RUSH GOLF CLUB

REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS:

SITE VISIT: 4 October 2011

PRESENT: Mr. Brian Fagan, Captain

Mr. Podge Moran, President

Mr. Peter Walsh, Course Committee

Ms. Noeline Quirke, Secretary Manager

Mr. Eddie Donlan, Superintendent

Mr. Eddie Connaughton, Agronomist.

INTRODUCTION:

I carried out an inspection of the links on the date above and was pleased to see the greens condition had improved substantially (except the 2nd) since my last visit in June and the overall condition of the links was good for the time of year. During our discussions the constant complaint from the membership regarding slow greens was the main issue. This will be addressed positively in 2012 when hopefully a full cover of grass will be available to work with. The main emphasis in 2011 was to get the greens surfaces back to full density and this is on-going but the target is to start spring 2012 with a full cover of grass.

GREENS:

The overall condition of the greens was good regarding grass coverage with the exception of the 2nd, 3rd & 8th and of those the 2nd was the worst affected with bare areas. I was very pleased to see the improvement in grass coverage on the 1st green which was quite weak in June. The bare areas on the 2nd green had no obvious signs of disease or insect symptoms which traditionally cause grass to die-back. This green also had weak areas in June and they recovered from the summer treatments but when the hollow coring, sand topdressing and brushing took place in September the weak areas reappeared. It is possible that the current damage is a result of successive brushing to work sand into the profiles after coring. With the root structure almost non-existent in all the weak areas the brushing can be very abrasive resulting in loss of grass cover.

The 3rd and 8th greens also had isolated weak areas with similar symptoms to the 2nd green but all the other greens had a good cover of grass. The greens were responding very well from an application of fertiliser prior to my visit and this should be adequate in terms of granular feeding for this season. The main emphasis for the coming autumn/winter will be to retain grass cover, prevent Fusarium disease and if the weak areas do not recover naturally, they will be removed and plugged with good healthy turf from the green surrounds.

The greens were overseeded after the September hollow coring and further seeding was carried out on the weak areas. Should this seed germinate and establish, the weak areas should reduce in size. I checked a number of the greens profiles and observed an improvement in root structure from my June visit to an average of 50mm (2 inches) where healthy turf existed. I feel this is a result of the hydro-jetting and this type of aeration should be scheduled monthly from April-August in 2012. As outlined previously, an improvement in root structure in the greens will bring more stability for producing better long term greens surface condition.

I made a number of recommendations following my links inspections and I would confirm as follows;

· In order to help the weak greens improve (2, 3, 8), an extra solution of the following mix was recommended per green to encourage growth

o 4 litres Bio Mass

o 1 litre Algae Green

This treatment to be repeated again 21 days later

· As the 2nd green was the worst affected with weak areas the back portion was to be rested from play with the height of cut let up to 4.5 mm using the

hand mower. Also, the lower section was to be plugged with good turf from the upper section so that a full cover of grass was present throughout

the lower section. The back right of the 8th green was to be let in and overseeded again to help recovery.

· The back portion of the 2nd green would benefit from a granular autumn/winter fertiliser in early /mid November at 30gr/m2.

GENERAL AUTUMN/WINTER MANAGEMENT PROGRAMMES:

Aeration:

· Carry out a monthly micro-solid tining form November through to March as ground conditions allow.

Nutrition:

· As the greens in general were healthy from the granular application prior to my visit, it should be possible to harden off the greens and provide minor amounts of nitrogen with the following mix per 500 m2:

o 2 kilos of Sulphate of Iron

o 1.5 litres of Soluble Potash (0-0-30)

o 2 litres of Seaweed liquid + Iron + Magnesium +2-4% Nitrogen

Apply this mix mid-November and repeat again week commencing 5 December with only the Iron and Potash used before Christmas, thereafter apply every 3 weeks in January, February and March.

Cutting / Rolling:

I recommended a 3.5 mm cut following my visit which should then be raised to 4.0 mm through to Christmas once growth slows down and no die-back is visible. When hand cutting is used for the winter the cutting height can be 4.5 mm. The turf roller can be used if possible after cutting the greens on Wednesdays and Fridays when the surfaces are dry. Also, using the turf roller when no growth is evident is good for smoothing the greens rather that cutting occasionally.

Spraying:

The main objective is to control Fusarium disease, and as the contact Chipco was used at the end of October, apply Headway fungicide mid-November with the Chipco applied again 21-28 days later, but certainly before Christmas. Should disease occur unexpectantly, spray with the contact Chipco to stop it immediately.

GENERAL:

· Daily dew removal is very important when greens are not being cut to help with disease management throughout the winter.

· Any areas of greens that have not fully recovered by mid-November should be scheduled for repair through plugging from the edges of the affected

greens. The goal should be to have no bare areas on any green by Christmas so that spring 2012 can start out with full grass coverage.

· There is a great location to the right of the 3rd green to create an exciting new pin location. This can be achieved by mowing out the existing ground over the bunker and developing it to green standard.

Eddie B. Connaughton, B. Sc.

Agronomist.