Golf Thread

[give it to gordon]

Do many course in the Manchester open regardless of ground conditions ?

I was made to keep Chestfield gc ( kent ) open regardless of ground conditions no temp greens ! Played in snow, water logged, frozen solid, frost.

The whole was open

So glad I was made redundant after 22 years of seeing my and my teams work being ruined year on year. ;)

 

[hammocity]

Do many course in the Manchester open regardless of ground conditions ?

I was made to keep Chestfield gc ( kent ) open regardless of ground conditions no temp greens ! Played in snow, water logged, frozen solid, frost.

The whole was open

So glad I was made redundant after 22 years of seeing my and my teams work being ruined year on year. ;)

Think technology has moved on mate, we stay on the greens all year round but a couple of weeks ago we got this message which I guess is all about preparing the greens for the Spring. We currently play off mats all over the course, it works really well and the course will be fantastic once the warmer weather arrives. You obviously need to expand to read the message.

 

[give it to gordon]

Think technology has moved on mate, we stay on the greens all year round but a couple of weeks ago we got this message which I guess is all about preparing the greens for the Spring. We currently play off mats all over the course, it works really well and the course will be fantastic once the warmer weather arrives. You obviously need to expand to read the message.

These type of air machines do very little damage are great. You will still need to do surface work to the greens ;)

One things I never understood. Golfers would moan mid summer that the greens were to hard after being baked in the summer heat all day. I needed to irrigate more which of course was rubbish it meant they could put back spin on the ball lol. Or were using cheap concrete type balls. Yet. Come the winter when the greens were hard due to frost, ice I was never told to irrigate them !! Lol.

I am puzzled as to why hard greens under weather conditions in the winter are ok but hard greens in weather conditions in summer arent lol.


Yea I know playing devils advocate ;)

 

[hammocity]

These type of air machines do very little damage are great. You will still need to do surface work to the greens ;)

One things I never understood. Golfers would moan mid summer that the greens were to hard after being baked in the summer heat all day. I needed to irrigate more which of course was rubbish it meant they could put back spin on the ball lol. Or were using cheap concrete type balls. Yet. Come the winter when the greens were hard due to frost, ice I was never told to irrigate them !! Lol.

I am puzzled as to why hard greens under weather conditions in the winter are ok but hard greens in weather conditions in summer arent lol.


Yea I know playing devils advocate ;)

I feel your pain! I think generally most of the good golfers (doesn’t include me) at our club are pretty fair and one of the Senior Greenkeeper’s is a playing member of 3 handicap so he has empathy with the better players.

My only gripe is, as a 6 day member (no Saturday’s) the course still opens all 18 holes in Winter, would prefer just 15 holes as they play in the Saturday comp. We just need to get on the course, a bit of fresh air and a couple of pints afterwards, sometimes a bit more as I’m in walking distance of my club.

The members and Greenkeeper’s at our club seem to have a good relationship, there’s some wankers but out of 800 not too many, my mate is Captain Elect, we’re already giving him some “advice”!

 

[tweety]

I enjoy playing all year round but I fully understand why the course has to be shut due to the weather. My course still had significant snow coverage yesterday.
The North West has had a monumental amount of rain since last August and has definitely impacted the playability of courses. We have used temporary greens on an occasional basis this winter for the first time in 20 years.
Winter golf is about keeping your swing ticking over, having a walk with your mates and a drink in the bar afterwards.
The green staff have been quite busy with several projects including bunker renovation, tree felling and construction of new tee complexes. Spring isn't far away.

 

[tweety]

These type of air machines do very little damage are great. You will still need to do surface work to the greens ;)

One things I never understood. Golfers would moan mid summer that the greens were to hard after being baked in the summer heat all day. I needed to irrigate more which of course was rubbish it meant they could put back spin on the ball lol. Or were using cheap concrete type balls. Yet. Come the winter when the greens were hard due to frost, ice I was never told to irrigate them !! Lol.

I am puzzled as to why hard greens under weather conditions in the winter are ok but hard greens in weather conditions in summer arent lol.


Yea I know playing devils advocate ;)

Hard greens sort the wheat from the chaff.
There's been a noticeable change in greenkeeping practice over the years, when I started in the 70s even though we had irrigation to the greens they were rarely watered, only a good shot would hold the green.

 

[give it to gordon]

Hard greens sort the wheat from the chaff.
There's been a noticeable change in greenkeeping practice over the years, when I started in the 70s even though we had irrigation to the greens they were rarely watered, only a good shot would hold the green.

Absolutely and we used less chemicals, greens had better grasses, greens werent as compacted, golfers were alot more skillful.

Automatic irrigation was the biggest downturn in the standards of greens. Golfers saw the American game of softer greens in a more suited environment and ordered the same here were the climate isnt suited for this.
This made golf alot easier to play, didnt need to put backspin on the ball, just hit the green and the soft thatchy green will stop the ball. Than they moan the green speed is to slow lol.

This also means alot more maintenance to the greens to try and get rid of the poa, which is never ending. Rye will become a problem again now that rescue is of the market

There is no doubt about it the skill of your average golfer is alot lower. Bigger sweet spots easier greens ( which is unhealthy for the sward )

 

[tweety]

Absolutely and we used less chemicals, greens had better grasses, greens werent as compacted, golfers were alot more skillful.

Automatic irrigation was the biggest downturn in the standards of greens. Golfers saw the American game of softer greens in a more suited environment and ordered the same here were the climate isnt suited for this.
This made golf alot easier to play, didnt need to put backspin on the ball, just hit the green and the soft thatchy green will stop the ball. Than they moan the green speed is to slow lol.

This also means alot more maintenance to the greens to try and get rid of the poa, which is never ending. Rye will become a problem again now that rescue is of the market

There is no doubt about it the skill of your average golfer is alot lower. Bigger sweet spots easier greens ( which is unhealthy for the sward )

In summer our greens were yellow and were the best surfaces I can remember.
I'm no greenkeeper but I think the constant watering of greens leads to lots of problems down the road involving disruptive intervention, thatch springs to mind.

 

[sky tot]

That was a close shave!

I see what you did there , not bad :)

 

[hammocity]

Hard greens sort the wheat from the chaff.
There's been a noticeable change in greenkeeping practice over the years, when I started in the 70s even though we had irrigation to the greens they were rarely watered, only a good shot would hold the green.

Yep, the sales of Balata balls went through the roof when the greens were bone dry.