Temporary Greens

Frequently Asked Questions

Temporary Greens are used simply to protect the main greens from excessive wear and damage during adverse weather conditions. Continuous foot traffic during poor conditions can create detrimental effects both short and long term to the green surface and the soil stability.

They are also used on the odd occasion when contractors/staff safety is required due to greens maintenance; or when the greens are recovering following maintenance or vandalism.

How do we decide when to use a temporary green?

All Greenstaff follow a procedure and set guidelines which determines whether a temporary should be used.

• Walk on and walk off areas (traffic management around greens and on greens)
• Standing water (localised flooding/surface water)
• Unstable putting surface (root shearing/compaction)
• The long term detrimental effects to the playing surface
• During a thaw following freezing conditions
• Light dusting of snow or thawing snow
• Undergoing maintenance 

Why can the temporary not be cut shorter? 

The temporary greens are essentially the approaches. Due to the nature of some temporaries on approaches also suffering due to poor conditions; additional temporaries are cut out in-front of the approaches on the fairway. Both the approaches and additional temporaries are mown to a height of cut of 10mm.

The maintenance and attention given to the main green surfaces is not applied to the same level to temporaries. This is simply due to the performance of the area and costs.

If the temporaries are cut shorter, the risks on how they react to wear increases. The plant will become weaker and less tolerant to wear. The opportunity of disease developing during high disease pressure conditions will also increase. Ultimately cutting them shorter could potentially render them completely unusable.

Greens Maintenance - Drill & Fill

The main focus of attention of greens maintenance in recent years has been in and around the upper profile.

Hollow-Coring is of course the most normally recognised procedure for improving rootzones and for reducing organic matter. In recent years new techniques and alternative procedures have come to the forefront. Several years ago we concentrated solely on the upper profile, undertaking the Graden with Sand Injection. This procedure was carried out twice. Soil samples tested, reported that organic matters levels in the top 20mm were low, below 4%.

Attention was then afforded to moving maintenance into the lower profile following the success of the Graden to improve more on drainage and to link up with the surface. The next step was the Sand Injection procedure that was carried out last August. Like most Greens Maintenance techniques the best time to undertake work is when conditions are favourable for the best possible chance of success and quick recovery. Which is genuinely somewhere in August and September.

Having tackled the upper profile and then moved to lower in the profile, this years maintenance is focusing even deeper still. The Drill & Fill process is not a new technique, it was actually carried out here at Langley Park some 13-14 years ago. It is hoped that it will not take that long this time before it is carried out again. Linking all the different depths of maintenance is the target. What will determine the next type of maintenance is how well the greens and our next set of soil tests perfom. 

DRILL & FILL

The Drill & Fill aerators provide improved solutions to: slow drainage; compaction; thatch;black layer and poor grass growth. These aerators will help us to improve our fine turf areas and help to keep them in play for longer, improving rootzone and the microbial environment.

The Drill & Fill advantages :

• Relieves compaction instantly
• Improves drainage rate
• Penetrates to a depth of 310mm
• Backfills instantly with soil amendment
• Accelerates infiltration rate
• Promotes deeper rooting
• deeper rooting means better sward performance and soil structure 

Effective Aeration

The Drills remove soil allowing lateral movement within the rootzone and releasing compaction pressure. Drilling improves surface water infiltration and percolation, reducing the soggy, spongy conditions common in "push-up" and old clay-based greens. Deep holes encourage deep, strong roots and drilling depth is always consistent.

Precise Backfill

The Drill & Fill puts the soil amendment - sand mix directly into the rootzone. this holds open the drainage channel giving extended life to duct life. Langley Park is using a taylor-made soil exchange with a sand mix blended with zeolite amendments.

Seeding Procedure

The seeding of bare or damaged areas is carried out following a certain procedure.

Areas identified for spiking and seeding receive the following treatment. 

A seed spiker is used. 

The spiker creates slots in the ground for the seed to sit in, and to a depth ideally suited for seed germination.

Seed is then gently broadcast across the spiked area by hand. Not all the seed falls into the slots and obviously some seed lays on the surface. After a period of time, with nature and traffic, the slots are not always visible and can give the appearance of seed having been broadcast across a sealed surface. However, this is simply not the case, and with the right conditions the seed will soon germinate and the grass will thicken. Weather conditions play a huge part in how quickly and successful this procedure is; sometimes it may be necessary to work on an area again.

Signs of new shoots developing following treatment

Winter Damage Repairs

Following the worst winter for over 200 years, many areas around the course struggled to cope with the continuos pounding without any rest bite. These areas have been the main focus of attention in recent weeks now conditions are favourable for areas to be treated so they can recover and develop. Areas are treated in relevance of priority. Greens, collars and areas directly around the greens are the areas of most importance. Areas of lesser priority such as areas in the rough will be treated if significant enough to require attention. Not all areas will be treated as this is not practically achievable, nor necessary. Small areas with recover naturally as growth increases. Many areas have been either turfed or seeded. 

Before

After

Before

After

Other large areas such as tracks created from machinery have also been treated.

Two weeks later and signs of germination are plain to see.

Before

After

Before

After

Greenside Repairs

Areas just off the greens which have taken a beating during the winter have received some TLC.

2nd

 Large areas have been turfed to remedy the winter damage and improve playing conditions. 

11th

One area that has been a concern for some time is the exit from the 18th green. A recognised high traffic area that has gradually deteriorated over many years, slowly eroding lower and lower. 

A natural low point that holds standing water. 

This year the low area has been raised to try and reduce the ongoing  erosion and improve presentation.

A drain that services the low area has remained and was adjusted.

The area was then finished with turf.

Machinery Paths

During the winter period the continuous traffic along recognised machinery paths created some heavily rutted areas. One of the worst areas affected was the machinery path that runs parallel to the 9th fairway.

A tractor mounted cultivator was used to loosen the dried soil and smooth it out, leaving a workable surface to seed and rake out level.

These areas are now marked GUR and will soon recover.

Greens Maintenance Week

The greens maintenance week has been very successful, with all work scheduled completed. It did rain during the work but fortunately this did not affect our schedule by to much.

A Toro Pro-Core 648 Micro-Tines the Greens

All greens were scarified, overseeded, micro-tinned and top-dressed.

The fairways, tees, approaches and areas around the greens were all verti-drained.

Tees were overseeded and winter divots and wear were also soil and seeded.