The Committee has decided to ban these golf shoes from the course between the months of December 1st 2014 to March the 1st 2015. This is because the shoes in my opinion are creating an awful indentation into the putting surfaces which effects the smoothness of the green and ultimately has an effect on your putts. This is not something I have looked forward to doing, but if you look at some of the evidence I have collected then it should leave you in no doubt that the awful design of the sole should be banned for use on our greens during the wetter winter months. Notices have gone up in our clubhouse with a couple of pictures of the particular shoe that is going to be banned and the damage they can cause to our greens, most of this damage occurs around the hole when full weight is put onto the leading foot whilst bending down to retrieve your ball from the hole. This doesn't bode well for the group following behind trying to hole out a putt. I know the pictures on the notices are quite small so I will post them up on here so you can hopefully zoom in to see the shoe that is going to be banned. I will also link you to a couple of youtube videos of our own tests that were taken at the beginning of this year.
Adidas Adizero One Tour 2014 Model
Side Profile of 2013 model. Notice how protruding the sole is.
Adizero 6 spike are not banned
Adizero '6 spike' are fine and will not be banned
Damage that these golf shoes can create in wet conditions.
In this video compare the difference in ball roll between the second ball and the third ball. The second ball ran out into an indentation the Adizero had made about 1 minute before.
This second video shows what a mess the shoes make to a soft green. As you can see by the videos these shoes leave me with no choice other than to ban them during the wettest part of the year. The damage that these shoes create is gathering pace world over. Dont just take my word for it, please have a search on the internet for yourself. There are plenty of discussion posts such as this one http://thesandtrap.com/t/72992/courses-banning-2014-adizero-shoes-buyer-beware If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask when you see me out on the course or comment on this post. Regards Leigh
Hi,
Just another quick update on the work we have done to the greens so far.
After borrowing a tractor from a very kind company (Sharrocks) we managed to get all the holes into the greens by Thursday evening. We are now coming to an end of the topdressing.
Plenty of sand on the green.
With 60tonnes gone into the greens so far. We have another 20tonne pile left for topping up wherever needed. In all my time at Trentham Park Golf Club I dont think we have ever managed to get this much sand into the greens in one go. This should set us up really well for the winter ahead and well into next spring where we will probably concentrate on the Gradening process once again.
The greens are looking reasonably OK, however with this very dry almost hot weather we are now having they have dried out VERY quickly. There are some dry patches on the greens at the moment, which is why you have seen some of the staff out with the hose pipe concentrating on those areas. By the end of tomorrow we should have gotten all the sand out that I want to put on, so then its a matter of concentrating on recovery.
I will be out with the sprayer on Friday morning spraying a mixture of wetting agent, Bio stimulator and Pesticide.
18mm tines going in!
The wetting agent will help us to break down the water into those dry patches, it will also help the Bio stimulator to get down through the green to promote root growth through the holes that we have created with the Veri Drain, and the pesticide is to kill off the Leather Jackets (which are Crane Fly Lavae) and Chafer Grubs.
Wet sand doesn't brush in very well!
Fertilising - Usually after some very intense work to fine turf we put a granular fertiliser down to help the greens recover by promoting growth. To do this isn't normally a problem at this time of year,
however with the weather being as it is I feel it will be best to hold off for a little while until some rain is predicted. I can force this on with using the irrigation but i feel that the Biostimulator will keep them ticking over for a week or so giving me time to assess the situation next week. If I feel that the greens are struggling in any way then the fertiliser will go on and then we will irrigate over night.
Thats better!!
I feel the 'Work Window' has gone very well this year after having a major hiccup (clutch on tractor) which set us back a couple of days. I thank you for your patience because I know the greens havent been easy to putt on this last couple of weeks, but I really think that if we carry on doing what we are doing and the weather stays the same I see no reason why the greens shouldnt be fully recovered within a couple of weeks.
Regards
Leigh.
Well, that didn't go to plan!!
As I turned up for work at 6 this morning it was drizzling. But decided to press on as the forecast looked good. Then it got wetter and wetter!!
We concentrated our first efforts on the back six, so managed to dress and verti-drain everything apart from the 13th which had puddled up by the time we got to it. We also managed to get the first holes punched into the 12th green............And then the clutch failed on our tractor!! JUST OUR LUCK!
I have managed to source another one until the end of the week thanks to a very friendly sales representative at Sharrocks Machinery Thanks Steve! Which should arrive tomorrow afternoon. So with a bit of luck we should be back up and running by Wednesday morning. The weather looks a little better tomorrow so we will concentrate on getting what sand is out there into the greens and then topping up afterwards. The rest of the team will be concentrating on the cutting regime until its all hands to the pump again on Wednesday.
These things are sent to try us!!
Thanks
Leigh
Hello strangers!!
These blog posts have died a death this year, so first of all please let me apologise for that. I promise I will start posting more regularly from now on!
Monday the 1st of September sees the beginning of our 'Work Window.' I personally think this should be re-named 'Greens Maintenance Fortnight' as it seems like its creating a little confusion between our newer members and probably insinuates that we only do some 'work' in this fortnight! Which i can guarantee you thats not true!!
I would like to personally welcome all the new members that have joined this year and I wish you all the best at Trentham Park Golf Club.
The work that we are doing this next couple of weeks will be reasonably disruptive to the greens, there is no getting away from that I'm afraid. From tomorrow we are going to be using our Wiedenman aerator to punch 18mm(nearly 3/4") holes into the greens after layering the green with a bed of sand. This will then be brushed into the holes. We will then top up the sand to fill the holes up as best as we can.
After doing this operation to all of the greens the Wiedenman will go back to the shed for a quick grease up and a change of smaller 12mm(just under 1/2") tines and we will repeat the process.
WHY ARE YOU DOING IT TWICE? I here you ask!! If you imagine large 18mm holes in the green and then imagine a smaller hole going into the green afterwards this smaller hole will help to 'close' the larger holes up. This in turn will allow us to get almost double the amount of sand that we would normally get in. Afterwards they will all be topped up with sand, brushed in and rolled.
This operation will probably take most of the week and, like everything we do, is dependant on dry weather. You will notice greens with a thick layer of sand on just like the top picture, these will be left to 'bake' in the sun (should there be any!!) once dry the sand brushes in really well.
After the whole process is complete we will then be concentrating on recovery, this again, is VERY MUCH weather dependant. In ideal conditions we will be fertilising with a granular feed which will give the turf the nutrients it needs to recover, we will be putting some seed into the few bare areas that we have, and we will also be spraying the greens for pests such as Leather Jackets and Chafer Grubs. I also want to spray a product to wipe out the bits of moss that we have knocking about.
Chafer Grub
Leather Jacket
After all this is done it should set us up for the winter period pretty well!
I understand you all want to play golf on a course that is always good. But without us green staff doing disruptive work to the greens, things would go downhill fast! I hope you all understand that we can't stand still!
So, if you are fortunate enough to be playing next week, and you see us working hard on the greens, be sure to smile and give us a little wave! But please, pick your ball up and move to the next hole.
Wow! They were some strong winds on wednesday night. Probably the strongest I have ever experienced. They were that strong I had to chase the contents of my wheelie bin down the street at one point! The good news is, our new fence stayed up around the office area!! The bad news is that we've lost a dozen+ trees, 5 of which we have lost on the 3rd hole.
We've lost 3 large trees from the right hand side, and a couple on the left hand side.
We've lost a couple from the 10th hole one from the 12th, and the rest on park side with the walk upto the 14th tee being the worst affected. These have now been either collected, or made safe and piled for collection at a later date. I don't like to tempt fate, however I will on this occasion by saying we've got away lightly compared to some golf courses. With one course not so far away from us losing 50+ trees, thats a lot of work just before the season starts! Lets hope we are near the end of the bad weather but something tells me we're in for much more in the near future i'm afraid!
Other work that has been completed since my last blog post are: The large conifer on the corner of the car park has been removed. I had this inspected by a tree surgeon and he deemed it dangerous as the top half of the tree was either dead, or dying so it was going to come down causing some danger at some point so we decided to take it out. I must say what a difference to the view from the car park it has made, you can actually see the course!!
We've been very busy in the sheds for the last week or so, i've already mentioned the new fencing that been put up around the office area. This will be painted as soon as the weather permits. We've had a damn good tidy up of the sheds where we have given all of the hand tools a new home, I must say it looks ten times better and will allow us to be much more efficient.
You may have also noticed that there are no hole signs out next to each tee anymore? These have had a massive overhaul. With all the old paint and varnish sanded off and a new varnish put on, we have also ordered new sign boards, which hopefully will look even better than the original ones. I can honestly say that the wood frame looks better now than when they were new!
We are looking for new hole sponsors at the moment at a bargain price which I believe includes a free fourball, so please if you wish to advertise your company on our signs then reply to this blog and I will put you in touch with the relevant department. Hurry though as they're getting taken up fast!!
Other jobs for the for the next couple of weeks include servicing all of our machinery, clearing out around the 17th tee, clearing the back of the 16th green reshaping the woodland close to the 14th tee putting in a new path way around the 14th tee area, and sorting out the banking around the car park.
Busy busy busy!
Leigh
The flood water on the 12th has created a massive concern, and has probably been one of the most difficult situations I have had to face in my short term as a HeadGreenkeeper. We have had meetings with the Highways Agency (because the main drain that was blocked actually comes in from the A519) and numerous contacts with our insurance company to try and get the issue resolved. All to
no avail unfortunately!! So, basically it was up to me and my team to come up with a plan!
I knew we needed an outlet for the water to go down which was proving very difficult to find. We knew we could dig a ditch with a fall but it would have had to go some 400 yards down into the stream to the right of the 12th which is a lot of digging, and a heck of a lot of spoil to move! We knew there must be an easier way!!
On Thursday last week we were digging about to try and find the main land drain which we knew ran
Manhole found underneath path
parallel with the Bridal path that splits 12 and 14, when Simon luckily found a man hole cover buried underneath the path, which, when lifted, revealed a chamber with a large pipe at the bottom. The flow of water wasn't great so we put some drainage rods up there and we managed to find a blockage some 30metres up the pipe, this was then water jetted and unblocked by a drainage firm. The flow of water increased a little, however it still wasn't enough to quickly drain water from the pond that had formed, this is a very old section of pipe and has probably been infiltrated
Drainage ditch going in
by tree routes, as the blockage seemed to be in a copse of trees on the fence line. We decided it was best to bypass it and dig a new ditch alongside the fence line and then up toward the flood.
Finding the levels
The rest was rather simple but we had to make sure we were digging with a fall which is harder than it looks in all honesty! So a 'Dumpy level' was used in the process.
Away you go!
After a few hours we managed to reach the front of the flood and it started to flow away just as planned!
Drain into 'Wetland' area
This has worked fantastically well, and if I'm being honest, probably better than what I first thought. We have also added another drain to help the right hand side (wetland) area to clear the flood from there too.
Thursday Afternoon
As you can see by this picture the flood has gone by 3/4 the drain has been running for around 30 hours and its still going! There must have been a heck of a lot of water there!
Moving forward
We need to allow everything to drain off, and dry out and then start to renovate the dead stagnant turf in the spring time. If readers would like me to blog about how we get the turf back then that's something that can be done. Who knows? You may be learn something you could bring into your own garden?
The spoil that has been removed from the ditch and dumped on the side will also need to dry out. This could be moved further up to the flooded area, and used to contain any more flood water to the right hand side wetland area. However, before we do this we need to decide on weather we are going to make a feature out of the open ditch or put some pipe in and fill it in.
Other news
I know we have a few trees down at the moment. I am waiting for the weather to turn, and the ground to get frozen before we take a tractor and trailer out there to collect the wood. At the minute it is too wet, and would make a lot of mess.
Some of you would have noticed that some tree copses have been cleared through, with the largest change being the woodland behind the 6th green and to the right of the 14th tee. The idea is to clear them enough to get the rough mower in their and keep them clear of long grass, bramble and Himalayan Balsam. We have had the digger in the 14th to scrape the surface clear, however the job has had to stop because of the wet ground conditions at the moment.
The course
Its great to be able to keep the course open for as long as we have this without a doubt is because of the drainage work that was done to all greens almost 12months ago now for those who are interested THIS is what we did. With the greens being reasonably firm for the time of year. Other areas are getting wetter and wetter however, and there will become a point in the not too distant future (if this rain carries on) that we will have to close from time to time. More rope will be going out in certain areas just to help to direct traffic around the muddier areas soon. Please help us to help you by carrying your bag if you are able to do so, and repair all divots and pitch marks, but above all enjoy your golf!!
Thanks
Leigh
When I first took up golf as an 11 year old boy, one of the first lessons my dad gave me was not how to tee the ball up or even how to 'keep my head down' when swinging a golf club. It was how to repair a pitch mark. This was one of the first etiquette disciplines that Leek golf club (and my old man!) instilled into me from a young age. I was always taught to repair at least 2 pitch marks whenever I walked onto the green, and always to ask if i could repair one that just happened to be on my 'line'!
When I was out on the course the other day checking the greens for any disease I couldn't believe my eyes at some of the pitch marks that had been left! I wish I had taken photos of some of the ones on the 4th green. They honestly were humungous! It is imperrative that golfers get into the habit of repairing them. Especially at this time of year with the greens being soft with all the rain that we have been having. The reason for repairing them is twofold they create a bobble should your ball be unfortunate enough to hit one. The other reason is it weakens the grass plant and allows disease such as fusarium to infiltrate. Someone asked me the other day why my green staff don't repair pitch marks as part of their morning routine. When I explained to them that it took me 10 minutes to repair all the pitch marks on the 4th green and if it took 10 minutes to do every other green thats 180minutes for 18 greens. I can then begin to work out a costing for my staff to do it by using this formula using 'minimum wage' as an example:
3hrs (180mins) x £6.31 (min wage/hour) = £18.93/day
18.93 x 7 (days/week) = £132.51
£132.51 x 52 (weeks/year) = £6980 per year
£6980 per year to repair pitch marks!! Haha I know I have been very pedantic here but it certainly puts a point across that by repairing your own + one other pitch mark could potentially save YOUR golf club nearly 7k per year! Not to mention better agronomics and a smoother putt!
Please see this video for the best way to repair a pitch mark:
