Tee To Green December

The Downs Course

As we come into winter, I thought I would reflect on the year gone by and write about some of the achievements we have made this year on the golf course.

Starting with the greens. The results of changing our feed program and some of our cultural practices have resulted in improved performance and health this year. Firstly, we got ahead of the nematode problems we had in 2023 by spraying our garlic product earlier when the nematodes started to come out of the grass plant and reproduce in the soil profile. We did this by testing regularly and applying the treatment at the correct time. Maintenance was carried out shortly afterward with the aim to reduce thatch levels. The GKB (scarify / sand fill) was used on the putting surface which removed 7% of the thatch, then this was followed by a 10mm hollow core removing another 4% of the thatch layer. The holes were then filled up with sand top dressing and light dustings to regain the correct levels. Dryject was then used in October to improve percolation rates by injecting sand channels into the profile. Light sand dustings have been carried out on a bi-weekly program to improve trueness and speeds throughout the year. We have added 150 tonne of sand over the 20 greens so far. Regular solid tine aeration and light verti cutting has also really improved the surfaces this year.

We went away from granular fertilising this year and aimed to foliar feed our way through the season. This was to allow the greens to grow more consistently and not have the growth flushes which happen when you apply a granular feed. Therefore, we basically feed the greens little and often on a weekly occurrence.  Our data collection shows that in the playing season, between May and October, green speeds averaged 10.1 on the stimp meter which is a good pace for the undulating greens we have on The Downs course. The greens have been 90% - 100% true throughout the season too, which is pleasing to see.

Surrounding aprons and greens keep improving year on year. This is mainly down to plant health. We spray a similar foliar feed to these areas every 5 weeks, although the nitrogen is a bit stronger, as well as the increased plant growth regulator rates to keep the sward thick. They also receive 3 granular slow release organic feeds a year to keep grass growing well. Next year, when our new irrigation is installed, we will have back-to-back sprinklers around the greens, so we can water outwards as well, giving us the opportunity to add in some more runoff areas to improve the character of the course. 

Teeing areas are probably one of the hardest surfaces to manage and they take a lot of wear from divots and the amount of golf being played throughout the year. These areas are treated the same as the aprons and surrounds, as well as weekly divoting on the tees to promote new growth. Some tees during this time of year start to get extremely worn, therefore tee maker locations will be moved onto other tees to spread the wear and tear.

Fairways are the best I have seen them in a long time. Without a doubt, the wet weather throughout the summer has helped to keep them stay greener longer than expected. However the yearly shockwaving to relieve compaction and improve root depth is one of the biggest reasons the fairways have stayed healthier. As well as this, regular foliar feeds at 6-week intervals using the same mix as the aprons and surrounds has also helped. The grass coverage has been good throughout the year, however with minimal growth coming up in the next few months, strike mats will be used, but only on selected areas of the course, which will be marked using white paint.

Bunkers have been extremely challenging this year, with intense downpours resulting in a lot of contamination and compaction. We have added 90 tonnes of sand into the bunkers throughout the season and this unfortunately keeps compacting with the increased heavy downpours we seem to be having. Bunkers are normally fully raked 5 times a week, with the other days the bunkers being touched up (animal and golfer prints).

The long natural rough has been rather thick this season, this is mainly due to the previous 2 wet summers which encourage the Corser grasses. A big win for us was that the Estate's farm team cut and collected most of the long rough this year and did so in impressive time. To thin out the rough even more, we are going to tine, rake, re-cut and collect, then in the spring scarify, then again cut and collect to try and thin these areas more than area, to improve playability and pace of play.

Ecology work continues all year round, this year we have concentrated on the 17^th pond area, clearing out reeds and allowing the fish and aquatic life more room in their habitat and to expose the flint wall to make it more aesthetically pleasing. The first pond still needs some work doing to it to, however this can now be done throughout the winter.

The last month we have been working to remove the vegetation on the 5^th tee bank to allow more air and sunlight onto the tee. We will remove the turf from the tee tops, add some additional drainage, and then level and turf the tee. This will then be brought back into play for the spring.

New tee mats have been installed on the 6^th and 12^th tees, as these are high wearing tees and need to be protected throughout the winter, otherwise there will be nothing left to play on come March next year. Please use these, as playing from the main tees will degrade the surface.

Post and rope has now been put out. Please do not climb over or go under the rope. It is there to protect areas and manage traffic. These will be moved throughout the winter as part of keeping the grass as healthy as possible.

Lastly I’d like to wish you all a merry Christmas and a happy new year from myself and the agronomy team.

Rob Dyer, Head Greenkeeper, The Downs Course

The Park Course

This month on The Park Course has been a wet one and with a little bit of snow. We had over a 2 week period 100mm (4 inches) of rain. This was mainly down to 3 storms over that time but have also had heavy downpours in between. Unfortunately, we had to shut the course a few times and buggy’s have been banned for most of the month. We have to make these decisions on a daily basis and are ultimate goal is to have the course open for play every day. The reasons for shutting the course are:

1: Health and Safety, is it safe for members to play? To slippery in places could result in injury. High winds, storms also play a factor etc

2: Playable, is the course playable? Greens under water, course is unplayable same as other surfaces, fairways, tees etc

3: Protect the course! We want to protect the course the best we can.

What damage we get now will be there to spring and maybe longer. We then have the costs of repairing these areas which takes money away from improving areas. This not only helps us but also gives us better surfaces for the members to play in the future.

During the month we still have done our best to present the course. In between showers most playing areas have been cut weekly. Greens are very consistent and in great condition for this time of year. We continued with our woodland work and team kept warm during the time it wasn’t raining and we had frozen conditions and snow, they had a nice bonfire going.

As Xmas is around the corner and New Year, it’s nice to look back on what has been a hugely successful and challenging year for the Park team.

The Copse opened in May with The Duke coming down to open to it. The Copse has been in fantastic condition all year with greens improving all the time. It’s a world class facility which will help all golfers improve there game. During the same time the team were preparing the grounds for Goodwoof. We had 4 big golf events on the course this year, Clutch Tour, Junior Open, Sussex Open and of course Club Championship. The course was in superb condition for all 4 and greens stimping over 10 feet on all occasions. Overall the course/greens have been very consistent all year. Big thank you to the team for their hard work.

With 2025 fast approaching exciting times lay ahead for The Park. The masterplan from European Golf Design are in the final stages and we will hopefully be in a position early next year to reveal what lays ahead for the course.

From the whole Park team, we wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Scott Peterson, Deputy Head Greenkeeper, The Park Course