You will find below, the Course Manager’s report for Spring 2013
I would urge everyone to read the report, as it does clearly explain the work being undertaken on the Course and the reasons why some elements are necessary for the upkeep , protection and development of our Links, for both the short and long term.
Feedback from both Members and most importantly Visiting players, continues to be extremely positive. We should all recognise the hard work, effort and dedication by Micheal and his Team, that has meant we have a wonderful course, in the best condition possible, despite some pretty challenging weather. We should also appreciate that unlike many other Courses , Dooks Links are playable almost all of the time.
The Course truly represents great value for money.
I would also like to express my Sincere Thanks to all the Members who have given us their voluntary time over the past few months. Some individuals in particular have been outstanding in their commitment to help. You probably know who they are !! Their combined help has enabled us to massively improve the appearance of the Course surrounds and the Garden areas. Together, we have creosoted all the railway sleepers, cut back bushes in the garden areas, power cleaned around the clubhouse and repaired and painted fences etc. None of this work would have been possible without these volunteers. Quite simply spare manpower is unavailable and contracting costs for the work would have proven prohibitive.
There will always be more to do and we will always be looking for volunteers from time to time, to assist with various projects.
Should any Member have any thoughts on what else we might undertake with Voluntary help, to improve the appearance and aesthetics of the Club and at no cost to the Club apart from Voluntary labour, then please feel free to contact me at any time.
Thank You
Tom Pickersgill - Dooks Links Course Committee
Spring 2013
Greens - After the coldest March in many years it is nice to report that the greens have been in good shape over the last couple of months. The greens have performed very well and it is great to hear positive feedback from members, visiting golfers and especially the players in the Munster Ladies championships. It is evidence that our policy of introducing more and more of the finer grasses to our greens is successful and allowing us to have better links greens even through the cold windy weather we have experienced recently. It is important that on a links course that one has got firm greens, so as to allow golfers to experience a true links experience. The species of fescues we use in the overseeding is important because they have to be able to withstand many factors to grow properly. They have to be fine leaved, salt tolerant, cool temperature growing, drought tolerant, rhizomatous cultivars for recovery, high sward density, disease tolerant and have a good colour tolerance. At present we use approximately nine different cultivars of fescues in our over seeding. Each cultivar brings its own merit and tolerances to the above factors, weather and playing performance ability throughout the year.
Over the next couple of weeks we will as weather allows, overseed all our greens and aprons. The greens will be seeded using a dimple seeder. They will be sanded slightly heavier than normal. This is done so as to protect the seeds from the weather and foot traffic. The sand protects the young seedlings allowing for greater germination. Once the young seeds begin to germinate we will apply a granular fertiliser 4-3-4 (approx. 10-14 days after seeding). This base feed will help in the germination and the establishment of the young seedling’s and in the recovery of the existing greens sward. There after the greens will receive light foliar applications of sulphate of ammonia and seaweed throughout the season when feeding is required. We usually aim for approximately 5gN/m2 over the full year. The low feeding rate is important as this helps the low nitrogen required finer grasses become stronger and help to keep the levels of poa annua low.
Since March we have begun our wetting agent programme. This will continue monthly throughout the growing season. The wetting agent is a penetrant that helps to allow water to enter the putting surfaces and retain moisture in the greens profile. It is important so as not to allow the root zones become hydrophobic during dry and windy weather. The greens have been solid tined twice since Christmas. This will be done again after the over seeding programme with 1/2 inch solid tines to an approximate depth of 8 inches. This aeration is done so as to relieve compaction, aerate roots, and allows moisture into the root zone and to prevent greens from becoming too firm. The height of cut on the greens is presently at 6mm. This will be lowered gradually as both the weather and growth improve. The frequency of cut will also increase. The greens will be ironed using the thru turf iron as required to keep surfaces smooth.
The holes will be changed as required and again will become more frequent as the number of golfers and competitions increase.
Again it is very important to remind golfers the importance of repairing their pitch marks. Un-repaired pitch marks can have a detrimental effect on the playing quality of a putting surface.
Tees - Over the last few months the tees have been sanded so as to allow to keep thatch levels low and to dilute any organic matter debris on the surface and to help to keep the tee surfaces level and firm. The tees will get another light sanding over the next few weeks once growth increases.
The tees have been spiked with 1/2 inch tines and will be done again where required over the next few months. The tees will be assessed and worn areas will be over seeded where required.
A spring granular fertiliser has been applied, a 6-2-8 organic compound, to the tees. This will be followed up with foliar applications throughout the season when required. The tees will be cut as required to a height of 10mm with the frequency increasing as growth increases. The tee boxes will be divoted and the divot boxes put out on the par 3’s.
The tee markers are back on the main tees for the season. The tee markers and posts have been cleaned and freshened up along with some of the fencing. The tee markers will be moved daily and for competitions.
Again it is important to highlight the etiquette for tee boxes. Golfers at all times should replace divots, pick up broken tees, play off markers of the day, adhere to traffic routing and do not carry trolleys on to the tees.
Aprons - The aprons are the areas around the greens. In other words they are an extension of the greens cut at a higher height of cut. It is important that they are very similar in many ways to our greens and perform as equal in firmness. That is why our maintenance programme for the aprons will be very similar to the maintenance of the greens. Therefore the aprons will be seeded sanded and spiked like the greens once we have the greens maintenance programme complete. The aprons will also receive light applications of fertiliser and wetting agent as it is required.
After the application of herbicide to remove the rye grasses last Autumn some of the aprons are weaker than others, due to lesser amounts of finer, grasses, these aprons will require extra overseeding throughout the year. The aprons will be cut at a height of 10mm throughout the growing season.
We will continue using the white lines around the greens complex so as to protect these areas and help to manage traffic routes way from the greens. Having trolleys and buggies too near the greens can cause a lot of damage through stress and compaction to the aprons, especially during dry weather. In links golf a lot of golfers like to chip and run or putt from the aprons. This is why we protect these areas and manage the traffic flow.
Fairways - The fairways came through the winter with a good coat of grass. The benefits of over seeding from the autumn was very evident and the lines of young seedlings very noticeable. However over the last few weeks during the dry cold spell the fairways have been knocked back because of the lack of moisture and heat. This is temporally and they will recover as conditions become more favourable. We are back playing off full fairways since ladies championships, and again the use of the fairway mats over the winter period has helped greatly in the condition of the fairways coming into the main golfing season. We would like to ask all golfers to please return any mats with they may have in their golf bags, car or at home. By returning as many mats as we can – this will help in a nice cost savings on the course budget. Due to the staging of the Munster championships and the weather after, unfortunately we will not be able to carry out our seeding programme on the fairways this spring. Hopefully we will make up for it in the Autumn. Over the winter all the fairways and walkways have been verti-drained using 3/4 inch tines. Again this is done so as to relieve compaction, increase root growth and improve drainage. The fairways have received an application of 7-6-17 fertiliser in March. We will see the benefits of this as the weather improves. The fairways will receive light applications of fertiliser when required throughout the season. From May onwards when environmental conditions are favourable the fairway will be treated with a herbicide to control any weeds growing on fairways. The fairways will be divoted regularly as time allows. The fairways will be cut regularly at a height of 13mm as required.
Rough - At present the roughs are dormant and have not started to grow yet. Over the winter we cut back and collected a lot of grass from some of the heavier roughs. They were then scarified using a grass harrow. This helped to clean out any moss and dead grass that has accumulated at the base of the roughs over the years. We do this so as to thin out the roughs and produce a lighter whispier sward in the rough. This will encourage the finer grasses that are more desirable on links courses. It is important that the grass clippings and debris is removed so as to keep nutrient levels low. It also helps to reduce thatch levels and the regeneration of the more undesirable agricultural weed grasses. As time and labour allows we are continuing with our management plan on the gorse bushes on the course. At present this is evident where we have thinned out the bushes between hole 6 and 7. We have cut back the bushes in the centre, so leaving the outside bushes. Once the inner section has re-grown we will cut back the outer perimeter. We will continue to cut back more bushes as time allows.
The population of rabbits has increased greatly throughout the Links. It is very evident at the moment to see all the damage that the rabbits do on the course. The amount of burrowing and scrapes are having a major effect on the playing surfaces throughout the Links. While such numbers of rabbits are present on the Links, it requires a lot of labour hours in keeping playing surfaces repaired. It is very difficult to control the population of rabbits nowadays so we are dependent on the natural predators in the area. In recent weeks, we have been shooting some rabbits at night. This will continue over the next couple of months.
Bunkers - A bunker is a hazard which plays an important role on a golf course. The functions of a bunker is to exact a penalty for a badly played shot, add to the strategic playing of a hole and have visual impact to the hole. Therefore, bunkers can give rise to great debate and discussion on a golf course. Can I quote Old Tom Morris here where he describes bunkers as a “not a place of pleasure, they’re for punishment and repentance.” It is true to say that at some stage all golfers will at one time hate and curse bunkers on a golf course. However, this is their function. During the Open in 2000, Tiger Woods was the only player to avoid all the bunkers during his four rounds at St Andrews. He attributed this to why he went on to win comfortably. Therefore, the moral being the best way to deal with bunkers is to stay out of them. Unfortunately, this is easier said than done. Over the last couple of month and prior to the Ladies Championships, all the bunkers have been tidied up. The bunkers were assessed regards to sand levels, with sand added where required and shaped. We also carried out work on the bunkers at holes 6 and 9 where we lowered the backs of those bunkers. Here the turf and the root zone were removed. We softened and recontoured these areas so as to look natural with its surroundings. The root zone and turf were replaced. This is done so as to allow golfers to enter and exit the bunkers more easily and safely.
The sand used in Links bunkers is the natural sand found in its environs. This is so because it is more natural looking and helps in the drainage. However, Links sand is a finer sand and can blow quite easily around the bunker in windy conditions losing the shape of the bunker. It can become softer as the sand dries out and firmer as it saturates after rain. All these factors influence the playability of these natural hazards. To keep the bunkers perfect can result in a lot of labour hours. We will continue to shape and rake the bunkers as often as we can. Over the next few weeks we will apply granular or liquid fertiliser to the surrounds of the bunkers. This will help to strengthen and repair these areas.
It is important that golfers take care in the bunkers by entering and exiting the bunkers properly, raking the bunkers by pushing the sand up the faces of bunkers and not pulling the sand to the backs, and by replacing the rakes in the centre of each bunker.
Irrigation - At present, the irrigation system is getting its annual maintenance. During the winter the whole system was drained. This is done so as to protect the pipe system and sprinklers from frost damage. The whole system will have to be flushed out, each sprinkler individually and repressurised. The water tank will be cleaned out physically. This work has to be carried out because of the large amounts of iron in the water. It is very time consuming but has to be done to lessen the chance of water nozzles getting blocked and preventing pump parts being corroded and to allow the whole system to run more smoothly and efficiently when required. Other work to the irrigation is to keep the pop-ups trimmed, clean and tidy.
At present we have only one bore hole feeding the irrigation tank. It takes 12 hours to fill the tank. This is sufficient to run our system of watering the greens, tees and the aprons only. If we have to do extra irrigation on other parts of the course this can drain our reservoir leaving insufficient amounts of water for a cycle. This will only occur during very hot, dry periods. If we do get such periods we may have to install a second bore hole to supply the demand. Currently we are waiting for a replacement computer to control the irrigation system.
Drainage - During the winter and very wet weather, the drains have been flushed and rotted out so they can work effectively. A lot of iron sediment builds up in the drainage pipes due to the nature of the soil at Dooks. They’ve also been checked for any breakages and repaired where required. The drainage system at Dooks is now getting very old with more and more breaks and blockages occurring more frequently. This is very evident with holes 2, 12-18 with hole 17 being the most affected. It is hoped to address this area over the coming months when water levels decrease with insulation of new drains in the wetter areas. Hopefully this will help to keep these fairways drier and more playable going into next winter. It will also be down to time and budgets as to how much work will be carried out.
Clubhouse Surrounds - When time allows the staff continue to do as much as they can to maintain the surrounds of our clubhouse. Over the last 12 months, a lot of work has been carried out in this area. This work has been carried out by a group of our own members voluntarily. The bushes have been cut back and tidied, flowerbeds weeded, entrance gate painted, sleepers and fences painted, power-hosing etc.., A great big thank you to all those who have helped out in this area. It is hoped to continue this work with the help of members going forward. If you would like to help, please contact the course committee. At present, the area in front of the bar window has been cleared out and will be reseeded over the coming weeks. It is hoped this work will allow more light into the bar and portray a nicer and more pleasing view of the course.
The area right of the walk-way has been reseeded with a mixture of wild flowers. This will allow for low maintenance and add colour to this area.
Machinery - All of our machines have received their annual spring maintenance before the main cutting season. All machines have been fully serviced with oil, air and fuel filters replaced. The machines have been greased, hydraulics checked and operation checked. The cylindrical mowers will be re-sharpened as required.
We have received quotations for the replacement of some of our machinery and are waiting the final clearance from our bank regarding the finance. Hopefully this will be concluded shortly. It is important for both cost and efficiency that we start a replacement programme for our machinery.
Etiquette - As this is the first report and just before the main golf season begins, we would like to remind everyone the importance of good etiquette on the golf course. All golfers can greatly help in the maintenance of the golf course simply by adhering to proper etiquette on the course. The practice of good etiquette on the golf course will also help to demonstrate the great pride and privilege it is to be a member of Dooks.
Conclusion - So this is a report of what we will be doing on the course over the Spring period and going into the early Summer period. We do hope to achieve the majority of what is set out in this report. I hope it will also help you, the committee, to understand the work that we are doing and what we are trying to achieve out on the golf course. After all, people come to Dooks to play golf on the Links. This should, and always should be, the major priority in Dooks.
Micheal Shanahan Course Committee
Head GreenKeeper
