Tee To Green July

The Downs course

July has certainly tested both the course and the greenkeeping team. We have experienced three consecutive weeks of temperatures above 30°C, along with an extended dry spell of around a month with virtually no meaningful rainfall across the Chichester area. It has been relentless, and while many have been enjoying the sunshine, the course has definitely been feeling the effects. 
 
Our fairways are now beginning to show signs of burning out, which is to be expected in these conditions. However, the fertiliser application we carried out earlier in the summer has certainly helped slow this process compared with previous years, allowing us to retain better colour and coverage for much longer. 
 
One of the real positives has been our new irrigation system. It has been performing exceptionally well, and we are particularly pleased to see several greens that would normally struggle in prolonged hot weather remaining healthy and strong. You will also notice the team hand watering certain greens throughout the day. This isn't because the irrigation isn't working. This is a targeted approach that allows us to apply concentrated wetting agents and moisture exactly where it's needed, particularly on the high spots that naturally dry out much faster. 
 
The greens continue to perform extremely well and are consistently rolling at around 9.5 feet on the Stimpmeter. For those unfamiliar, the Stimpmeter is the industry-standard tool used to measure green speed by recording how far a golf ball rolls on a smooth putting surface. As we approach Club Championships, we'll gradually increase green speeds, with our aim being between 10 and 10.5 feet, so there's your friendly warning to start practicing those downhill putts! 

The tees are now in a very good place, with good coverage and colour. This has been down to us protecting the main tees throughout the playing season and only putting the tees back when tournaments dictate. We appreciate that this sometimes interferes with your general play rounds but is necessary due to the amount of footfall we get. 
 
On a personal note, July also marked a milestone as I celebrated my 40th birthday. It certainly gave me a moment to reflect. If someone had told me ten years ago that I would have the privilege of being Head Greenkeeper on the Downs Course, I would have laughed and called them a liar. It really is an honour to look after such a special golf course, and I'd like to thank both the team for their hard work and all of you for your continued support and understanding throughout what has been a challenging summer. 
 
Finally, I think I can safely say we're all hoping for the same thing now… please join me in praying for some rain and a spell of cooler temperatures for the rest of the summer! 
 

Dan Cornish, Head Greenkeeper, The Downs course

The Park and Copse courses

What a brutal month of weather we have experienced with extreme temperatures and no rain. Since the rain at the beginning of June there hasn't been a drop since. It's been very tough conditions, not only to work in but also to try to keep turf in a healthy condition. Most of the course is burnt out now, with only areas we can irrigate staying green. The irrigation is flat out from 9.30pm until 7am the next morning. The team is hand watering hotspots daily on the greens. On the plus side for the Festival of Speed build and breakdown, it's been ideal. A wet build/breakdown can have a massive effect on the course and more work repairing it.  

It's not ideal to shut the course in the middle of July for a week, but we do take advantage of having a greens maintenance during it. During that week, we scarified the greens to a depth of 6mm to remove thatch, followed by a brush cut and then a 10mm solid tine to a depth of 5 inches. This was then followed by 15 tons of sand dressing across all the greens and then dragged in. The greens were then cut on Wednesday then left until the following Monday. Effectively from Wednesday afternoon until Monday, access across the course during FOS is extremely difficult with thousands of people attending the event through the Park. With a live mini airport also situated on 1st/9th fairways, it’s a completely no-go area, as well as the 18th fairway. On the days of the event, the team split into areas and stay in them areas for the morning to avoid crossing over through the public walkways.  

The event went well with just one hiccup during the build. They hit the irrigation pipe by the 10th tee, not once, but twice, resulting in 2 nights of no water. This was not ideal with the heat over the FOS weekend. The greens remained in good condition, but the tees, aprons and The Copse suffered and we’ve been playing catch up ever since with the watering.

With the weather the way it is, areas are not growing, so we are concentrating on hand watering, applying wetting agents to keep the irrigated areas healthy. Hoses have been put out on the 10th fairway to aid recovery from the foot traffic and flooring. Once we get the area moist enough, we will then terra rake to stand up the grass and remove all the dead material. 

We are now concentrating on Club Championship week. Greens have been verti-cut and another light dressing. This will help with getting trueness and speeds up for the week. As said above, lots of hand watering and trying our best to present the course with conditions we are having. 

The Copse had the same maintenance as the Park during FOS. Some greens suffered quite badly during the extreme heat. We have been hand watering constantly, and they are slowly coming back. During FOS we have to shut off a lot of irrigation due to the public accessing the site, so some of the surrounding areas have dried out. We will be applying a wetting agent to these areas to help recover in the coming week. Hopefully some much needed rain soon, fingers crossed. 

See you on the course.

Scott Peterson, Head Greenkeeper of The Park and Copse courses