Monthly Greens and Facilities Update - August
Welcome to the latest bulletin, keeping you up to date on the activities and plans for our Club's course and facilities.. As is customary we will start with an update from our Head Greenkeeper Matt Lock, and then continue with other news.
This issue includes a summary of the feedback from the recent survey, completed by nearly 250 of you, relating to the course and practice facilities.
Lockie's Greens Report
August was extremely busy with the usual constant stream of events that you'd expect in peak season. We were flat out with daily course set up (this means the fundamentals of cutting greens/collars/fairways/rough and moving tees, holes and raking bunkers). I want to thank member and qualified Greenkeeper Hayley Beard for coming in to help the team, her experience and enthusiasm ensured things ran smoothly. After all the events had finished the time of year had come around again for "Greens Renovation".
As a golfer myself for over 40 years, I fully understand that tearing up the greens seems like madness while they are at their best. However de compaction and thatch removal is non-negotiable if we want to continue our mission of doing everything within our power to keep the main greens open as often as possible during the winter months. This planned bi-annual work always follows golf week, but will have felt earlier this year due to when our Golf Week was held (due to an early falling bank holiday this year). The work has to be done while seed germination conditions remain excellent, we have a fair chance of drier weather (ha ha I know!) for sand to brush back in to fill the core holes and recovery time is optimal. We applied 28 tonnes of sand to the greens during that week in sticky weather conditions which was extremely satisfying.
Final Thoughts - During the Cornwall Seniors Championship and Golf Week I chatted to a number of players and the feedback I received was extremely positive. "Challenging but fair", "True greens" and "Naturally pleasing to the eye" were among them. So given that the week this goes out included "Thank A Greenkeeper" Day you will have to indulge me in saying a big "thank you". Great work Team St. Austell!
Since the last report I have been asked a few times about the correct way to rake a bunker. Here is a demonstration video.
Facilities
You may have notice some holes on the driving range (now backfilled). This was all part of further understanding existing drainage pipe efficacy, as well as carrying out some percolation tests (how quickly water drains laterally and vertically). Thanks again to JB Groundworks for their help.
In summary, our driving range is mostly compacted clay material with smatterings of soil cover. Those patches of soil once saturated over winter cannot penetrate the ground conditions so it sits like a sponge soaking up our range balls until it slowly evaporates - chance would be a fine thing last winter!
Here is the account from an expert contact of Ross's whose consultancy was generously given free of charge:
"Not what we wanted to find and tbh worse than I was anticipating. The clay bands, no depth of topsoil and that level of compaction mean no downward or lateral flow on large sections of the range. This emphasises what I said about dig a trench around a small square of the range and the 'island' will just remain waterlogged. Water will sit on the square and rise up through the limited topsoil/grass. Once near the surface it can only evaporate (not happening for half the year) or run off as surface water. An extra cross drain will help but anything in between will remain waterlogged. Back to needing masses of slit drains or addressing the poor soil overall. A foot of uncompacted topsoil all over would be a start as the range is never going to work with is current depth of topsoil. Ripping the clayey subsoil will help short term but it really needs covering (make a new field on a raised plateau), mixing with stone or replacing. I'd personally hang fire on the drainage if any kind of large section subsoil remediation is going to be considered. You've basically got the equivalent of a semi-compacted hardstanding with only a smattering of soil in places."
So what's next? Our thorough investigations have got us to a position where we now understand that spending in excess of an estimated £50k on additional drainage is not going to solve the problem enough to guarantee the range stays open whatever the weather. To import topsoil depends on a) our EA permit being granted - hopefully soon and b) A job with significant amounts of topsoil happening in the local vicinity. It is highly unlikely both of these will happen before winter and if they did the range would be unusable until late spring when grass coverage reinstated. Obviously not an option.
In light of the above we are taking a measured and risk-based approach looking to improve drainage and mitigate the risk of closure within budgetary constraints. This includes deep soil ripping to create fissures or slits with a tractor mounted tool and reduction of soil from the more heavily covered areas.
Three Phase and Solar PV
With financial prudence at the forefront and assessing the first half year performance against our budget, the committee is evaluating the feasibility and funding options before committing to one or both of these key projects.
Survey Results Summary
Practice facilities
Of the below feedbak areas plans are now afoot to improve the practice net. The preference for leaving it where it is rather than closer to the 1st tee is mainly that when it was positioned there many years ago it was moved due to member feedback about the noise from practice hits whilst teeing off the 1st.
The long grass around the edge of the practice "short course" area will be discussed at our October greens meeting, as will chipping area feedback. For the avoidance of doubt, the short course area is for all members. Two thirds of you were satisfied or very satisfied with the range however the committee recognises it is tired and in need of some TLC. There are advanced plans for the driving range that we will share in more detail soon.
Course
80% of you rated the course 6 or higher out of 10, the average being 7.5. (8.4 in 2021 and 8.8 in 2022) Of what you like the most about the course, Fairways was the most popular answer followed by the greens. A large number of you acknowledged the challenging weather conditions last winter and expressed your understanding of the difficulties that posed, along with gratitude to the greens team for doing what they could in these conditions.
When it came to aspects of the course do you feel needs the most attention, which obviously helps us focus on areas to work on: The most common comment was about the difficult length of the longer grass areas with 44% of respondents citing this. This will be discussed at our next greens meeting in October. General upkeep of the non-playing areas of the course such as around tees was also a theme and will be discussed in October in time for a clear plan for next year.
Winter greens were another common point with 31% of survey respondents. Further to Matt's report above with the ongoing micro tining programme and more recently hollow tining and dressing this will enable us to have many more main greens in play on a regular basis this winter. The newly sculpted winter greens are now being gradually prepared in readiness if needed on the 4th 5th and 6th holes. We will also have a rated winter course in play this winter which will permit the submission of "acceptable scores" when no more than 2 temporary greens are in play.
Bunker condition was mentioned by 11% of you and we hear you. Our ongoing programme (3-4 year plan) of renovation will continue this winter. It is a big and expensive job and takes time. Trees were a concern to 3% of you and a tree survey and management study is already planned for October.
Sorry this has been a longer than usual update, hopefully you found it informative!
The Committee will be sharing further feedback on the full survey results soon, but thank you again to everyone who took the time to give us their views.
Kind regards,
Ross, Shaun and Matt