage of fine grass that is disease resistance in the
sward leading to higher performance. The seed will take
7-10 days to germinate with full establishment taking at
least 4 weeks.
A number of specific issues were identified in relation to
the new greens and the 9th green on the Red course.
These were:
1. New Greens - symptoms of Fairy Ring were observed
in the sward of these greens consisting of necrotic rings
scattered across the surface. This is Type 1 fairy ring in
which the grass is killed. They are common in new sand
based root zone and are caused by different fungi that kill
the turf grass.
2. 9th Green Red Course - extensive Black Layer
development in the root zone caused by the development
of anaerobic conditions due to excessive root zone
moisture. This has led to thinning of the sward despite
hollow coring. Management of this problem requires
dealing with the issues that are causing black layer
development, namely, excessive wetness due to shade
and lack of air movement. The large chestnut tree to the
right of the green should be removed to provide greater
light and air movement.
CONCLUSION
The golf course continues to be maintained to a very high
standard with excellent turf grass development evident in
all areas ensuring excellent playing surfaces and superb
presentation standards.
The management plan is focussed on sustainable
management to continuously improve the standards and
performance of the golf course while at the same time
reducing inputs and costs. The programmes for the
fairways and greens are showing excellent results in this
regard.
The autumn/winter programme is well underway and will
continue to be implemented with the next major target
being leaf removal.
Spotted in Rathfarnham GC
Join the WASPS
War against slow playing society