Woodbury Park - Course Report / Newsletter August / September 2023

Rainfall total for the month of August was 40mm. Although this is not a huge figure, the way it has fallen has given us some headaches. We basically had decent amounts of rainfall every 7 days combined with sunshine and warm temperatures, which in turn has meant growth rates have been astronomical for the last 6 weeks. We would normally as an average month use around 2000 litres of red diesel for the mowers in the summer months, this may drop to 1500 litres if we were experiencing a drought or lower growth rates, however this month we have used just over 2500 litres of diesel keeping on top of grass growth. This obviously has a financial impact on my budget which I have to manage accordingly. We have been trying to cut certain areas during the middle to latter part of the week so that by the weekend it was not looking like a "˜jungle', however due to certain events and tournaments we have hosted recently this has not always been possible. To help us combat this issue we are also using plant growth regulators on certain areas of the courses but this can be very expensive when using it in large quantities such as rough and fairways.

Greens maintenance has now been completed on both courses. Due to business needs and competitions, quick recovery was key. We decided to do a "˜medium' intensity maintenance to help with the quicker recovery. A double scarify for thatch removal took place followed by a solid spike aerate and finished off with around 50 tonnes of sand across both courses. Recovery is just about complete now, with the heights of cut back down to there summer heights now the sand has gone.

We have had some great tournaments over the last month including The Club Championships, the PGA West Region Championships and the Devon Palairet Finals Day.

We have just ordered a new machine called a Shockwave. This is a great investment by The Club Company to help us create drier surfaces throughout the winter. This machine creates linear channels through rotating blades allowing the water to penetrate the ground and increase percolation rates. It should be very effective on holes that we have fairway drainage on as it will create channels for the water to get into the stone drains faster. This is the next phase to try and attempt to get certain outfield areas drier and more playable in the winter months, we have spent vast amounts of man hours over the last 2 years finding / exposing / cleaning drains ready for this machines arrival. This job is very slow and once the machine is in the ground cannot be removed until its completed that line. Due to our very short time frame for using it (the ground being moist enough for the machine but not too wet that the tractor creates lots of mess) we need to ask for your patience if you come across the machine on the courses. I am hoping that this will make a very noticeable difference, especially on the fairways that we know have primary drainage in them.

Over the next month we shall also be working on select tees on the Oaks course (1st / 9th /11th and 15th) to try and make then a little firmer and drier for the winter months. We tried our best last winter to stay on grass as much as possible but these tees were a little troublesome. We shall be solid spiking them and heavily top dressing them with sand.

We shall also be starting to cut down the deep rough on both courses, this is a huge time consuming task but needed for good grassland management.

Completed Work for August

Greens received a granular fertiliser to aid recovery after greens maintenance.

Greens maintenance completed on both courses.

Tees and Approaches received a soluble fertiliser and a plant growth regulator (PGR).

A number of "˜low' sprinkler heads have been raised / levelled.

All bunker edges have been strimmed, edges and tidied.

Planned Work for September

Greens to receive a liquid / soluble application of fertiliser.

Greens to be verti-drained.

New shockwave machine to start aerating fairways to aid drainage.

Select areas to be herbicide sprayed to remove clover and thin the sward.

Select tees on Oaks course to be solid spiked and heavily top-dressed to aid winter play.

Deep rough will start to be cut down.

Andy George - Golf Course Manager

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