The Duke’s Green Keeping

Hello again.

Not quite the summer sunshine we had just before the Easter holidays at the moment. After ensuring the irrigation system is working correctly it has barely stopped raining!

In between heavy rain showers we have been hollow coring tees. Its been a staggered approach over the past couple of weeks, mainly to attack moss on the tees. To start off we verticut the tees to a depth of 3mm to thin out the moss, we then applied a granular fertiliser with a high iron content which would hit the moss and encourage grass growth. We waited until the moss had turned black before verticutting them again to pull out as much moss as possible. The plan was then to hollow core,top dress and over seed but due to the rainfall over the past week we have managed to get all the tees hollow cored and will complete the topdressing and overseeding this week (weather permitting!)

One good way of taking advantage of the rain over the past couple of weeks is to wash in any fertiliser we need to apply at this time of year. So keeping this in mind we have fertilised greens, tees, approaches and fairways so it shouldn’t be too long before we start to see some increased grass growth which is well timed as we have 4 new staff starting this week to assist us.

The next couple of weeks will be busy getting the new guys up to speed and training etc. Its a busy time of year…..

Derek

Hi Everyone,

It’s all go here at The Duke’s, as I am sure it is at most golf courses at the moment. The drought continues for us on the east coast and with the temperatures up into the 20s it’s an early start to ensure the irrigation system is working correctly!. A few minor repairs to deal with some pipes leaking but nothing to much to set us back. Normally after this period of dry weather I would be expecting the greens to be drying out, but for the first time in 4 years we have decided to use a wetting agent programme which has proven to be a good decision!. We have only had around 25mm of rainfall so far this year and speaking to some colleagues through near Stirling, they have had nearly 200mm in the same time period. I am sure further west will have had even more and would gladly pass some our way though!.

We have spent the past few days verticutting the tees before we apply a 4-0-4 mosskiller fertiliser. This should knock back any moss that we have on the tees(generally the ones that get used the least).

The greens have had applications of foliar fertilsers, seaweed and wetting agent this week in an attempt to take advantage of this unseasonal sunshine, this combined with a little irrigation we should see some growth, which is a bonus this early in the season.

As I said at the beginning, its all go, so better keep taking advantage of this weather and get out of the office!

Speak soon

Derek

Preparations are fully underway for the start of the golf season, the lack of snow compared to the past 2 years combined with the mild weather is really kicking the grass into action probably around a month earlier than normal. Getting the bunkers back into good condition has been a priority this month. The windy conditions are blowing the sand around in the bunkers, which has meant we have been busy moving it back to where it should be.

GREENS:

We have refrained from using any fertiliser as yet this year on the greens, the application in October of a slow release fertilizer (12-0-44) has continued to keep the grass ticking along over the winter months and along with a couple of applications of liquid seaweed in February they continue to appear healthy for the time of year.  They are now being mown twice per week which is unusual for February but the sun is shining so I am not complaining. They have had the first light top dressing of the year, we will continue to light top dress every 2-3 weeks. The greens have also had the first application of wetting agent for the season, this will continue once per month till the end of September.

TEES AND APPROACHES:

The tees have been mown this month and are due to be hollow cored/top dressed and overseeded in march as well as an application of mosskiller fertiliser. Also we have been working our way around the tees, cleaning up the yardage markers as they can get pretty grubby.

FAIRWAYS:

The fairways have been mown and have applied a mix of iron and nitrogen to give them a better colour and a small amount of fertiliser until we apply a granular fertilser in April. We have also fixed a few more drainage problems on 10 and 11 fairways.

Other activities on the golf course -

We have been transplanting a few sapling Scots Pines, Gorse and Broom down at the left of the 7th green which will bulk up in time to provide additional cover with the mature Scots Pines that we have planted over the winter.

We also received some great news this week from Club 59 who awarded the Duke’s Best Greens in the UK at their annual awards.  The team are delighted!

That’s all for now,  look forward to catching up next time.

Derek

Hi All,

With the recent dry weather we have been able to get some mowing done this week,  using the mornings to get the bunkers raked and the afternoons to get some mowing done.  The greens, approaches, fairways and rough all being cut this week as well as an application of liquid seaweed on the greens. We have also been continuing with flail mowing the long rough where the 7th hole is the most recent area to get a haircut!

We’ve been continuing with some tree work where we have removed and thinned out some trees to the left of the 6th tees. This was mentioned last year in feedback from some of our members (we do listen!). This has really opened up the views to the north which on a sunny day is spectacular. It took around three days to complete but the transformation of the views are worth it.

We have still to complete some work at the 7th where we are planting some gorse in and around the newly planted Scots Pine’s and also have some drainage work to complete on the driving range to take care of some wet areas as well as a wet area in the 10th fairway where we will be extending a drain.

Its only a matter of weeks now before we start to see some of our seasonal staff arrive. We have 8 guys joining our team for the coming season. They are the chosen ones from over 80 applications that we received this year!. As well as 3 locals, they are joining us from Scotland, England, Ireland and Canada this year. We look forward to welcoming them to our team, without them we couldn’t provide the course conditions that are expected.

Last week at the annual staff ball our very own gardener, Steven Harms was recognised for his efforts by being awarded the title of Employee of the year.  Steven single handedly looks after the landscape grounds at The Old Course Hotel, and The Duke’s as well as assisting us on the golf course. The standard of the landscape areas has improved considerably since Steven joined us, he takes great pride in his work and it is not unusual for people to comment on his work especially when he is out there in all weathers. It was great to see one of the unsung heroes being recognised so if you see someone lurking in the heather beds, please pass on your congratulations as they are well deserved.

Check out our YouTube Channel this coming week for Ayden Roberts-Jones next golf lesson – this week, continuing on practice drills, on club to target line.  Ayden will take us through placing a marker ahead of the ball to give the golfer a sense of extending down the target line to promote to feeling of sending the ball to your given target.  Happy practicing!

Derek

As mentioned in the previous post we have been building a mound behind 17 and also planting some trees to the left of 7 green. Its taken a couple of weeks to complete but the weather was kind to us, allowing us to get the job completed not only faster but also without making to much mess which is always a bonus. The mounding behind 17 green had an immediate impact on the visual of the approach to the green which is now framed really well. We used a mixture of small hand dug gorse and larger plants(3-4 feet) transplanted with the digger to ensure the right look as well as the smaller plants probably having a better chance of establishing quicker.

We also removed a rather large tree on 17 this week. It was dead and as a result dangerous due to dropping branches every time it was windy. It only took a day to take down and clear up so now we need to get a stump grinder to remove the root. Digging out the root is not an option as we don’t want to damage the large pine tree next to it which now greatly improves the look of the hole making it more of a feature.

Our gardener Stephen has also been doing some good work tidying up the heather bed at the main entrance which was becoming overgrown with creeping buttercup. With them all removed he has dressed the area with stone and the appearance is much better.

This week we also got the good news that The Duke’s has moved up the rankings on top100courses.co.uk. Up from 36 to 27 in Scotland http://www.top100golfcourses.co.uk/htmlsite/story.asp?id=377 and also in at number 96 in the UK http://www.top100golfcourses.co.uk/htmlsite/story.asp?id=379

Great news!  We’re all delighted.

Speak soon.

Derek

This week we have been forging ahead with one of our winter projects, Jon and Steven have been constructing a mound behind the 17th green and planting some gorse on and around it.  For a change the weather decided to be good to us, with the frosty days being ideal for moving soil without causing too much mess.  We have some Scots Pine trees being delivered this week which are around 4 metres tall, so I should have some interesting photos for the next post of them being installed.

Craig have also been continuing to work on various drainage problems this week by extending  a drain in the 10th fairway. He assures me this will solve the problem we had, where the start of the approach was sitting quite wet.

This week, the largest gathering of greenkeepers in Europe is taking place at Harrogate for BTME (BIGGA Turf Management Exhibition). As well as a trade show there is lots of education opportunities to take in. As mentioned in previous posts Craig is going for 3 days, after receiving the patrons award from the BIGGA central section.  Austen and I are also nipping down for a day to see what new technology is available as well as attending some seminars and also interviewing some potential seasonal greenkeeping candidates.

We also welcomed back a seasonal greenkeeper back this week.  Mark Methven rejoined us to assist while we have some extra work to complete during the tree planting etc.  Its a bit colder than it was when he was last with us during the summer but I am sure he will cope.

We also got some good news last week when The Duke’s was included in Golfweeks Best Courses in Great Britain & Ireland 2012!

Until next time, don’t forget to check out the latest in Ayden’s series of golf lessons on our YouTube page.

Derek

Hi all,

With Christmas behind us we are back to a full compliment of staff this week after the holiday season. A few more fallen trees to remove after more high winds last week before we start a project near the 7th and 17th greens where we are planting some trees and gorse which should take a few weeks to complete.

GREENS:

The greens are confused with this mild weather, are still growing so are requiring to be mown once a week. This is pretty unusual for December/January where the past 2 years we have been covered in snow and ice. The greens are running well for the time of year.  There is a planned solid tining with 10mm tines on the greens this month and depending on the weather forecast a light top dressing as well as an application of  granular lime to adjust the PH slightly.

TEES AND APPROACHES:

The tees and approaches have been mown when needed but the growth on these areas in minimal. some solid tining will also be carried out to help keep water moving as well as getting some air into the soil profile.

FAIRWAYS

There has been a few drainage issues on some fairways where we have had to repair some collapsed/broken pipework but this is just ongoing maintenance. The fairways have been a bit wet after heavy rain but are drying up now and top dressing on the fairways will recommence in January as well as vertidraining.

In December we held our annual members prizegiving dinner which I attended and was given some extremely favourable feedback on the course for the 2011 season from our members. We love what we do but is always nice to hear such positive feedback from the people that play the course the most, which in turn lays down the marker for us to continue to improve in 2012, I do enjoy a challenge!

Our Head Golf Pro Ayden has posted his first golf lesson of 2012 – dont forget to check it out along with all of his golf lessons at http://www.youtube.com/user/OldCourseHotel.  This week Ayden shares his practice drill, feet together lesson – perfect to help body rotation and show the true tempo of your swing, to get you right in to the swing of it for 2012!

Till next time,

Derek

It can be a common theme that the first thing I do each day is check the weather forecast to see if it changed since I last checked it before I went to bed!.

The weather can be a constant challenge and can change our planned work very quickly. In the summer its usually the rain which keeps us on our toes but in winter it can be rain, frost, snow and wind or in the case of  last week all four.  Last weeks wind could have been worse for us but we escaped with only a few trees down which was lucky compared to some parts of the country.

These photos show the damage caused when a large tree came down behind our 12th tee. Luckily it is not in play or over a road so we can deal with it when it suits us rather than need to drop everything to clear it up. This tree was rather large and took out another tree on the way down.

The two photos below illustrate what we can have to deal with when the weather turns cold. These pictures are taken nearly a year apart but show how even when some parts of the course are open for play and ‘green’, other areas like our 5th green retains snow/frost for longer.

By the time I speak to you again Santa Claus will have been and gone (hopefully, otherwise I will have a couple of very disappointed children in my house). So have a great Christmas and I will continue to keep you all updated on The Duke’s in 2012.

Derek

Hi Again.

The past few weeks have continued to be unseasonably mild which has been good for various tasks around the course as well as any disease scars on the greens that we briefly had are now growing in nicely.

The heavy rain recently has put an emphasis on the drainage systems on the course. We installed a lot of drainage on the course around 5 years ago which has helped ensure better playing surfaces around the course but as my college lecurer told me ‘any drainage system is only as good as its outlet’. Bearing this in mind we have been clearing ditches and drainage outlets to ensure the drains are working correctly. The two pictures below are some of the ditch clearing thats been done to keep the water moving.

We have also been continuing with the mowing of long rough. This ensures the rough doesnt get too rough and knarly year on year. The new growth in the spring will give us the natural look without being too penal for the golfers.The Pictures below show an area after its been cut with the flail mower and also a bunker after its been strimmed .

This along with the general maintenance work of course presentation has pretty much kept us going with the grass continuing to grow.

Till next time.

Derek

Hi everyone

I have stated in previous posts that autumn is here and grass growth is slowing down. I think someone needs to tell the grass! Due to the really mild weather we are experiencing at the moment the growth seems to have picked up and doesn’t show many signs of slowing down again. For us grass geeks this can be a real problem as mild and damp conditions at this time of year can lead to disease. If the disease was to occur and the temperature was to suddenly drop we would experience scarring. These scars would last through out the winter months until the grass begins to grow again next year.  But don’t worry, I have a few tricks up my sleeve to stop this from happening…all part of managing the course!

The past few weeks we have been mowing down some of our long rough. The long rough is part of the look and design of The Duke’s however we must continue to mow the rough in the winter or there will be many lost balls! This task is not carried out during the summer as it would potentially damage the ecosystem of wildlife and wild flowers that thrive in these areas.  Some of our golfers have been following behind our mower hunting for lost balls just like seagulls following a trawler!

As we are now down to our winter staff, jobs such as bunker raking become much larger and tend to take up more time. Still, we keep on smiling…as Craig demonstrates below.

If you are picking up your clubs this week then have a look at Ayden’s latest golf lesson on YouTube. Always really handy to have a quick review of your set up, you never know you it might just help to get your handicap down!

I’d also like to say a big congratulations to the team at Kingsbarns for picking up the Golf Course of the Year award at the Golf Tourism Scotland awards last week. You can see all the winners at the Golf Tourism Scotland site. Well done boys!

‘Till next time.

Derek