Mid Summer

Mid Summer

Both courses were closed this morning due to extensive flooding, since the weekend we have recorded over 50mm of rainfall.

 

June 22nd - 16th fairway

Lake in front of 4th green Murrayfield

Flooded bunkers on Ravelston

We hope to have both courses fully open (weather permitting) for play by tomorrow morning.

Greens Aeration

Next week (Monday 20^th June) we will be aerating some of the greens on Murrayfield, again concentrating on the greens that still have excessive thatch levels, as these greens are now starting to show signs of grass plant stress.

From the distance everything looks good

From close up we can see early signs of grass plant stress

Plant stress - 17th green

The greens will be aerated with slim 8mm diameter tines to a depth of 100mm, then cut and rolled to help restore surface levels and trueness.

Finally, the greens will receive an application of Nitrogen, Potash and Dolomitic lime to promote growth and aid recovery. 

Pin Placement Sheets

Members Please Note - We will be using pin placement sheets from Saturday June 11^th through to Finals Day, Sunday June 19^th these will be available daily (8am) from the Pro Shop.
The A, B, C, system will be resumed on Wednesday 22nd June for the Men’s Mid Week Medal.

Pin Placement Sheet

In the example above - (from left to right)

Green number

Total depth of the green 

The distance of the hole from the front of the green

The distance of the hole (laterally) from the green's closest edge

C = Centre

May 2011 - Weather

Weather - May 2011

Although not as warm and dry as last month, May 2011 was warmer, brighter and drier than normal. 
On May 23^rd high winds caused considerable damage to a number of trees on both golf courses, with gusts of nearly 70 mph being recorded locally.

The warmest daytime temperature was 21.3C, which was recorded on May 7^th

The lowest recorded was 3C on May 3^rd

The measured rainfall/precipitation for May was 34mm, lower than the expected average of 51mm.

Soil temperature at 30 cm was: Min 11.9C, Max 14.1C with the Mean 13.3C (1.6C higher than normal).  

Sprinkler Malfunction

For those members who inquired about the 16^th green this morning…. every picture tells a story.

The picture below is the 16^th green at 6am this morning, after a sprinkler malfunctioned during an irrigation cycle yesterday evening.

A small piece of grit in the systems pipe-work was responsible for jamming the solenoid valve open, resulting in approx 10,000 gallon of water being pumped onto the 16^th approach and green. 

16th Green at 6am

The sprinkler head has now been thoroughly cleaned out and flushed through and is now once more, fully operational.

Grass Growth Regulators

I was asked my some members earlier this week at a short presentation, if I could explain further how growth regulators work and the benefits to the turf and course.

Growth Regulators have been around for over eighty years in the agriculture industry and in the professional turf and sports industry for some thirty years, but it is only recently that research that has shown growth regulators if used correctly can improve the health of the plant. That research has also shown that growth regulators do not interfere with plant respiration, photosynthesis, or other internal functions.

In the market place today there are growth regulators designed for many plant types, including grasses, trees and shrubs, and flowers. (There are even insecticides that are actually bio-friendly insect growth regulators.)

The active ingredient of the grass growth regulator we use at Murrayfield is Trinexapac and is applied to the turf as a liquid foliar spray. 

Fairways being sprayed with selective weed-killer and plant growth regulator

Growth regulators slow grass growth by limiting the plants production of gibberallic acid at the leaf growing point. Gibberallic acid is simply a hormone that helps the plant to produce leaf growth.

So instead of the plant producing grass leaves and vertical growth, the plant diverts growth downwards into the root system to produce increased food reserves and more prolific roots. A healthier well-developed root system in turn produces a denser stronger turf sward, better equipped to withstand temperature extremes, moisture loss and wear and tear.

Recent research has shown that growth can be slowed by up to 50%, allowing turf managers to produce smoother and more consistent putting greens.

At Murrayfield we use growth regulators on a number of different areas including greens, tees, fairways and areas, which are difficult to mow, such as steep sloping banks.

Today’s plant growth regulators are compatible with almost all the other liquid products that we use on the golf course, and as such can be tank mixed with weed-killers, fungicides, fertilisers, wetting agents, soil conditioners and many more other products.

I hope this brief update helps, but if you have any further questions or comments please feel free to contact me.

Scarifying Greens

This week has been another extremely busy one on both courses and in addition to our daily cutting and maintenance programme; we have also this week, scarified the greens using the pedestrian operated SISIS Auto rake.

SISIS Auto Rake

The Auto rake is fitted with 2mm heavy-duty blades, which permits greater depth penetration into the turf sward, this allows removal of some of the dead and decaying organic matter from the base of the plant. 

Heavy Duty Knife Reel Blades

This culture practice is very similar to verti-cutting (see earlier post) the main difference being that verti-cutting lightly grooms and conditions the grass plant and scarifying is more aggressive and primarily for thatch removal. 
To assist recovery to putting surfaces, the greens will shortly receive an application of liquid fertiliser; this will promote some leaf growth and assist in smoothing putting surfaces.