7. februar, 2017
The Scandinavian – Golf Courses Update – January 2017
I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a Happy New Year, and to update you on the work we have been doing since the courses closed, and what we hope to achieve before we open the courses in the Spring.
The first thing I would like to cover is the weather we have experienced so far this Winter. So far we have experienced a mild winter, and as we approach the end of January, and the courses are free from snow, I am very optimistic that if this continues, we will have a great start to the season. In 2016, we managed to play golf into December, before the consistently lower temperatures meant it became necessary to close the courses.
I would like to explain the factors that influence our decision to close the courses. The decision to close is not purely based on frost and snow. Whilst this is an important part of the decision making process, the most important factor is the point at which the grass stops growing, which is around 5C for our bent grass greens.
Why is this important?
When the grass stops growing, every piece of damage, including pitch-marks, spike marks and damage from both play and maintenance will not recover until the Spring as this grass is not growing and recovering. This slow deterioration would have consequences, particularly for the greens which would be evident well into the start of the new season.
To understand the damage that playing on frost can cause, please see the embedded video from the USGA, which I feel explains the issue very well. usgafrostvideo
Course maintenance
Over the last few months the main focus has been preparing the courses for winter. The key task here is aeration – this comes in many shapes and sizes but in general it means we make holes in the golf course.
Why is this important? Most importantly aeration relieves compaction from both play and maintenance. Aeration slightly lifts the soil, literally enabling the soil to breath again, drain freely and provide a good environment for the roots to grow. One of the best lessons I was given as a young greenkeeper is that roots don’t grow in soil, but in the air spaces between the soil and that is why aeration is so important.
We were able to aerify all areas of the courses before the ground became frozen. This was a huge task – the fairways alone took 250 hours to complete.
We do not always manage to achieve this level of aeration due to weather conditions, so it is hugely positive that we have been able to complete this task, and it should help us have a fast start this Spring.
Graden sand injection
After six years of play, and with greens between seven and nine years old, we took the decision this Autumn to undertake a maintenance process called graden.
What is this and why we would we do it?
The graden machine is a deep scarifier, that removes fibre thatch to a depth of 25mm, and at the same time injects clean dried sand into the groove created by the blades.
Why would we do this?
One of the downsides of bent grass is that it makes more thatch than other grasses. The upside of bent grass is a quick smooth surfaces if maintained correctly. We normally remove thatch by hollow coring but we were in reality falling behind with this.
The graden process removes three times the amount of fibre that hollow coring does, plus sand is placed into the top surface of the green at around 2 tons per green. The benefits of this process are improved drainage and increased surface firmness.
This process although it is hugely time consuming and incredibly labour intensive, we feel it is worthwhile because of the benefits it will bring. This process coupled with normal aeration is critical to ensure we keep our greens to the standards we all expect.
To give you an idea of the process, I would like to share a video of our team doing this work.
I know it looks severe, but the courses that I have visited who have completed this process only experience the positive benefits of improved greens.
The team have also been busy with our normal winter maintenance projects which include some of those listed below.
On the golf courses, all tree lines are being checked, with many trees being trimmed to ensure improved playability, whilst keeping clear line of shot values at the fore. This work has been done in consultation with our golf course architect Bruce Charlton of RTJ II who paid us a visit in the Autumn. A considerable amount of dead trees have also been removed for safety. I look forward to hearing your feedback, as this is the most extensive tree work we have ever completed.
Other tasks this winter have included the repair of the tunnel to the 11th hole on New Course. All of the bridges are being checked and the decking repaired, where necessary. This work has also been considerable.
All bunkers have been hard edged, giving them a really clean sharp edge and improving their overall appearance. To give an idea of the work involved in this, it took 150 man hours to complete this task.
In addition to the above, the team are also responsible for the maintenance of all the onsite properties which also have many tasks.
Replacement of Machinery
As I am writing this, we are in the process of taking delivery of 22 new Toro machines, ready for the start of the season. This delivery is second phase of five-year plan which started last year and will continue for the next three years. The five-year plan includes the replacement of every machine from tractors to mowers, totaling an incredible 81 machines.
You may be wondering why we need to replace our machinery?
It may be hard to believe, but our machines have been in operation since the grow-in of the golf courses eight years ago. Although the machines have been superbly maintained by our mechanic, they are reaching the end of their useful life.
The improvement in technology in the new machines will result in improvements in course presentation through cutting quality, reduced leaks and the hybrid engines are considerably more fuel efficient.
This commitment to investment is a huge boost to the greens team and will help us maintain the courses to your expectations.
Greens team
We are fortunate to have great people employed in the greens team at The Scandinavian, all of whom share my goal to achieve the best we can every day.
We invest in their personal development with education and practical courses with most staff now being qualified greenkeepers, although all the staff receive intensive in house training qualified or not.
The team are all excited for the coming season, and are looking forward to your feedback on their efforts this winter.
I look forward to seeing you all out on the courses in the near future, in what should be an exciting season for us all at The Scandinavian.
Russell A Anderson
Course Manager