18th Tee renovation
Our first main winter project got underway yesterday, with the 18th competition tee being renovated ahead of the new season. Due to it being a heavy shaded area, as well as suffering from poor irrigation coverage during the last few summers, there was a problem in turf coverage as we went through the summer period.
Poor grass coverage, poor levels on the final hole
It was decided that the easiest way to renovate the tee would be to start over with a fresh start. Initially, we thought about stripping the turf off and returfing. However, it was clear that there was more work to do with the level of the tee, as it sloped significantly away at the back.
Koro removing top 15mm of existing material
During the period of planning, I had seen that Campey Turfcare had done a demo of a piece of kit called the Koro Field Topmaker at another golf course. This machine is used more heavily in football, tennis, and cricket for replacing pitches. However, they are looking to push more into golf.
Koro strips the top 15mm completely off
We agreed that they would come in and strip off the existing surface. When this happened, it became clear just how uneven the surface was.
Tee ready for new soil
Campey then used another machine, called the Uniscratch, to scratch up the surface, providing a much better tilth to create levels with. We added another 4 tons of material to the back of the teeing area to help provide a more even surface. We then raked out the soil. The recent rainfall has consolidated that and next week we will further add a bit more material where needed, to provide a better surface.
Uniscratch lightly providing a better surface to work with
The added soil, raked out and consolidated, ready for final touches next week
Campey will then come back in with another machine, a new dimple seeder, and the tee will be seeded with rye grass at a high rate. Rye grass is very fast to germinate, although we are heading into winter and so it will take longer than normal. However, we are confident of providing a good surface ready for the new season.
