Member News
If you missed out this time. Keep an eye out for the next event.
General Manager Report
One of the key concerns we are all sharing at the current time is the increased cost on energy. The new Prime Minister has delivered some encouraging news regarding the current energy crisis which I hope will help us all out personally.
September promises to be a very busy month for the greenkeeping team as they battle with the course to help it recover from the most punishing summer period. Neil and his team will be working on every part of the course to help the turf not only recover but be able to cope in the coming years.
Energy Costs
I have recently met with Neil, to discuss our plans for the next 16 months and I am pleased to see the level of work he has planned for the winter months. We will soon be looking to start bunker renovation work on 4, 16 and 9 with several more bunkers to fill in. We are also looking to do some work on the 15th tees to try and improve these. With further path work and tree work planned, the team will definitely need the weather on their side.
This Wednesday we hosted another FREE range night for our members and whist I was pleased to see increased uptake, we still had quite a lot that didn't turn up. With FREE balls and FREE curry available I hope those came had a great time. The winner of our FREE 'Back 9 at Wentworth' competition held on the night will shortly be contacted by our Range Team.
I hope you are all keeping well.
I recently watched a video about the recovery rates of managed turf with aeration plans vs those that do not have the aeration and the results were staggering. The water penetration on the turf that had been aerated previously, was far deeper, allowing the grass to recover much faster. So. top tip for your own lawns this autumn, is to make sure you get some holes into it (with a garden fork is the simplest method) and if possible scarify it, to remove the old dead matter to help the turf breathe again.
Stephen Norton
Members Range Night
I hope some normality will be restored soon on this rapidly rising inflation.
As a business we are not immune from these challenges, industry experts were advising us that by 1st October, electricity rates could reach levels 586% higher than we were paying at the start of this year.
Whilst further information is required, the news from the Prime Minister last week thankfully suggests this increase will now be capped for a period. This being said it will still be an increase of at least 250% on our rates at the start of the year.
Neil Crittenden,
These increases are not isolated to energy either, our fertiliser has increased by around 40% this year and sand for top dressing by 20%, let alone the food and drink costs we have mentioned previously.
Course maintenance week will start on the 19th of September, and we will be Hollow Tinning, Verti Cutting, Overseeding and Topdressing the greens, let’s hope the weather is favourable and recovery is fast. Thank you in advance for be patient during these essential works. We hope you like the practice bays which are now in
Course Manager Report
Pretty much everywhere will have treatment to help with recovery, from hollow tinning, spiking, fertilising to fully overseeding the worst areas. Our Grass Seed bill alone for September will be over £10,000 so I can assure you we are doing everything in our power to help all areas on the course recover.
In my 35 year career as a Greenkeeper I have never known a summer to be as long or as hot as this has been for us at Birchwood. This has thrown up many problems but obviously the most important was water. The greens have stayed consistent which is mostly due to their makeup, as water can be maintained through the profile of the soil, but most tees and approaches having more of a natural soil become baked and it doesn’t matter how much water you put on them it doesn’t penetrate and will run off the surface so that’s why a lot of them did brown off.
I have recently heard of more than one club in the southeast where they have just run out of water completely meaning the green’s would start to die as they are used to having water. Thankfully we are fortunate to have water from the reservoir, borehole and as back up, from the mains so we’ll never have to be in that position. Thankfully we have started to get damper conditions so that we can start to bring all the areas on the course back to how they should be before the onset of winter.
use and going into the autumn we will be planting around them to make a feature and add some colour to the area.
Anthracnose is a turf disease that is typically viewed as the second most common turf disease after good old Fusarium. It can affect all grass species but is most prevalent on Annual Meadow Grass and Fescue which 80% of our greens are made up from. Anthracnose can result in two types of disease: foliar blight and basal rot. With foliar blight infection the grass turns a tan yellow colour in irregular patches. It is often mistaken for drought in the summer, particularly since the stress induced by drought can be a significant trigger for anthracnose to break out. Basal rot begins as yellowing of older leaves on individual plants. The youngest leaf may become brick red in the later stages of development. The plant easily pulls from the turf and a black rot is visible at the base of the stem. The disease is commonly always present in turf surfaces, but the symptoms are most likely to only occur when turf becomes stressed. The disease outbreaks are most frequently seen on the Greens Which are under the most stressful management. Foliar blight most frequently occurs in hot, dry weather spells. Basal rot in cool, wet weather
Anthracnose
When we do have such prolonged dry/hot spells the greens do still become stressed which is normal for cool season grasses here in the UK. But from this stress the grass plant becomes weakened and mixed with the amounts of water we apply you get the perfect conditions for all the summer diseases to rear their heads. You might have noticed green rings or the grass yellowing off in places so I thought id share with you what these could be.
Brown patch occurs on the greens where patches of water soaked grass develop. The patches become tan to dark brown in colour. In humid conditions a brown/grey 'smoke ring' may develop around the edge of the patch. On Individual leaves may have lesions that are tan in the centre and bordered with a brown edge. Brown Patch is not very common, but it is most frequently seen on close mown areas such as the Greens and on longer grass lesions may be found by close inspection, but it is rare to encounter patches. The disease is most noticeable during the summer months, when the temperatures and humidity levels are high and regularly irrigated to create ideal conditions for an outbreak. Brown Patch reduces the aesthetic appearance of the turf and in severe cases grass cover may be lost in the patches but again very rare.
Dollar Spot on leaves are pale and a bleached colour. They are bound at either end by a darker reddish brown band separating the affected tissue from the healthy green tissue. Small spots of bleached turf occur on close mown grass (greens) The spots may join to form large areas of affected turf and white mycelium which resembles cotton wool may be present on affected areas on dewy mornings, which disappear as the grass dry. Any area of turf, especially golf greens can be affected and again like with Anthracnose Fescue and Annual Meadow Grass are at high risk of infection. The disease is most active during the summer months when the daytime temperatures are above 20ºC. Humid or thundery conditions can encourage an outbreak, as can heavy dews. Low fertility swards are at more risk from Dollar Spot so important to nutrient levels correct.
Dollar Spot
Brown Patch
Leaf Spots
Symptoms depend on the grass species and the pathogen involved. Generally, a yellowing or paling of the leaf may occur with spots developing and the sward may thin or look drought stressed. Any area of turf can be infected but mostly found on Greens all grass species can be affected by Leaf Spots not just the usual suspects. During the summer months is when you are most likely to see this when the temperatures are hi and conditions are humid this will encourage outbreaks. Minor infection may result in lesions and discolouring on leaves but no other effects. Severe infection may thin the sward, cause dieback and leave patches with weak turf, affecting the aesthetic value and the playability of the Green.
Type 1 fairy rings typically have a ring of dead grass which is bordered on both sides by a band of lush grass growth. Fungal fruiting bodies (mushrooms or toadstools) may be found associated with these rings. Type 2 fairy rings are typically a ring of stimulated grass growth with or without the fungal fruiting bodies. Type 3 fairy rings generally show no change in the growth of the grass but are evident only by the presence of rings of fungal fruiting bodies. Superficial fairy rings are caused by fungal activity in the thatch (hence, also known as thatch fungi). They can cause rings or patches of yellowed or greened up turf and may also be associated with slight depressions of the turf surface. Fungal fruiting bodies will not be seen with superficial fairy rings. In many cases, the presence of these fungi can be confirmed by smelling the rootzone which will take on a characteristic musty (mush roomy) smell. Although all fairy rings will start from a single point and increase in size annually, eventually forming recognisable rings, the growth of these rings will not stop unless the fungus hits a solid surface or disturbed ground.
The term 'fairy ring' is used to describe several turf grass diseases where soil borne fungi cause certain symptoms to develop on the surface of the sward. Fairy rings are caused by the activity of many fungi classified as basidiomycetes. Dry patch symptoms on the Greens are also thought to be associated with basidiomycete fungi. Each of the individual fungi grow through the rootzone, feeding off the organic material as it increases in size. The effects seen on the turf surface are roughly correlated with the number of fungi within the rootzone. Since the fungi is made up of compounds that naturally repel water (in the same way that our fingernails do), the more fungi that is present, the more water that can be repelled by it. Therefore, the larger the number of fungi, the more severe or noticeable the effect on the turf. Fairy Rings are most obvious during the summer months; however, infection will be present in the soil from one year to the next. In fact, there are records of Fairy Rings over 100 years old and up to several hundred meters in diameter. The various fungi that cause Fairy Rings will thrive in high organic matter soils, organic matter such as thatch is perfect hence why it’s important to hollow tine and generally manage your thatch layer. There are four types of Fairy Ring: Type 1, Type 2, Type 3 and Superficial Fairy Rings (or thatch fungi).
Fairy Rings
Our Autumn/Winter clothing has started to arrive in the Pro Shop with some great products from Galvin Green, FootJoy, Oscar Jacobson, Puma, Nike, JRB and RememberStuburt. as a member you get 10% off most clothing and footwear items.
September is going to be a busy month for us, and we pray the weather is kind as we rely so heavily on it.
An update from Head PGA
AUTUMN/WINTER IS COMING
I’m sure that you’ll all make her feel really welcome, feel free to pop in and say hello.
With most of these diseases good Greenkeeping practices keep them at bay and when the conditions are favourable for them to appear regular preventative Fungicides are applied. All that said though sometimes you can do all the right things and apply all the right products at the right time and the disease still manages to infect the Grass Plant. We are trying to manage something that is living, breathing, and feeding and like us will become ill with no reason to be.
NEWStephenProfessionalLeePGAASSITANTPROFESSIONAL
Welcome home Becky! This month we have Becky Bainbridge joining our Pro Shop Team. Some of you may already know Becky, as she has been a member of the club since 2017. Becky has now turned Professional and will be completing her PGA Training Course with us at Birchwood Park.
