• This months blog is a snapshot of the members education evening held in the clubhouse on Thursday 16th June

June blog Course education evening

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Course education evening Hosted by Mark Tucker Course Manager

• Introduction to the team • Greenkeeping practices. Busting the myths • Products and their usage.

Agenda Course education evening

• The plan for Temple • How members can help 2022

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The Temple team Mark Tucker Course Manager

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The Temple team Jake Morries Deputy Course Manager

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The Temple team Glenn Gibbons First assistant Greenkeeper

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The Temple team Mike Fyrth Assistant Greenkeeper/Mechanic

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The Temple team Aaron Woolford Assistant Greenkeeper

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The Temple team Dylan Lovell Trainee Greenkeeper

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The Temple team Brian Woolford Part-time Greenkeeper

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Greenkeeping practices

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Hollow coring The physical removal of cores from a playing surface. Removal of cores allows compacted turf to expand. Air and moisture is more easily absorbed. Reducing high levels of organic matter as organic matter causes greens to hold moisture like a sponge. Moisture promotes disease. The drier the area is the less disease pressure.

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Solid tining Solid tining doesn’t remove any organic matter Usually just the top 4” is targeted

Aids surface decompaction Promotes gaseous exchange

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Verti draining Doesn’t remove any organic matter Deep aeration to 12” Aids water movement and percolation through the soil profile Promotes gaseous exchange

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Sarel rolling Doesn’t remove any matter Surface aeration Pricks the top 20mm to keep the surface open

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Slitting Doesn’t remove any organic matter Surface aeration Creates linear channels to aid water movement. Aids tillering which improves sward thickness. Course education evening

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Verti cutting Removes surface thatch to 5mm Removes lateral growth Stands grass plant up for a cleaner cut Surface aeration Reduces poa annua (annual meadow grass) seedheads Presentation title

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Verti cutting This picture shows the volume of clippings removed from one verti cut of red, yellow and white tees. Verti cutting took place immediately after standard mowing at 10mm.

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Scarfying Removes thatch to 20mm Removes lateral growth

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Top dressing To increase surface levels promoting smoothness and trueness. To stimulate new root and shoot growth. To cover seed allowing it to make contact with soil therefore providing insulation and maximising the germination rate. To increase soil structure by adding a medium that will improve infiltration rates allowing soil exchange to take place. Top dressing works in conjunction with hollowcoring to remove lower quality soil replacing it with a fresh, active medium.

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Products and their usage

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Wetting agent Wetting agents are surfactants.

In simple terms they will lower the surface tension of water. Very complex but broadly there are two types, summer and winter ‘Summer’ wetting agents are primarily used for water conservation and to prevent hydrophobic dry patch developing ‘Winter’ wetting agents are used to improve water movement, particularly infiltration and downward penetration Other modes of action are to aid dew dispersal, flush through salts and to treat dry patch curatively

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Seaweed Seaweed contains a wide range of nutrients and trace elements. When seaweed is added to clay soils, it acts as a floculator, which means it breaks down the heavy soil into a friable crumb structure thereby providing a vastly improved growing medium. Course education evening

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Biostimulants Biostimulants are soil amendments which boost the existing soil biology. Improve the plant's ability to resist disease In simple terms, plants and microbes both need carbon, nitrate, phosphate, carbohydrate and sugars; biostimulants provide these elements Course education evening

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Compost tea Contains fungi, bacteria, protozoa and beneficial nematodes. Biostimulants including humic acid and molasses

Applying compost tea boosts the soil food web Increases disease resistance Increases plant tolerance to drought and stress Degrades thatch, improves drainage and reduces the need for hollow coring Course education evening

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Plant growth regulator (PGR) Applying a PGR reduces clipping yield Promotes rapid development of a stronger root mass

Reduces poa seedhead production

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Fungicide To treat disease. No more firefighting. This means, when there is a disease outbreak there are no longer any curative products available. We can only apply preventively. All the products mentioned in the previous pages are to strengthen the plant, building its own ability to fend off an attack Course education evening

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Pesticides/insecticides No longer available to the UK amenity sector without emergency approval (EA) An insecticide called Acelepryn has been granted EA in previous years. To date, EA has been granted for chaffer grubs but not for leatherjackets. However, the latter is expected Course education evening

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Herbicides Used to treat undesirable species

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The plan Simples!

To enhance the wonderful features already present at Temple To complete the bunker refurbishment programme To commence a tee levelling programme To manage and enhance our woodlands and meadow rough

To produce a sustainable golf course that can withstand the pressures of the ever-increasing amount of play and the ever-changing seasons To produce a golf course in tournament condition on as many days as possible from the start of the playing season which at Temple is 1 May.

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Tools to help achieve the plan Stimp meter Measures green speed

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Tools to help achieve the plan Moisture meter

This measures VWC (Volumetric Water Content) In dry spells, VWC is taken twice daily Our target range is 20% Our greens will be kept as dry as possible that keeps the grass alive in order to promote the growth of bents and fescues and push out or deter poa (fescues and bents are much more tolerant of drought than poa). Some golf clubs will ‘over-water’ to make their greens look healthy and to keep golfers happy e.g those who like to thin a rescue wood out of the semi-rough and still get a bit of backspin. The punishment for overwatering will be thatch development and increased disease. The days of being able to paper over the cracks of this style of management with a full fungicide programme are coming to an end.

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Tools to help achieve the plan Clegg hammer Measures greens firmness Parkland courses look to achieve Clegg values of 80-100 gravities through the main playing season and, for the links, a firmer 100-130 would be more appropriate. The target for authentic heathland might be 90-110. At Temple, our target range is 100-120

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Tools to help achieve the plan Greens tester. This measures trueness and smoothness of the putting surfaces.

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Tools to help achieve the plan LEADING NATURAL AND HYBRID TURF CONSULTANTS Greens assessment by ProPitch took place on 20th June .

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Tools to help achieve the plan

This App uses live data to build up an individual performance passport for selected greens

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Summary Only organic products to be applied Enhance the soil food web Manage greens from data

Look after nature and the soil biology so it works for us As a trial, no hollow coring of greens is planned for the next 18 months Presentation title

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How can members help? Bunker raking The “Aussie method” is our preferred raking style

Always enter and exit at the low point of a bunker Take rake with you before playing shot Push sand away from you using teeth of the rake. When at the edge flip rake over to the flat side to smooth your footprints DO NOT pull sand towards you, especially near the edges When exiting the bunker, tap your shoes with club to knock off and excess sand Place rake at the lowest point of bunker ready for the next golfer Quite simply, leave the bunker how you'd expect to find it

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How can members help? Bunker raking

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Greens maintenance

5547 (yearly man hours)

26%

Aprons maintenance

1264 (yearly man hours)

6%

Tees maintenance

1891 (yearly man hours)

9%

Fairways maintenance

2159 (yearly man hours)

10%

Bunker maintenance

5268 (yearly man hours)

24%

1.5" Semi-rough

168 (yearly man hours)

1%

3.5" Semi-rough

210 (yearly man hours)

1%

Practice area

443 (yearly man hours)

2%

Irrigation

432 (yearly man hours)

2%

Miscellaneous

2976 (yearly man hours)

14%

Construction

1384 (yearly man hours)

6%

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How can members help? Pitchmark repair Did you know? The average golfer makes 8 pitchmarks per round Based on 100 rounds per day: 800 per day 24,000 per month

288,000 per year Presentation title

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How can members help? Pitchmark repair, the wrong way DO NOT pry up the centre of the depression with repair tool as it exposes the soil and will delay the healing process. DO NOT insert repair tool and twist it. This only breaks more turf. A pitchmark takes only 15-30 seconds to fix correctly. An incorrectly repaired pitchmark takes over 3 weeks to heal! Presentation title

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How can members help? Pitchmark repair, the right way Insert repair tool just outside the back of the ball mark. Pull the turf towards the center of the hole. Repeat this same motion on all sides of the hole. Gently tap the repaired area with your putter. This action stretches undamaged turf over the ball mark providing instant recovery. Presentation title

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How can members help? Replacing divots Please replace divots Where provided, use the soil/seed mix to fill divot

We will be introducing divot bags on the 1st tee. Golfers may take a bag of soil/seed mix and fill divots during their round. Bags can be refilled from the divot boxes on 5 and 13 Presentation title

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How can members help? Removing ball from the hole Always use your hand Sharply removing the flag to remove your ball causes damage to the hole

Inserting your putter to retrieve your ball will also cause damage

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