The Duke’s Green Keeping

Hi folks thanks for joining me.

As you would expect from a Scottish summer, July has seen a mix of different weathers! Generally dry with a few very heavy downpours but luckily nothing compared to what we had to deal with in Inverness at the Scottish Open. Maintaining the bunkers can be a challenge when we have heavy rain however they certainly look fantastic when the sun shines!

The course is looking great at the moment. We have had many compliments from some of our long standing members which is great to hear but we always aim to improve.
Courtesy of Elmwood College we welcomed four French work experience students for three weeks, they were a great help this month. The students were training to work in The Alps as ski instructors/mountain rescue etc. and in the summer months they work in landscape areas. Their placement on The Duke’s taught them about landscape presentation as well as giving them a chance to improve their English (which was already better than my French).

GREENS:
The greens are putting really well and looking good. We continue to spray them with a mix of growth regulator/liquid fertiliser as well as top dress every 2 weeks. We mow the greens at 3.5mm and apply a light application of an 8-0-16 fertiliser.
This month we started our summer aeration program, greens 10 to 14 are hollow cored. We core half the green at a time which allows us to leave the pin so the golfers still have a good surface to putt on while we have a chance to carry out essential maintenance on the other half. Traditionally this task is carried out in the autumn but by doing it in the summer months we get really quick recovery. Most importantly the new seeds germinate much more quickly in the warmer temperatures which then allows more time for the new seedling grass to mature before the cold temperatures of winter.

TEES/APPROACHES:
We have extended the spray of growth regulator and liquid fertiliser onto our approaches which has really helped their appearance, combined with being mown every two days the surface quality has improved considerably.

The tees have been fertilised with a 23-2-10 product which should last the remainder of the season before an autumn/winter fertiliser will be applied.

FAIRWAYS:
The fairways are cut at 14mm. We have received many compliments regarding the condition of the fairways this year which, once again is really good to hear, but as ever we aim to improve so we have been selectively hollow coring, top dressing and over seeding some areas of the areas that receive heavy traffic.

THE MONTH AHEAD:
August and September are always busy months for us not only for the amount of golfers playing but also because we aim to carry out as much maintenance before the temperatures start to drop in October. With that in mind we will continue to aerate the greens on 1-8 as well as aeration of wear areas on fairways’.

PGA Professional at The Duke’s Ayden Roberts-Jones has added his latest instalment from his series of golf lessons on to our YouTube page. This week Ayden demonstrates the correct foot position for the perfect set up. I really do recommend having a look for some easy to follow advice.

Speak soon

Derek

Hi everyone thanks for joining me on the Green Keeping Blog.

As I mentioned in my last post Craig Parry and I joined the green keeping team at Castle Stuart to help out at the Scottish Open at the beginning of the month. Volunteering for tournaments held on other golf courses is part of our development plans here at The Duke’s as it allows us to experience other top courses.

Before the tournament began- and the rain set in- Craig had a chance to explore some of the other courses in the area including Royal Dornoch, Skibo Castle, Tain, Fortrose, Nairn and Moray golf club. His task through out the tournament was to assist with the preparation of the course and mow the greens.

I arrived on the Wednesday evening ready for the first day of play on the Thursday. I was prepared for the 4am start (or so I thought) as I strolled in at 3.40am only to discover I was one of the last to arrive! This earned me the title “Goldenboy” due to my last minute arrival on site and also as I was privileged with the task of stimping the greens to asses the speed!  All plans changed on Saturday when the heavens opened. We all joined together to work on making the course playable again.

As you can see from the pictures the course was in fantastic condition with all the players praising the new venue. Everything was going exactly to plan until Friday evening when a thunder and lightning storm forced play to be suspended. 98mm of rain fell between 3am and 5pm. This unfortunately caused a huge amount of damage including two landslides which I am sure everyone would have seen from the TV coverage. As the entire team soldiered on, working our way round the course to make the course playable, the players eventually ventured out at 7pm to try completing the second round. Only half an hour later, despite our best efforts, surface water on one hole meant that play was abandoned and the players had to head back to the clubhouse.

After two days of back breaking work repairing bunkers, fixing washouts, landslides and pumping water, the tournament was shortened to 54 holes. Play resumed on Sunday morning allowing the golfers to complete the second and third round.  Once the tournament was over I was amazed to see that the greens appeared to be unflustered by the rain with only a small portion of the 8th green struggling to cope with the surface water. Normally the greens for a tournament will flood quickly due to the intensive mowing and rolling “sealing the surface” which would usually stop the natural drainage.

A huge thanks to Course Manager Chris Haspell for allowing us to be part of his team for the week, although it was a much tougher week than we had anticipated it was certainly a worthwhile experience.

Back at The Duke’s our PGA Professional Ayden has just posted his latest golf lesson on YouTube. This week he explains how we can correct our leg position in a bid to create the perfect set up. Don’t forget to have a look…you never know you might just discover that it’s the one thing holding you back from the perfect swing!

Take care

Derek

Hi everyone!

I’m back and ready to go after a tough weekend working at Castle Stuart for the Scottish Open. As you all know the weather was not on its best behaviour which caused a few headaches for the green keeping team, but overall a great experience. I promise I will share all the details and pictures with you in my next post, this week I would like to share some good news with you.

We recently received our orchid survey report which showed some rather exciting findings. It was noted that The Duke’s has a high biodiversity value with over 140 plant species recorded. The diverse flora will in turn support a wide range of insects, birds and mammals.

The report drew particular interest towards the “outstanding” number of Northern Marsh Orchids or Dactylorhiza Purpurella to give them their proper name! These orchids grow well in damp herb-rich grasslands, they were also spotted growing in the short rough beside the fairways, in particular the 18th.

The (not-so)Common Spotted Orchid

It was also noted that there was number of Common Spotted Orchids and most interestingly a hybrid between the two orchid species. This means we have to pay particular attention when maintaining these areas.

Northern Marsh & Common Spotted Orchid Hybrid

Possibly the most significant finding noted in the report was the discovery of two very unusual flowering plants. The Common Fleabane (Pulicaria Dysenterica) was found growing beside gorse in an area of orchid grassland. There are no recent records for this species in Fife. While around 20 plants of Yellow Bartsia
(Parentucellia Viscosa) were found in orchid grassland. It was interesting to note that growing alongside the Yellow Bartsia was Common Centaury (Centaurium Erythraea) a relatively rare species in this area of Fife and most commonly found near the sea.

I believe that the high numbers of plant species is a testament to the high level of care taken when maintaining not only the fairways but also the rough. Most people think that a green keeper’s job is cutting grass and digging bunkers however as this report shows it is vital that we know and understand the science of different plant and insect species.

Common Fleabane (Pulicaria Dysenterica)

Foxgloves by the 2nd tee

If you would like any more information on the different plant species here at The Duke’s then do get in touch. And remember to take a look at Ayden’s latest golf lesson on YouTube, this week Ayden shows us how to avoid a bad back position.

Take care

Derek

Hi folks,

It’s been a busy month for us here at The Duke’s with many busy days and lots of happy golfers. The year seems to be disappearing quickly with the longest day of the year already behind us. Unbelievably it’s now time to bring you the June Report, a brief overview of our work over the last month.

The Duke’s played host to the BIGGA Scottish National Tournament on the 15th June which was a great fun day. I always enjoy catching up and competing with my green keeper friends! The course received a lot of compliments which is fantastic to hear from people who work on golf courses everyday.

Our Elmwood College students returned for shadowing this month, each one joined us for one day each week. It’s brilliant having them here as they just get stuck in and are so keen to learn.

GREENS:
The greens are now putting really well and looking good. We now spray them every two weeks with a mix of growth regulator and liquid fertiliser.
Every two weeks the team top dress the greens with sand, so far we have been really lucky with our timing as it has rained each time. This is ideal for us as it washes the sand into the surface.
The greens are now being mown at 3.5mm, we do still see some poa annua seed heads but it isn’t as obvious as before.

TEES/APPROACHES:
We have been mowing the tee twice a week at 10mm and the approaches 3-4 each week at 9mm.

FAIRWAYS:
The height of cut on the fairways is still 14mm. We have been spraying the fairways with a liquid fertiliser which contains iron and growth regulator. The iron gives them a good, healthy colour and the growth regulator reduces the rate of growth which in turn reduces the amount of grass clippings allowing us to present the course better. The fertlisier mix also contained a herbicide to knock back any weeds in the fairways as we see a lot of clover and daisies up here at The Duke’s.

THE MONTH AHEAD:
We have our fingers crossed for dry weather as the greens, tees and approaches are all due to be verticut this month which will require some dry weather.
Ayden posted his third golf lesson on our YouTube page this morning, this week he tells us how we can improve the position of our head as we set up a shot. I have to admit this is something I often slip up on so I’ll be paying special attention to this lesson!

Speak soon

Derek

Hi folks, welcome back!

After what seems to have been the longest spring I can remember we finally had some warmth in the air last week, although a little brief it has been a huge help to us. It’s nice to get the jumpers off and work on the suntan! The great weather caused a sudden growth meaning we were able to give the greens a verticut and top dress this week which has really improved the appearance and pace of the greens.

Last week we welcomed Scott Peddie from Bunkered magazine into the Green Keeping team; Scott was researching for an article that will depict a day in the life of a Green Keeper. It was a dreich morning so Scott was soaked through but it certainly didn’t put him off; he started work at 5.30am and got stuck in cutting greens and approaches, changing holes and strimming. If we’re ever a man down I know who to call! Keep an eye out for the article in the next edition of Bunkered.

If you haven’t already, take a look at our YouTube page. Ayden’s latest Golf Lesson on improving your grip pressure is really useful, it’s a great refresher for those of us who play regularly. It’s amazing how much a little tweak to the way you hold the club can really improve your swing.

Speak soon
Derek

Hi everyone thanks for stopping in on The Duke’s Green Keeping blog.

We were lucky to escape the strong winds last week with minimal damage. Around a dozen trees were affected – most were away from play areas; however one did cause a concern when it fell across the driveway blocking access to the course. Overall it took us about two days to clear up which meant we had to make adjustments to our schedule for the rest of the week. Hopefully the weather will settle a little and we can look forward to a brighter Summer!

On a happier note, we had a visit from our friends at Elmwood College. The International PDA students came for a group tour before they return individually over the next few weeks to shadow our team, the trip should give them a good insight into how a course in Scotland is run and it’s great to seen such keen potential future Green Keepers too.

One of our biggest jobs last week was the removal of self seeded sapling trees. We remove them at the early stages before they mature and cause an impediment on the course for both play and the view. I’ve posted a couple of pictures of the 10th below to show you how quickly the sapling trees can cause an obstruction. I’ve also added a picture of the team enjoying the visit from the ice cream van; it was the perfect treat after a busy week!

You should head over to Old Course Hotel YouTube channel where Ayden Roberts-Jones, Head Professional here at The Duke’s launches his series of Golf Lessons. The lesson plan starts from the very beginning, going over the perfect left hand position, moving on though the steps to creating the perfect pre shot routine. It’s ideal if you are a beginner or even if you’re a well seasoned golfer who maybe needs a refresher to touch up on your skills and improve your game.

Look forward to speaking to you again soon.
Derek

Hi everybody, it’s good to speak to you all again.

After all our complaints about the dry weather we had in April we have welcomed the recent downpours, it’s as though the course has breathed a small sigh of relief! The course looks fantastic, the fresh green grass is growing quickly and the gorse bushes are out in full bloom.

After the inductions last week we now have our full summer team, it’s been great welcoming people with experiences from all over the world including Ireland, New Zealand and China. It really is very valuable having a team that has worked on courses across the globe; each person can bring new knowledge on dealing with different weather conditions and terrain.

I’ve added a few pictures showing some of the work we do to maintain the grass as well as few shots that really show off the great colours on the course.

Thanks for stopping in on the blog, speak to you soon.
Derek

Hi folks, thanks for joining me in our new blog home. As you can see we’ve moved the blog on to our website and spruced it up a little. Don’t worry; I’m still here to keep you up to date with everything going on at The Duke’s – around the course and the clubhouse.
I can’t quite believe it’s the 2nd of May already, April passed so quickly! It’s time for the April Report, a brief chat about all our activities in the last month, as well as a bit of technical discussion to explain exactly how we keep the course in such fantastic condition.
I think we have all been a little surprised at the fantastic weather we have had recently, no one more so that us Green Keepers! What happened to the ‘April showers’?! We had a little rain couple of weeks ago but since then it’s been very dry and warm despite a couple of mild morning frosts.
Earlier in the month four of our team members attended a seminar at Elmwood College, presented by Stanley Zontec of the USGA Green Section. The seminar looked back to the 2010 US Open as well as looking forward to the Congressional this year. It gave great insight into the preparation it takes to host a major championship – beginning years in advance.
We’re very excited about our new toy; our new reel grinder arrived this month! Well, we’re excited! We’ve put our shiny new reel grinder to good use sharpening the fairway and approach units, the quality of cut have improved greatly.
And now for the science……
GREENS:
The greens are filling in well although the Poa was producing seed heads. To combat this we have reduced the height of cut to 4mm and team have been out grooming and brushing the grass to remove the seed heads.
The greens were fertilised with a specific mix (8-0-16 for all our Green Keeper friends!) This has definitely kicked in – we can already see improved growth.
TEES/APPROACHES
The tees and approaches are currently being mown 2-3 times a week at 12mm and were fertilised with a 23-2-10 product.
FAIRWAYS:
The height of cut on the fairways is 14mm and have been fertilised with a granular 12-6-6 which could really do with some rainfall to wash the product in. I think Green Keepers might just be the only people secretly wishing for rain right now!
THE MONTH AHEAD
May is shaping up to be a great month – we have a team of seasonal staff starting in the next few days who we very much look forward to welcoming and we’ll be busy with them going through our induction programme.
One last thing – Many congratualtions to our Steven Horsburgh, Assistant Greenkeeper here at the Duke’s, who became a dad this month to baby Amy who weighed in at a healthy 8lb 5oz. All going well with Steven and he is due to return to work for a break soon! I’ve attached a picture of Steven below, before the sleepless nights take hold!

Speak soon
Derek

With rain forecast for Wednesday evening we took the opportunity to top dress the greens before it arrived which should help wash the sand into the sward. Conditions were not ideal with the high winds causing a less than uniform coverage but with some events coming up and the course getting busier over the next few weeks it was important to get the greens smooth again after slitting them the previous two weeks.