Ealing Golf Course Conditions Survey

14^th December 2007

GREENS

The greens have played very well over the past year. The meadow grass seed-heads have reduced dramatically and disease is decreasing. Only two applications of fungicide have been applied in the last twelve months compared to ten applications in twelve months three years ago. The thatch layer has reduced from 100mm to 75mm and the roots are starting to penetrate through this layer. The greens are also draining better than before, although they are not yet up to the standard that we expect.

Heights of cuts were brought down to 2mm for the spring meeting and stayed there throughout the summer. For two tournaments, the South East Seniors and the Ealing Scratch Open, we brought them down further to 1.8mm. The stimp meter readings for the greens have ranged between 10-11 feet for everyday play and for all the major competitions they have been at 12 feet. For two big competitions mentioned above we actually got them to 14. If you take in to account that tour events’ readings are around 11 feet and The Masters has them at 12, the speed and trueness has been impressive.

Again, around 200 tons of sand has been incorporated in to the soil. This is very important for drainage, organic matter decomposition and smoothing out the surfaces. Verti-draining with a small 8mm tine happened monthly throughout the summer. This was important to keep the airflow throughout the soil and encourage the roots to go deeper. The graden machine (deep scarify) was once again used to rip out the dead organic matter (thatch). In the created tine lines, we over-seeded with colonial bent. The bent grass is now starting to colonise certain pockets of the greens. Two years ago our greens were 100% meadow grass. Today, they are around 80% meadow grass and 20% bent.

This autumn the greens were hollow cored with 12mm tines going down 150mm and verti-drained with a 25mm tine going down 300mm. 80 tons of sand was incorporated into these holes. Although very disruptive to the putting surfaces, the greens have recovered well and are already starting to firm up.

Greens 4, 5, 6 and 10 have now fully recovered from their problems. They are still a little wetter than the rest and it shows, particularly when we have a disease outbreak. These greens get hit first because of the moisture staying in the surfaces.

As mentioned in last November’s survey, the purchase of a new ride-on mower was a priority. This was purchased in conjunction with phase 2 of the machinery replacement plan. The machine is the latest hybrid mower. Although it is still hydraulically powered, the cutting units are electrically driven. This has eliminated 108 potential leak points around the cutting units. 90% of all oil leaks happen around the cutting units, so it has been a good purchase for us.  We kept the old greens mower as a back up and to use for verti-cutting, double-cutting and spiking. We also purchased two hand mowers to cut with in the winter months.

Plan of action

It is important that we do not get complacent. Even though the greens have putted well this year there are still plenty of improvements to be made. The aim is to make them as good in the winter as they are in the summer. For this to happen, they need to be drier. This will make them firmer and allow us to cut them tighter in the winter months.

The aggressive approach with the greens will continue. Spring and autumn is when we will be doing our major renovations. The deep verti-draining that happened this autumn will happen again for the next few years. This year we went down to 300mm and the aim is to go to 400mm. The reason for the deep verti-draining is quite simple. Over the past few years, the spiking we have been doing has had a maximum depth of 200mm. For some courses built on sand this is more than adequate. The problem with our course, built on clay, is that the water is now moving down to this layer at 200mm and sitting there. This depth is fine in the summer but as soon as we have heavy rainfall in the winter, the water comes back up to the surface.  We have introduced the deep tine to smash through this layer and move the water further down to the optimum layer of 400mm.  I should also add that when we do this operation, we put about 10% heave on the machine. This creates little air pockets for the water to move downwards.

TEES

The tees are now on a similar program to the greens. They are cut four or five times a week to a height of 8mm in the summer. They are verti-cut, top-dressed and fertilised monthly. We have also introduced the growth retardant that we use on the greens to the tees. This has helped to create a nice dense surface.

The purchase of a new mower has allowed us to cut the tee banks higher, at 50mm. This gives the tees greater definition. The steps were sprayed for weeds monthly and yardage stones trimmed fortnightly.

This autumn, the tees were verti-drained twice, hollow cored, overseeded and 40 tons of sand was applied to them.

Plan of action

The tees are improving at a great rate. Some of them now almost look too big.  If you had said this a couple of years ago the opposite would have been true. Three years ago, the 1^st, 11^th and 18^th tees were re-built because of their poor condition. Now that we have a proper maintenance schedule in place this should not happen again.  As with the greens, it is important not to get complacent. The aim is to produce tees to the level as other courses greens. The tee program will continue and we hope to further it still with addition of operations such as the graden machine.

This winter we will level out a few back tees that have dropped (on holes 5 and 6). The steps on the 9^th and 16^th tees will be removed.

FAIRWAYS

We have had a lot of compliments on the fairways this year. Their density has improved greatly and they are virtually weed free. There are a number of reasons why this has happened. We sprayed a growth retardant a couple of times. Together with an application of a slow release fertiliser, this has helped to achieve a dense, uniform surface. The fairways were also verti-drained twice last winter. This has encouraged deeper roots. The addition of a new fairway mower has allowed us to contour follow better. They were cut 3 to 4 times a week to a height of 12mm. As I mentioned last year, the frequency of cut is probably the most single important operation in creating a fine, good surface to play on. Some courses cut their fairways seven days a week.

Plan of action

Unfortunately, due to the budgetary constraints last winter we were unable to continue the program of top-dressing and over-seeding. It is important that it continues. As we have witnessed this autumn, as soon as we have a dry spell, the fairways burn out very quickly. This is because the fairways consist of mainly meadow grass which is shallow rooting and does not handle droughts very well. To overcome this we need to encourage more rye grass in the fairways. The sand is needed to help improve the drainage. The problem, as you have seen in my previous reports is that it is very costly to do this work (a one off cost of approximately £4K per fairway).

This winter, we will continue with the spiking of the fairways. Sulphate of iron will be applied to help prevent disease and control the worms. Next spring, we hope to hollow-core and verti-cut all of the fairways.  Unfortunately it will be a time consuming and messy operation, but it is necessary in order to remove compaction and thatch. The fairways will benefit greatly.

ROUGH

The rough has been very labour intensive this year because of the wet, lush summer we experienced. We cut the rough weekly throughout this season. The addition of a new mower allowed us to introduce a strip of semi-rough. This has improved the definition greatly. Also, new areas of semi-rough (1^st, 3^rd and 11^th) have been introduced off the tees to help with the carries to the fairways.

The introduction of more long rough has been the subject of much debate this year. This has affected nearly all of the holes. The benefits have been reduced man-hours, improvements to safety, course definition and increased wildlife habitats. The downside has been that because of the new growth and wet summer it has been too dense and weedy this year.

Plan of action

This autumn we cut all the long rough, collected the clippings and over-seeded with finer grasses. This will help to thin out the growth and cut down all of the coarse weeds and grasses. This program needs to continue over the next few years and with the help of some dry hot summers we should reach our goal of wispy, links style rough.

The rough mower is on its last legs. It will not last another season and should be replaced. It is in line to do so in phase 3 of the replacement program.

COLLARS & SURROUNDS

The collars have come on greatly this year. They are a lot smoother and the density is improving. This has happened because we apply the same program to the collars as we do to the greens. They were cut five times a week to a height of 10mm.

The surrounds have also improved greatly. Last spring they were verti-drained, top-dressed and over-seeded. They were given two applications of fertiliser. In the spring an instant release fertilizer was applied and a slow-release fertilizer was applied in the summer. The surrounds were cut 3 times a week to a height of 25mm.

Plan of action

We will continue with the existing maintenance schedule. The collar and surrounds mowers are due for replacement. 

PATHS & MAINTENANCE TRACKS

The path from the maintenance complex up the 2^nd hole to the tee and across to the 1^st green was completed last winter. The ground was excavated to a depth of 100mm. Stone was then laid with a slight slope and lastly, the paths were wacker-plated firm. Turf was used to edge the stone. This whole area now looks much tidier. We have just one problem area by the 2^nd tee, but this is down to poor drainage in the whole area. The 12^th tee path was also laid last winter. We still have to complete this path up to the fairway.

The old grass maintenance tracks were cultivated and seeded. They now do not exist.

Plan of action

The path renovation program will continue this winter. We have two areas to do. The path by the 17^th tee that leads to the back of the 6^th green will be widened. The path by the 12^th tee was started last winter but because of budget restraints we were unable to finish it. We will continue it up to the fairway.

We will take out the paths by the 8^th tee and behind the 12^th green. These will be dug up and turfed over. The golfers’ paths on the 3^rd, 4^th, 14^th and 16^th will be verti-drained, sanded and seeded this autumn. We will look to add more next year.

BUNKERS

The bunker renovation programme was suspended last winter due to budget restraints. The bunkers were once again put onto a rolling four-week maintenance program. They were flymoed, edged and weeded. This helped in their appearance but not their condition. The bunkers were raked four times a week during the summer.

Plan of action

The renovation program will start this winter. Holes 11 and 18 will be the first to be done. They will be excavated, re-shaped, wacker-plated firm and 100mm of sand replaced. There are sixty-two bunkers out on the golf course and only two have ever been constructed properly (right of 9^th and left of 10^th). The idea is to do one hole at a time. This will help to keep the disruption to a minimum. The bunker programme will take around five years to complete

MACHINES

The machines are all on a service schedule. At present we employ an outside contractor to do the majority of this work. The preventative maintenance program that was put in place has worked superbly. Due to this we have had only one breakdown on the course all summer. If you compare this to twelve in May 2006 alone, it is an obvious improvement.

Phase 2 of the replacement program was started in the spring. In total we purchased nine machines for a cost of £125K (including interest). The machinery was placed on a five-year hire-purchase finance agreement. These purchases have greatly improved the condition of the golf course. We are also a lot more productive in our operations. An example of this is in our verti-draining. Last year, to do our autumn verti-draining, seeding and sanding operation took five full days. This year because of a purchase of an additional tractor it took two and half days.

Last winter we created a parts department in the workshop. We now have spare filters and quick-wearing parts in stock. This allows us, in the event of a breakdown, to turn machines around very quickly and also helps us to become more efficient.

The budget for the machinery department is now under control. The forecast for the year is around £25K compared to £33K spent last year. This reduction is down to our new machinery, regular servicing and preventative maintenance.

Plan of action

We have big plans for the machinery department. Total self-sufficiency within three years is our aim. Currently we spend around 10K per annum on outside contractors for servicing, grinding and breakdown work. This is very expensive and sometimes out of our control. This winter one of our staff, Dominic Weglarz, is going on a 15-week mechanics course. He will also under go specialist dealer training. The aim for next season is to have Dominic doing basic servicing and breakdown repairs. For more specialist work we will have to still employ outside contractors until we have the right equipment to do it ourselves. To have a mechanic ‘in house’ will increase our efficiency and allow us to look after our machines better.

Phase 3 of the replacement program is due to start next spring. This is subject to cash flow but it is crucial that at least some of this starts. Once this happens we will be in a five-year rolling replacement program. This will help us to keep up to date with technology, reduce the repair bill and reduce downtime. This will in turn allow us to be more accurate with our machinery budgets and ultimately improve the condition of the golf course.

MAINTENANCE COMPLEX

This area is now under control. It is tidy and organised. The only area in the future that may need improving is the wash down bay.

Plan of action

We plan to keep improving this area over time. As I said in the machinery section we are looking to bring our machinery department ‘in house’. For this to happen we will need certain things like grinders, welders, etc. This has been planned for in the replacement program.

We still have an issue with access to this area.  I know that there are plans in motion to improve the access; it is a matter of urgency to do this. At present we only have one fuel company that will deliver to us because of safety reasons.

COURSE PRESENTATION

The course presentation has been good all summer. The course furniture (flags, markers, etc) have all been streamlined and this has helped in this area. Fairway divoting did start in the summer but it was very hard to keep on top of due to competitions and work schedules.

Plan of action

Although we are showing improvement in the summer in this area, we are struggling to achieve the same standard in the autumn and winter months due to the reduction of staff numbers. The main aim for the course is still to achieve ‘Captain’s Day’ standard 365 days a year. For this to happen we will need to increase our staff numbers

RIVER BRENT

Again, the riverbanks were sprayed with a total herbicide in the spring. This has helped in the control of the Hogweed and Japanese Knotweed. These two plants are heath hazards and need to be controlled. The banks were strimmed on a regular basis and the bridges were regularly swept and blown.

Plan of action

As I have said in earlier reports, the River Brent is a great feature of the golf course and should be improved. The priority at the moment is in other areas but long term we should be aiming to make more of a feature of this. At present it is untidy and dirty.

We still have a problem with the 6^th pedestrian bridge. A structural engineer is looking at this and when he comes up with a plan we will need to act.

PRACTICE GROUND

The tee on the practise ground is still uncompleted. There were some temporary mats put at the back of the tee last winter but it has become overgrown again. This area was cut regularly during the summer and the chipping green was included in the tees program.

Plan of action

This tee needs to be finished. It is an eyesore and a waste at present. The problem is the cost to do this. It will cost around £10K to complete and there is no money in the course budget to do this. The Sport England money is still available but subject to conditions. We will keep maintaining this area but unless money is raised, this area will never move forward.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

The entrance to the golf course has improved slightly. The verge by the front fence was regularly sprayed off and the flowerbeds around the 1^st tee have been manicured. A fence has been erected behind the 1^st tee to block off the visitor’s car park. The employment of a part time gardener throughout the summer months also helped in the upkeep of the area.

Plan of action

Until we resolve the access to the maintenance complex, the visitors’ car park will still have to hold some material that cannot otherwise be delivered. The walkway from the 8^th green to the 9^th tee still needs improvement but additional monies will be needed to do this. The fence behind the 1^st tee is only half completed. The aim is to remove the conifers and continue this fence down to the putting green. A gate will also be added to allow access from the pro shop to the 1^st tee. Again, additional money is needed to finish this project.

This winter we will tidy up the area around the practise nets.

IRRIGATION

The irrigation system ran very smoothly this year. We had a couple of weeping heads to deal with but on a whole the ‘breaking in’ period has gone very well.

Because the summer was wet, we hardly used the system this year. The main stress periods were the spring and autumn. As I have said in earlier reports, water is a tool that should not be abused. It is there purely to keep the grass plant alive during periods of stress. It is not there to make the course green and lush. If you do this you will encounter problems such as disease, loss of grass coverage and high thatch levels.

Plan of action

The water bill for the system was on budget at £8.5K this year. Considering the low usage, this is a worry for years to come. To maximise the system we need to find an alternative source of water other than the mains. We have two options, either a holding reservoir or a borehole. Taking water out of the river is not an option due to the threat of contamination of the water from up stream. A borehole is the least expensive option and my preferred one.

This winter we are looking to put a couple of staff members on an irrigation-training week. This can be done locally and will again make us more efficient and less reliable on outside agencies.

STAFF

The ground staff at the golf club have settled down very well. We have not had any changes in the past year. By comparison, in the winter of 2005 there were ten changes to members of staff. There are a number of reasons for the improvement. The first is that there is a proper pay structure in place now. A staff member’s pay is linked to the qualifications that they achieve and to their performance. Secondly, they are all put on a training programme. Chris Duffield for instance has over the past year achieved his NVQ level 2 and spraying certificates. He will now go on to do his NVQ level 3 and chainsaw course. Lastly, the staff are appreciated for the work they do by the members and the club itself.

Last winter, we made a few educational excursions. The first was to a machinery factory, Jacobsen. There we learnt how machines are made from scratch. We also went to our local John Deere dealer, where we did a course on preventative maintenance. Lastly, Warren Clements and Dominic Weglarz went to the John Deere headquarters and did a two day course on basic servicing.

Plan of action

For the winter, we will continue with the training program. This will include spraying, chainsaw, mechanics, irrigation, and excavator courses. We will also continue the educational trips, which hopefully will include a visit to a top golf course in the Southeast.

BUDGET

The 2006-07 operational budget was set at £157K. The actual expenditure was £161K. The budget was in place before I came in May 2006. There were several reasons for the overspending. There was a start up cost of £6K due to the rundown state of the maintenance complex. The machinery code was £14K over budget due to the condition of the machines and their age. Two categories were left out of the budget entirely. These were gardening and rentals, which totalled to £10K. Water and electric was also over budget. We made savings by doing a lot of the major course work ‘in house’. The bunker renovations were halted and the paths renovations reduced. We negotiated discounts with our suppliers and now receive discounts up to 20% that were not previously in place.

Overall, the £4K that was over budget was minimal considering the position we were in.

Plan of action

This year’s budget 2007-08 is going very well. We forecast to be right on budget. The budget for this year was set at £237,638 excluding depreciation. Depreciation has been taken out of my hands and given to the finance director to set.

There is now a firm capital expenditure budget in place. This includes the machinery replacement plan and it is set aside from the operating budget.

TREES

Last winter we started a tree program. The aim for this is to remove ‘bad’ species such as hawthorns, conifers and poplars and to replace them with ‘good’ species such as oaks, ashes and maples. The reason why these ‘bad’ species were planted is because of the elms being lost in the 60s and 70s. At the time, the club decided to replace the elms with quick growing trees such as conifers. The problem with these trees are that they are very thirsty, have shallow roots and a short life cycle. There are many areas around the golf course where the roots from these trees go in search of water onto the greens and tees. They also get top heavy and are prone to falling over in high winds.

We started on the 1^st hole, removing some hawthorns and strategically planting trees taken from behind the 1^st green. We have now moved on to the 2^nd taking out shrubs and hawthorns to the right of the fairways and again strategically planting trees further up the hole. This will continue all around the golf course. 

Plan of action

The aim over the next few years is to carry on with this program. This winter we aim to plant some trees to the right of the 4^th fairway and do some further planting up the right of the 15^th fairway. We will also take out the conifers behind the 10^th green as the back of this green is suffering due to a lack of sunlight and airflow. Also, the conifer to the right of the 5^th green will have to be removed for the same reason.

It is very sad that some of these older trees will have to be removed. Unfortunately, these unsuitable trees affected the playing conditions of the greens, tees and fairways.

Over the last year, we have taken out twenty-two trees and replaced these with thirty-three more suitable specimens.

I would like to thank the members for their patience and cooperation over the past year.

Greg Evans

Course Manager

Ealing Golf Course Conditions Survey

5^th November,  2006

Dear Members

It is now six months since I was appointed Course Manager at Ealing. This is a review of the first six months work, and the plan for the winter and beyond.

Text in this format is taken from the Conditions Survey dated 1^st of May 2006.

GREENS

The greens have improved greatly over the summer months. They were put on an intensive cultural programme to reduce the thatch layer and get 100% grass coverage to produce a firm and fast putting surface.

The thatch layer is reducing due to a combination of top-dressing (200 tons of sand has been spread during the summer) and shallow/deep aeration. Using the Graden machine (deep scarification) in May was particularly beneficial. I put the greens on a fortnightly programme of verti-cutting and top-dressing. In combination with monthly over-seeding we now have a nice dense surface. Greens 4, 5, 6 and 10 that had large bare patches now have grass coverage.  They were spiked, seeded, fertilised and top-dressed throughout the summer and I thank the members for staying off these areas while the new grass was germinating.

The heights of cuts were reduced from 5mm in May down to 2.5mm for the summer and peaking at 2mm for the Ealing Scratch Open. These heights were the lowest in the area. This created not only faster green speeds but also helped reduce the meadow grass seed heads.

The fertiliser and irrigation programmes have been kept to a minimum to toughen up the plants. I have also introduced a product called ‘Shortcut’ in to the maintenance program. This is a growth retardant that is rarely used on greens. It restricts the growth of the top half of the plant (the leaf) while leaving the bottom half (roots) unaffected. The benefits of this are that in the summer afternoons you do not get as much growth and it also helps to restrict the meadow grass seed heads. Wetting agents have been sprayed monthly and the greens have been hand-watered. 

Producing good greens takes a lot of intense work and planning. Again I would like to thank the members for their patience and hope that they can appreciate the results.

Machinery for the greens is appalling. We currently have no hand-mowers (needed for winter cutting) and only one ride-on greens mower. This means if we have a breakdown we have no other means to cut the greens.

Plan of action

The aggressive approach has to continue. We have made great progress, but reducing thatch levels, increasing root depth and creating a sandy root zone does not happen overnight. The greens are still far too wet after rainfall and the roots go down only about 4 inches. Ideally the roots should descend 8 inches. 

We are now entering the winter months and we have to dry the greens out using a programme of deep aeration. This will improve the putting surfaces. For the winter months they will be verti-drained when conditions allow and shallow spiked every two weeks. An application of iron will be sprayed once a month. These actions will help in the fight against disease.

The newly seeded areas on greens 4 and 10 may thin out slightly.  Please don’t be alarmed, it is to be expected.  They need a good growing season to establish.

The purchase of a new ride-on greens mower is a priority. The present one is 5 years old and had two hydraulic pipe bursts this summer. It should be kept as our secondary mower. With all of the sand being spread on the greens, we also need to purchase an old set of blades to use for the first two cuts after top-dressing. Sand is a very abrasive substance and quickly blunts the blades. At least two hand mowers need to be purchased for the winter months.

TEES

May 2006 - The tees have suffered due to same reasons as the greens. They are suffering from compaction, which again has resulted in anaerobic conditions. The tee markers are not being rotated so certain sections are getting more wear than others. The stones are also overgrown and don’t look cared for. The tee banks and surrounding areas are in a dreadful state. They are sparse in certain areas and weedy. There are too many bins on some holes and none at all on others. The steps are weedy and look dangerous. The bases of the advertising yardage markers have been left unfinished. The trolley parks and walk off areas are compacted and lacking in grass.

The maintenance program on the tees has increased. They are cut between 4 and 5 times a week with the cut height down from 12 to 10mm.  The tee positions are rotated and divoted 5 times a week. They are verti-cut, fertilised and top dressed once a month. The tees have responded well to this program. This autumn they have been hollow-cored and verti-drained twice. These cultural methods are helping to reduce the compaction that has been built up over the years.

The yardage stones and steps were also put on a regular trimming schedule. The height of cut on the tee banks has been raised. This has added a two inch cushion around the tees. The bins and ball washers have all been re-organised and re-positioned. They are now confined to one area of the tee and have been finished with an edge and bark chippings. The steps are still unsafe and will need to be worked on. Also, some advertising yardage markers are positioned incorrectly and will have to be moved.

Plan of action

This winter we will cut when necessary, divot daily, spray iron once a month and seed and heavy top-dress bare areas. The real work for the tees will start next spring. The maintenance of the tees will be increased along the same lines as the greens.

Our aim for our tees is to produce surfaces that are as good as other golf clubs’ greens. This will not happen overnight but I will be putting in place programmes that will aim to achieve this. All stress areas and golfer’s paths will be verti-drained and sanded this winter. On the machinery front, we currently have just one tees mower and have no back-up when this machine goes down.

FAIRWAYS

May 2006 - The fairways are not in such bad condition. They have decent grass coverage but they are also very weedy. There does not appear to be too much divoting and the shapes of the fairways are not smooth. The irrigation work on them appears to be done well and has left very little disruption. The slits could open up once the warm weather comes. The fairway areas are too big, it currently takes a day and half to cut them all.

All the fairways have been re-shaped and re-defined. In May they took a day and an half to cut. Through re-shaping I have cut this down to one day of cutting. The areas have been reduced from 13 to 10 hectares (roughly 3 football pitches). The benefit of this is that you can cut them more often. To create fine turf the grass needs to be cut regularly for the purpose of taking off the top of the grass. This way, the plant will not get too stressed and will have a dense smooth surface.

Over the summer we were cutting the fairways between three and four times a week (Ealing Scratch week six times) at a height of 12mm. The fairways now have more definition. This improves the appearance of the course. On the cultural side of things, we did very little aside from the application of a slow release fertiliser.

Plan of action

The cultural practises on the fairways are the most costly in both labour and material. Fairways 1, 7 and 12 were worked on last year and now show what can be achieved. I would like to put in place a scheme where every fairway gets spiked, seeded and sanded once every five years. This is all down to money becoming available. It will cost around £4,000 per fairway in materials alone. The fairways this winter will be cut when needed, sprayed for worms, slit to aid percolation and have iron applied to them.

The machinery for the fairways is not good. We currently have only one mower and it is six years old. As with the greens and tees, this machine should not be our primary mower. It had two hydraulic bursts this year due to age plus usage and keeps overheating. The new mowers are lighter, have improved technology and you can have attachments such as verti-cutters added. A new mower needs to be purchased with our current one acting as a back-up.

ROUGH

May 2006 - The rough is uneven and lacks uniformity. Certain areas lack coverage while others are very lush and require lots of cutting. There is no semi-rough. Areas around the trees have been sprayed with a total herbicide, but in certain copses, the trees have been planted too close together for them to be cut with the rough mower. Holes 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 15, 16 and 17 have very compacted areas due to machinery constantly driving over them.

The rough has been one of the most talked about subjects this summer. We have created new wild areas but the main complaint is that it is too long. The problem is that we currently do not have a semi-cut rough mower (to cut to 25mm). The rough in general is cut at 50mm. It was cut at least once a week during the growing season. This has created a constant dense height. The problem is that a tee shot just off the fairway lies in this dense grass.

By May, the rough mower was falling apart. The back right wheel was bent, the cutting blades were at the end of their life and all the bearings had seized up due to lack of grease. This was through operator abuse and neglect. We repaired this mower, giving it its first service for a couple of years at a cost of £3,000. It is now performing to a good standard. The cutting of the rough, like the fairways, has been reduced from three days to two. This saves labour time and allows us to do other jobs.

Plan of action

The purchase of a semi-cut mower will give us the option of staggering the height of cut from fairway to rough. This will enhance the definition and appearance of the golf course. This mower could also double up to cut tee banks and surrounds. For the winter, we will cut when growth requires it. Slitting of certain areas will help in the percolation.

COLLARS AND SURROUNDS

May 2006 - The collars and surrounds to the greens are unacceptable. They lack grass coverage, uniformity and are generally uneven. These and the greens are the two areas that will have to be improved drastically. The collars have also no consistency to them. Some are one foot wide and others one yard. They are also very thatchy.

When I came in, the collars were one of the areas that needed the most attention. They were uneven, lacked uniform grass coverage and had inconsistent widths. One mower was dedicated to the collars. In May the current tee mower had the task of cutting tees and collars together. This meant that it took a whole day to cut both. It also put a lot of stress on the machine and subsequently the grass was cut infrequently. We had two surrounds mowers set at 25mm. One of them was taken down to 10mm and used for the collars. The benefit of this is that the collars have since been cut 5 times a week and, during competitions, I can cut tees and collars before play. The collars have also been included in the greens programme and are now at an acceptable standard. They are both tight and smooth.

The surrounds were fertilised, cut twice a week and when we are top-dressing greens we overlap onto the surrounds. These operations have added an extra cost but the benefits are there for everyone to see.

Plan of action

For the winter these areas will be regularly aerated and cut. They will have constant applications of Iron. Iron helps in the fight against disease as it toughens up the plant and stops infection from parasites. This also helps to stop disease spreading onto the greens (it spreads by the soles of the golf shoes).

PATHS AND MAINTENANCE TRACKS

May 2006 - The paths have no edges, are uneven and hold water when it rains. The path on the eighth hole stops short of the tee and results in the tee area being compacted. The golfer’s path behind the 11th green is to close to the green and has resulted in that area becoming compacted. The maintenance tracks have got out of control. On the second hole there are three tracks near the tee. What seems to have happened is that one was worn out so another one was started. The result is that they look like a mess.

I have done very little to the paths.  Our priority has been improving the playing surfaces of the golf course. The one area that was addressed was the area behind the 1^st tee. The paths are in a terrible state. They hold water, turn to sludge when rainfall happens, and have ill defined edges.

Plan of action

The paths and maintenance tracks are a priority. Before Christmas we will be digging up the two worst areas. The first one is a maintenance track from our sheds along the second fairway. All of the paths around this area will be re-organised. The second area is the walk from the 11^th green to the 12^th tee. This will be dug up and re-laid. The rest of the paths will be put onto a year by year re-building program. They are in a poor condition because they were incorrectly laid. Path material was just laid onto earth. This is like building a brick wall without any foundations. They will be excavated to a depth of 6 inches and 5 inches of type 1 stone will be laid creating the foundation. They will be finished with a self binding material.

The grass maintenance tracks that were created last year will be cultivated and seeded. Any areas that thin out due to machinery passing over it will be verti-drained, seeded and sanded to give it some hard wearing retention. Golfers’ grass paths are to be created around the golf course. As I said in my first Conditions Survey, artificial paths in general should be kept to a minimum. They look exactly what they are, ‘artificial’.

BUNKERS 

May 2006 - The bunkers are stony, weedy, drain poorly and lack sand. They have deteriorated over time due to the lack of a maintenance program. The edges are poor and lack grass. The new bunkers on 1, 8, 11, 12 and 16 were finished poorly and the surrounding areas lack grass and are weedy. The newest bunker on 9 is in a poor state. Its edges are bare due to the low height of grass. Weeds and grass are also growing in the base.

The bunkers were put on their own maintenance program. They were split into four groups and each group was flymoed, edged and had its sand moved about once every four weeks. This has improved the appearance of the bunkers but has not solved the problems of stones, bad grass edges and lack of sand. They were raked 4 times per week and weeded after every time. All the edges have been fertilised and this has helped to thicken up the surrounding grass.

Plan of action 

The bunkers (along with the paths) require the most amount of work. To construct one bunker correctly will cost approximately £3,000. The short term solution of slinging sand in them is the reason why they are in this state. To construct a bunker correctly you have to dig out the old sand and create an edge. Next you put a drain in it and create a smooth base. You then firm this base with a wacker plate and fill the drain with pipe and shingle. Lastly the sand then goes in with 4 inches put in the bottom and 2 inches up the sides. This will take two men roughly a week to complete.

The bunkers we can do this winter depend on how much funding is available. I hope to complete the worst of them first (16^th & 18^th greenside). The bunker project needs a long term plan put in place.  There are sixty two in total. The maintenance plan that was put in place at the start of the summer will continue and I hope to give every bunker a decent edge before next spring.

MACHINES

May 2006 - The first impression of the machines is one of an overall lack of maintenance. They don’t look be set, sharp, washed, greased or generally cared for. When I looked in the top dresser there was litter dumped in there from the golf course. The keys on the Gators have been lost. From my conversations with 'Golf and Turf' they tell me that due to a lack of maintenance over the past two years the servicing and breakdown costs are extraordinary high. The service manager told me that it took a day to clean the fairway mower, due to a build up of mud, before it could be serviced.

When I came into the job the machines were in a terrible state. There were no maintenance programs in place and nearly every machine had something wrong with it. Daily checks were put in place, where oil, radiators, tyres, fuel, quality of cut and height are checked before the operator commences work. This may seem pretty obvious but it has helped to diagnosis faults before they appear and keep the mowers sharp.

All the machines were fixed and put on a service schedule. We employed a freelance mechanic one day a week to do this over the summer. This has come at a cost but was needed in the short term. We currently anticipate the machinery costs will be £35,000 compared to the budgeted cost of £21,000. Unfortunately £12,000 of this budget was spent at the beginning of the financial year before I arrived.

Plan of action

The state of the fleet has improved.  However, the machines are old and there are not enough of them.  We require not only replacement machines but additional ones too.

We have one green, one tee, one fairway, one rough and one collar mower.  Sudbury Golf Club, by way of comparison has at least two of each with five tractors compared to our one. They also have additional equipment such as a digger, a dumper and a trencher.  We have to hire this equipment. Their machinery bill for this year will be approximately £14,000. Our bill will be £35,000. They do this by having a good replacement plan and by doing the majority of servicing work in house. They have made their maintenance department self sufficient so that they can keep outside costs to a minimum.

Our long term goal should be to acquire a first class fleet of machines and to bring all maintenance ‘in house’. Currently, our blade grinding work is done by outside contractors. We lose time and pay over the odds for this service. Our greens mower for example, should be re-ground about 6 times a year. It currently costs £250 each time and the turn around is about three days. If we had our own equipment, the job could be done in one afternoon.  Last year the cost of grinding was approximately £5000.  A new grinding machine costs £15,000 to buy.

We should also employ our own mechanic to reduce the labour charges from our suppliers. The mechanic could be shared with other clubs to spread the cost. The current rate for our supplier’s mechanics is about £55 per hour and they also charge travelling time at this rate. This winter, every machine will be given a full in-depth service at great cost to us.

MAINTENANCE COMPLEX

May 2006 - I can honestly say I have not seen a complex in this state for some time. The locker/drying room has been turned into an office. The tea-room is full of wet clothes and litter. The sink is encrusted with lime scale. The walls are covered in mud. Old clothes fill the drying cupboard. The wash down area has path material in the drain, so grass clippings and mud has backed up and smells terrible. There is litter and an inch of muck on the driveway. In the machine shed there is rotten seed in the corner. The rotten seed has attracted a family of mice. Dust and grass clippings cover the floor. Hand tools and spanners are in short supply or blunt. There is two tonnes of fertiliser in the machine shed. The fertiliser shed is full of old stock that has gone off. The diesel tank is illegal and needs replacing.

Another area that has improved dramatically is the maintenance complex. The staff locker room has been returned to its intended function and we have hired a portable office. The drying room has been cleared and the tea room is tidy and presentable. The wash down area is useable again with a drain and sump added. The old shed has been cleared out but has a leak in the roof. The fertiliser shed has been totally cleared. The driveway has been swept up and the mud removed. The machinery shed, which had rats and mice living in it, has been totally re-organised and the vermin removed. The rotten seed and debris was cleared and machines are now parked in an orderly manner. A new diesel tank has been purchased. The office is fully organised with a computer and phone line installed.  Unfortunately, the cost of sorting out these areas has been approximately £6,000.

Plan of action

This winter, we plan to reorganise the workshop.  The driveway will be cleared of overhanging branches. When we hire a digger for the paths we will also create some room for car parking. Security in the maintenance area needs to improve. My office is yet to be alarmed and the main gate needs replacing.

The biggest problem has been deliveries. If ever you have turned into the complex from the A40 you will understand. Our sand supplier is currently refusing to deliver to us because he cannot safely turn into the driveway (or pull out for that matter). Finding a solution to this problem is priority.

COURSE PRESENTATION

May 2006 - The overall presentation of the course is not impressive. The flags and poles look shabby, tee markers are chipped and dirty. The hole cups are also very mucky and hazard posts are either not straight or dirty. The yardage discs on the course are over grown and need a coat of paint, as do the yardage discs on the tees. Also, the bins haven't been cemented in properly and this has resulted in them not being straight.

The course presentation has been totally revamped. We now have tournament flags with logos. The tee markers are stylish logs. Aluminium hole cups have replaced the plastic ones. The 150 yards posts have been removed and yardage discs are edged regularly. Hazard stakes have been reorganised along with bins and ball washers.

A new job role has been created; that of ‘course set up’. The job of this person is to present the course ready for play. This may range from changing holes to blowing debris from bridges. Course presentation is very important.  It impresses the members, and also visiting guests.

Plan of action

My aim is to go on improving the standard in order to achieve excellence seven days a week. This will take time and money but with the measures we are implementing we can manage it.

The one area I would most like to see improved is fairway divoting. Replacing the divots would show we have good ‘house keeping’ but to achieve this needs thought. At present it is too labour intensive for the ground staff.  Maybe the members could get involved?

RIVER BRENT

May 2006 - The river banks are very weedy and require a lot of maintenance. They also have 'hog weed' and 'Japanese knotweed' in them. These plants are heath hazards and should be controlled. The golfers bridges on 6, 13 and 18 have graffiti and are untidy. The bridge on 6 when wet, blocks up and results in the floor being covered in grass and six inches of water.

The river banks were sprayed with a total herbicide in the spring. This has helped in the control of the Hog weed and Japanese Knotweed. These two plants are health hazards and need to be controlled. The banks were strimmed on a regular basis and the bridges were regularly swept/blown.

Plan of action

The river Brent is a great feature of the golf course. At present it is untidy and dirty. We need to put in place a plan that will enhance the river’s features and control the waste that comes downstream.

The bridges are an eyesore and are eroding.  We currently have only one bridge that can take heavy machinery. In the winter we hope to paint some of the bridges to improve their appearance.

PRACTICE GROUND 

May 2006 - The practise tee has been left unfinished for three years. It has been graded but is very weedy and stony. The golf professional has tried to improve the practise ground but the dumping area next to the tee makes the area look untidy.

The practise ground was cut regularly during the summer. Work this winter will improve the area. The chipping green, because irrigation was not extended to this area, burnt out during the summer. I increased the height to 10mm and now include it in the tees maintenance.

Plan of action

This winter we will be putting in some mats at the back of the large tee and clearing the area to the left of it. The tee will not be laid until we know about the ‘Sport England’ grant. If we get the grant, the area will be revolutionised. Not only will we have a new tee but also target greens to hit to. The chipping green will be dug up and a well constructed U.S. spec green built. If any one has ever played at The Grove, The Buckinghamshire or Northwick Park you will know how good these greens are.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

May 2006 - The first impression when you come through the car park and onto the first tee needs improving. The verge by the front fence is overgrown and unkempt. The car park is very weedy and overflow car park needs a scrap and clean up. The whole area around the 1st tee has no edge and lots of bare areas. The path way around the back of the tee is very bumpy and has no path material. The garden lawn is long and has bare patches. The edges around the flowerbeds and putting green are also unkempt. Also, the hedges around the garden are over grown.

A path has been created behind the first tee. With the employment of a gardener this area has been kept tidy and the beds edged. Regular cutting of the garden lawn and putting green edge has helped in their appearance. The beds (and the 12^th bed) were edged and weeded throughout the summer. In the car park, we sprayed for weeds on three occasions during the summer months and the lawn was strimmed regularly.

Plan of action

First impressions are a reflection on the golf club as a whole. Although there have been improvements, there are more to be made. The visitor’s car park is a mess and the walk from the 8^th green to the 9^th tee needs improving.

For the winter we will continue to keep these areas tidy but additional money is required to solve the problem.

IRRIGATION

The irrigation works were completed in June and apart from a few snags it went very smoothly. Our system is one of the top two on the market. It is ‘valving head’ so you have ultimate control of water output.

At present, we get our water from the mains. There are two problems with this. It is an expense way to receive water and the water board only give us the minimum requirement. At present it is enough during normal summer months but if we were to have a drought, the water coming in would not keep up with the water being used.

An irrigation system is a great tool to have and the condition of the golf course will improve greatly because of it but it is not a miracle cure. Bare patches on the fairways will not suddenly grow grass. These areas will have to be helped along.

When fairways are watered, the grass grows faster. This means that it requires more cutting, putting extra strain on labour and machinery. Weeds, moss and worms require extra spraying due to the moisture.

Plan of action

This winter we will be tidying areas around the course that were disturbed due to ‘mole ploughing’. These areas are particularly noticeable on the collars.

The system itself will be drained down for the winter months and because it is such a technically advanced system, we will be taking out a maintenance contract with Abbots from next year. The alternative is to employ someone with an irrigation background.

STAFF

The staff morale was very low when I came in. Their tea room had been turned into a drying room, they had no hot water, no drying facilities and the whole maintenance complex was dirty. On the golf course they had lost the respect of the members and vice versa.

The first action was to start the working day an hour earlier, allowing the staff to get ahead of play. Weekend work was increased from three hours a day to four. Also, the number of staff was increased to four instead of three per day. This has added an more cost to the wages bill but extra tasks were completed at weekends such as tees and collar cutting. Their working conditions were improved and new uniforms purchased. This alone had a great effect on them. In return I demanded greater professionalism and responsibility. They were all re-trained in their cutting routines with an emphasis on quality.

To cut greens in the past took two hours. The operator got on a machine and cut 18 greens, no matter what was in front of him. I introduced a system which added daily machinery checks and swishing greens for stones and debris before and after cutting. The machine is then washed and greased before being put away. The operation now takes four hours. The benefit is greater care and quality. Out of the six staff that I inherited, two are still with us and doing very well.

Warren Clements was appointed as my deputy three weeks after I started. He has been crucial to my plans for the Golf Course. We have also appointed another fully qualified green keeper from Ashford Manor and are sending Chris Duffield to College to further his skills.

Plan of action

For the winter we will be going from seven to five workers. With all of the work planned we will be kept busy. In the future I would like to add a mechanic to the staff. It is very important to have a settled group of employees. We need to make sure we look after them, not only financially but by treating them with respect and offering the prospect of a future with us through training.  During the winter, training schemes will be in place.

BUDGET

I started the job one month into the 2006-07 financial year. The budget for this year was set at £257,000. I forecast we will be over budget. There was a start up cost of £6,000 due to previous neglect. Two categories were left out of the budget this year (gardening and rentals). These two items alone will cost us £10,000. The machinery is forecast at £35,000 against a budget of £21,000 (£12,000 of this was spent before I came in). The water and electric bills were also under budgeted at £5,000. The forecast for this is around £10,000. Lastly because of the appointment of Warren Clements and extra weekend work, the wages bill will be up from the budgeted £125,500 to £135,000. The total forecast for this year is approximately £270,000.

Plan of action

This year I will be making savings wherever possible. For instance, there was an outside contract budget of £17,000 that has been saved because all work will be kept in house from now on.

For future budgets, there will be tighter controls and more accurate figures given. There should also be a Capital Expenditure budget kept separate to the maintenance budget for the purchase of machinery and course improvements such as new tees and bunkers.

I would like to mention that the support given by Ann Koychev (Course Director) and Guy Stacey (General Manager) has been first class. They have put their trust in me and allowed me to get on with the job. With the added backing of the Ricky Willison (Professional) and the Greens Committee this club can only go forward. 

Greg Evans

Course Manager

THE GARDENING CLUB

Members

John McCormack, John Lovegrove, Peter Rayworth, Jeff Pack, Cindy Wall, Hazel Baker, Anne Henderson, Debbie (P.A. to John McCormack).

During March, planting out will take place by the 1st tee, the bedded area left of the 12th tee, the 3rd tee and the back of 18th tee.

New members are welcome to join - please contact John McCormack.

More information to follow.

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