CSGC Links News July 2015

The County Sligo Golf Club Issue 8 – July 2015

I ssu e, Da te

Quisque:

Feugiat:

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Making Use of Ground

Contours

Open Debacle

at St Andrews

Special Report Page 3 Going back to

our Roots


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Mark Millar

Links Layout

1907


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On his first day as Course Manager Mark Millar was asked what he thought the biggest area of concern was on the course.

“Where we were standing near the 6th green we could see players putting.” Mark said: “That’s one of the biggest problems, our putting surfaces are not good enough”

It’s his belief that, like a large number of top links courses, we have to take a step back in time and re-think our greens strategies…

“we have to re-establish the traditional links-type greens that members played on

when this great Club was formed in 1894.”

Easier said than done would be the first reaction of many, but Mark is a ‘doer’ and he has a plan, a 5-year plan in fact, for the links. He’s determined to build on the good work carried out by his predecessor and good friend Graeme Beate, newly appointed Course Manager at Royal Portrush.

Rescue to aid fescue – going back to our roots..

Rescue Herbicide Here’s the boring bit – the technical jargon that most readers tend to skip. If you’re still with me…good…let’s get started…

Rescue is a highly selective grass weed herbicide, for the removal of ryegrass whilst leaving fine turf grasses unaffected. Rescue is approved for use across the golf course, including greens, tees, fairways, approaches, semi-rough and rough.

Removal of ryegrass infestation from greens can achieve more consistent ball roll and a better quality fine turf surface. On fairways, ryegrass control can improve both the playability and visual appearance of the course, as well as helping to achieve a clean finish from mowing. In rough areas thinning out dense ryegrass makes it easier to locate balls and avoid slow play.


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Continued >

Rescue will also enhance the environmental value of out-of-play rough areas, by removing unwanted ryegrass and creating a habitat where wildflowers and biodiversity can thrive.

The herbicide targets specific enzymes responsible for cell division, stopping the growth of susceptible plants and quickly leading to leaf die back.

The growth enzyme in Ryegrass is especially susceptible to the effects of pinoxaden. With fescue grasses the fine leaf architecture limits the uptake of the active ingredient, so fescues are unaffected.

So let’s talk greens… To date members appear to be happy with the quality and consistency of the greens this season. The biggest critic has surprisingly been the Course Manager himself;

“I know they’ve been looking good and running well, grass cover has been ok but I’m not satisfied. I look at the amount of undesirable grasses on the greens and surrounds and it frustrates me”.

Since the decision was made some time ago to tackle the issue of ‘undesirable grasses’ progress has been slow. The process takes time especially in the early years as the newly seeded grasses (mostly fescue) compete with the established old-grass sward. Once the new species reach the 40-50% level the battle is almost won as the ‘good grasses’ will prosper.

Presently our greens need to be managed carefully. In order to thrive, the current grasses need regular feeding (costly fertiliser) and watering during dry spells as well as treatment for various diseases. Fully established fescue greens require far less nutrient input and are very resistant to disease and drought. So the there’s a huge pay-off in terms of sward quality and lower maintenance and input costs.

The four main grass species on our greens at present are:

Fescue (31%), Bent (34%), Poa Annua (32.5%) and Rye (2.5%).

Setting his sights high, Mark’s ambition is to reach 80% Fescue and 10% Bent/Poa in 5 years time. A tall order but I wouldn’t bet against him!

The Course Manager has been treating small areas of selected greens with Rescue herbicide, killing off old grass and re-seeding with new species.

He’s very happy with the results to date and with the backing of the committee, he’ll commence treatment of four full greens in early August. A positive outcome will see the project extended to all greens by degrees.

Typical Ryegrass infestation.


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Fescue grass for links greens is back in fashion due to:

• its excellent drought tolerance • high shoot density to give high wear and quick recovery • rapid establishment • excellent disease tolerance and • lower nutrient requirements

No pain, no gain… So how do we get there? The battle to re-introduce the traditional links-type grasses will be spearheaded by Rescue, a highly-selective herbicide from Syngenta, designed to eradicate perennial ryegrass and other invasive coarse-leaved grasses from close-mown and longer areas of fine turf.

Mark says; “The undesirable grasses will be taken out within two weeks of application without impacting on any of the surrounding finer grasses that we want to encourage.”

Judicious over-seeding within days of spraying will help recovery as the Fescue/Bent seed mix germinates and becomes established thus filling the gaps left by die-back.

Green quality will certainly suffer in the short term, particularly for the first few of weeks but Mark is confident that “disruption will be minimal and it’ll be well worth the short term pain.”

To the Rescue… When does it start? Mark explains that the club has been trying for a number of years to eliminate certain grasses from the putting surfaces using a combination of cultural and mechanical treatments. Having achieved limited success, he was keen to fast-track the Rescue Herbicide program.

"Rescue's capabilities are exactly what we need, but we have to step-up the program" he said. Encouraged by the club's consultant agronomist, Conor Nolan, he presented the case to the committee for using his Rescue program.

He received the green light to proceed and work will commence in early August 2015 on the 6th, 7th, 9th and 11th greens. Over time the project will be extended to include all other greens.

Rescue treatments are now be part of an on-going course improvement program. It will be used when needed on rough and greens.

Fescue Grass – going back to our roots…


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Course Manager’s Report – Mark Millar

Work completed in June

Greens:

• Fertiliser 6.0.6 applied @10ltrs ha + seaweed (Regular top up every 3 weeks). • Seeded 1st,7th,9th and 17th Greens. • Greens top-dressed with approx 15 ton sand. • Regular brushing carried out weekly. • Hand-mown to give a cleaner cut. • Hand picking weeds twice weekly. • Wetting agent applied for fairy ring treatment and prevention present on 17th and 18th greens.

Tees:

• Fertiliser 6.0.6 applied @ 20lts ha + seaweed to add colour and aid recovery from stress due to weather.

• Lowered cut height to 9mm.

Fairways:

• Sprayed with Herbicide for weed control. Fertiliser + wetting agent applied to aid growth. • Bomore fairways also treated as above.

The year is moving on quickly with a lot of work still to be completed on both courses. The busy summer months just seem to be rolling into one.

Greens at present are in reasonably good shape with the speed still sitting around 9 – 9.5ft and getting them a little faster when needed.

The next priority for the greenkeeping team will be preparing the links for Open Week.

“It’s been a very busy

but enjoyable summer”


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Bomore:

• Topped up bunkers in Bomore with sand. • Bunkers edged and tidied. • Cut back heavy rough as part of ‘thinning’ project. • New steps have been added at 7th tee.

Championship:

• Sprayed Roundup in bunkers to help with weed control. • New 11th tee sprayed with Roundup before seeding. • Benches and signage painted. • Heavy rough sprayed to thin it out a little, second application

will be needed in due course. • Drain at the right of 6th fairway has been cleaned out. • Drains at 7th,8th and 14th have been cleaned and weeds removed. • Banks fly-mowed and strimmed.

Revitalisation Program:

• Surround at new 3rd green has been seeded. • Hollow cored new 3rd green and new 5th green extension. Both

were also top-dressed. • New greens cut 2-3 times weekly. • Bunker at new 10th green extension is now finished. • Over seeded (Fescue) lower practice putting green and 10th

green extension.

To-Do List:

• Paint tee marker stones. • Erect direction sign from 9th green to 10th tee. • Erect red & white marker/direction post on 18th fairway. • Clean drains and path ways. • Construct a new ‘trial’ tee box behind 4th green to give members

a similar line to the 5th fairway as the new Championship tee.

Wo r k Sch e dul e Ju ly / Aug ust

Greens

Continue top-dressing.

Solid-tine with 10mm tines 3” spacing..

Continue to apply just enough fertilizer to hold colour.

Commence ‘unwanted grass’ program on 6th, 7th, 9th & 11th

greens.

Other work

Replace benches on tees.

Continue spraying heavy rough to ‘thin out’.

Turn-over area at driving range and seed out.

Tidy gravel paths after rain damage.

Lay astroturf on bridge at 8th green.

Continue to clean out drains.

Paint stakes along drains.

Verti-drain and roll turf nursery.

Cut back area on right of the 7th green on Championship Course to accommodate new green extension.

Other work carried out


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Ground Contours - a sustainable alternative

Ground contours help to define the golf landscape -‐ Paul Jansen

You would think so Dr Mackenzie yet so many of our golf courses today have been “dumbed down” to accept one type of shot – the aerial one. This is unfortunate because the game becomes inherently more interesting when the ground is in play.

Instead of guarding our landing areas and greens with “abundant” features that stymie the ground game we should be looking to introduce more ground contouring for strategic and visual interest and leverage them in such a way that they maximise creative shot options and intelligent play.

Robert Hunter, in his book the Links, wrote that “Clever architects make the natural undulations on the ground play an important role in the game – to carry such undulation may mean many additional yards, while to fall short may make the next shot beyond ones powers”.

Mackenzie spoke of “Interesting features such as closely mown hillocks, hollows and swales offering fascinating strategic problems” and Donald Ross was quoted as saying “Hummocks (mounds) provide a test in playing the ball from all kinds of stances”.

Ground undulations carry enormous strategic interest - you only need to play links golf or golf courses with links-like characteristics to see that.

For instance, at the Open each year golfers have to manoeuvre their ball around the course using the humps, bumps and depressions.

The direct line to the pin may not always be the ideal line and this is where smart golfers use the wind and ground contours to positively influence the flight and roll of the ball.

Continued >

Something as simple as a bump or depression can offer as much interest as any other feature….

It is intelligent golf at its best and fun to play….

“A golf course that merely caters for an everlasting pitch at every hole can never be entirely satisfactory” Dr A.Mackenzie.


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Positioning is also important since a portion of the green may not always be accessible (or even visible) from a section of fairway due to the slope of the land or presence of a mound or some high ground. It is intelligent golf at its best and fun to play.

I am also of the belief that ground contours can help promote fast play. When last did it take you five turns to get out of a grass depression - particularly when mowed at fairway height?

Added to that, mounds and depressions are much less intimidating features when comparing them to some of the others – like water and bunkers – and can be negotiated by every level of golfer.

Ground contours are an essential golf feature, they always have been, so why are we not making more of an effort to utilise them in our

designs and why are we maintaining many of our golf courses to negate their positive effect?

A golfer will never tire of playing shots from varied lies and the cost of constructing and maintaining, these features is minimal in comparison to the “standard” ones we get fed each day.

Let the ground dictate the play and there is every chance our golf courses would be better for it.

I leave you with a final quote from Dr A. Mackenzie;

“A golf course should be made interesting and a good test of golf by

the tilt of the greens and the character of the undulations”.

Alister MacKenzie was born on 30th August 1870 in Normanton, Yorkshire. A Cambridge graduate, he went on to practice medicine in Leeds before travelling to South Africa to serve as a Civilian Surgeon for the British Army Somerset Regiment during the Boer War.

MacKenzie had been a member of several golf clubs in and around Leeds, dating back to the mid 1890’s. His career in golf architecture finally got off the mark in 1905, when he formed a partnership with Harry Colt.

Such a partnership proved fruitful as by 1909, an opportunity arose to build a new course at Alwoodley near Leeds. Mackenzie presented the club with a series of designs for the course.

The Colt / MacKenzie partnership lasted 18 years during which time they worked closely on the re-design of the links at Rosses Point. MacKenzie’s left the partnership in 1923.

By 1931, MacKenzie had designed 41 original courses, plus 14 with partners. He had become one of the most influential golf course architects

of that era, most of it outside Europe following his permanent move to the US.

It was his inspirational work in Australia that led to his commission at Cypress Point in the United States and his later work at Augusta National in 1929. Of his work in the United States, both of these courses and Crystal Downs receive the most acclaim.

Augusta, designed in 1929, was MacKenzie’s last notable offering to the world of golf before his death in 1934 on the year of the first Masters.


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It’s easy to just assume that the wind was the main problem at St. Andrews during The Open, but it goes deeper than that and puts the entire modern golf industry under scrutiny.

With no golf for nine hours, the gusting winds at St. Andrews got all the publicity on Saturday at the British Open. There's nothing to show so the highlights are balls being blown off the green and spectators sheltering around the Old Course.

It makes for quick and fascinating viewing and a simple conclusion that this is just a day of extreme wind that rendered the course unplayable. But it goes a little deeper than that and Saturday's delay was putting the entire operation of modern tournaments

and the golf industry itself under scrutiny.

The high winds made the course unplayable because the greens had been cut too short and couldn't hold the ball still. The greens were cut too short so they would run fast and be in perfect condition for a major championship test.

The modern technology in a golf ball, and to a lesser extent, with clubs, have driven many of these top flight tournaments to hype up the speed of their greens because distance off the tee is making everything else that's supposed to be challenging at these events obsolete. There's a ripple effect here and most of it goes back to the modern super-charged golf ball that flies 300 and 350 yards.

The real reason for the disaster at the British Open was not the wind


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Reports from the course indicated that the greens were running at "10" on the stimpmeter. The stimpmeter sounds like some fancy device that measures green speed, but it's a pretty rudimentary tool -- an official puts a ball on an angled ramp and however many feet it rolls out on a flat part of the green is the reading.

A 10 reading is actually on the slower side for American courses that host professional and major tournaments. They often run around 12 and Oakmont, reputed to have some of the fastest greens in the world, can even get in the 13 to 15 range.

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But a 10 on a links course in Scotland is very quick, and when the wind gets up, it becomes unplayable.

At nearby Crail Golf Club, and reportedly everywhere else in the area, they were playing golf that day. Those greens weren't running a 10 on the stimpmeter.

Links courses should run a 6, 7, or 8ft on the greens, but the St Andrews greens were too quick to keep the balls in place when the wind started. the Old Course's most affected green, the 11th. This is the most exposed hole of the course and the one that held up everything else during that 30-minutes of actual play on Saturday morning.

Nothing would stay still. Even at the safer spots on the green, the ball was oscillating when a player addressed it with his putter.

So there's much more than just some extreme seaside wind in play here. The R&A wants these greens running fast so they're a challenge and the winning score is not 20-under. They need to be faster because the ball is flying farther than ever, rendering many parts of decades old and centuries old courses obsolete.


Editor: Vincent McGee

The County Sligo Golf Club 2015 ©

The views expressed in contributed articles are not necessarily the views of the editor of this publication or Co Sligo Golf Club. Editorial content and

photographs cannot be reproduced without prior permission from the editor.

CSGC Links News July 2015

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