Some of the work the greenstaff have been undertaking in the last fortnight. Atypical time of year to do these much needed works.

This the willow to the right of the 7th tee near the front of the tee which will open up the area. some of the overhanging Canopies have been removed in line with the recommendations of the "Yorkshire Wildlife Trust"

Below Peter is removing the 10th hedge which for many years was OOB, thanks to advice from Yorkshire Union Of Golf Clubs, the OOB was removed and opened up.

The trees in the pond have also been removed to open up the pond which enables you to see it from both the 10th and 11th holes.

We have cleaned the entire run of ditches on the course, this is essential to allow the water to flow freely away from the course. Hopefully it enables the course to open more during the long winter months.

We have finished the bridge and now hand rails on the bridge over the 7th hole. This was becoming very weak and has been culverted. This will become the style of hand railings for any future bridges constructed. In Spring the area will be astro turfed, at the moment the weather will not allow this but it is expected in Spring.

Aeration - Compaction Relieve 

Soil compaction is one of the most common problems found on the golf course. This is mainly due to the fact that golf is played 365 days of the year in both dry and wet conditions. When the soil is wet, compaction problems are exacerbated. 
Compaction is also greatly influenced by the type of indigenous soil present; for example a clay-based soil is normally more prone to compaction than a sandy soil due to the nature of the soil particles (texture). If regular aeration work is not carried out, soil compaction will build up throughout the season. If this occurs the large pores within the soil structure (which influence the movement of water through the soil) are reduced or lost. If water cannot move through the soil, water logging of the surface will occur during rainfall. Other growth factors will also be affected such as beneficial bacterial activity, available oxygen and the uptake of nutrients. In this situation the grass sward will deteriorate quickly. 

Type of Aeration 

The most important principle is to make sure that the whole of the soil profile is aerated. This will allow water to move from the surface, through the soil profile and into the drainage system (once field capacity is reached) or to naturally filter away. However one of the biggest problems on fairways is deep compaction. 

Over the last 15 years the most significant innovation in deep compaction relieve has been the introduction of the Verti Drain type machine. On golf course fairways (and most other turf areas on the course) this type of machine is widely used as part of the overall program to relieve compaction. Verti drain treatment is normally restricted to once a year or every two years, although some clubs use it more regularly (normally the ones that own their own machine). 

There are no set guidelines for frequency or 'tine type' although turf managers normally prefer to use larger diameter tines in the autumn and the smaller tines in the spring, although number of treatments and timing depend on individual circumstances. It is also worth noting that the larger tine will cause more surface disruption, which might not be acceptable

We still have a few places available for New Years Eve Party Night.

New Years Eve
Time:7pm for 7:30pm
Cost :£27.50 (Including Entertainment)

please enquire for availability.

The conifer trees have been removed from the left hand side of the 14th Hole, this is to try and improve the fairways on the 10th and 14th holes, particularly around the green and bunker area. They take massive amounts of goodness out of the soil and also take natural sunlight.

We wait to see how it improves...........

 We have been working hard over the start of the winter, on recommendation of England Golf we have removed some of the tress around the pond which have come into play from the 10th tee. Along with removing the hedge this has opened up the whole area.
This will encourage growth of the other trees around the pond area with more natural light, as we have seen between the fifth and sixth holes. Along with the longer grass that we have grown up during summer it will still be very penal should you be in it.

The message is still keep straight and on the fairway!.

Men's November medal

Div1

1st  L Bond                      nett  70

2nd M Smith                    nett  71

3rd G Butcher                  nett  75

Div2

1st G Atkinson                 nett  69

2nd C Murray                  nett  73

3rd D Steel                      nett  73

Div3

1st K Stamp                     nett 72

2nd C McDaid                  nett  72

3rd B Dennis                    nett  76

HELP!

We need your help! We have made substantial investment and improvements to the golf course in the past 24 months, in particular the greens. Along with the STRI on board we have been able to improve the greens which you will see the benefits of during the winter months aswell with reduced thatch it makes them playable all year round. I hope you all agree?........... Unfortunately we are seeing in this early part of winter a large amount of un repaired pitchmarks which will cause long term damage to the greens. A successfully repaired pitch marks however, can heal within twice the time it takes for a half-hearted attempt, let alone a unrepaired pitch mark. At this time of year the players are mainly members so we know where they are coming from, lets protect our great course and help to make it even better. “Pitchmarks cause more damage than ANY disease or weather condition. Left unrepaired, pitch marks not only make a green look bad, they also interfere with putts. A properly repaired ball mark takes only a few days to heal. An unrepaired or improperly repaired mark can take three/four weeks! Please put a pitch fork in your pocket and repair any marks you see” Please please please could all players take some time to have a look for their pitchmark, and in doing so repair any others that are on the green which will lead to a quicker recovery. Thank you in advance David Bell Greens Chairman

On Friday night the 7th October Pike Hills welcomed Alex Stepney to the club, for a "evening with..."

It was a fabulous night and Alex was a great speaker.

Our thanks also go to Graham Bradbury for his help on the evening as host.


Pictured below from left to right are , Graham Bradbury, Alex Stepney, 2016 Club Captain Bill Hopcutt and House Chairman Martin Robinson.

Thanks to everyone for their support.

Work has started this week to Graden, which is essentially thatch removal from the putting surface. Below is some information on what Graden work:

Graden Contour:

Some golf courses have out of control organic matter, as bad as 12%. At that level they have no option than to mechanically remove it and put sand in instead to get the greens back to a healthier state – enter the Graden Sand Injector. Even if they have an acceptable level of organic matter a Graden fits into the maintenance scheme as prevention is always better than cure.

The Graden Contour Sand Injection machine is a scarifier/aerator with the ability to scarify to any depth from 1mm to 40mm, whilst simultaneously backfilling the grooves with either sand or a combination of sand and seed to improve drainage and rooting.

It works to remove thatch and organic matter that might impede water movement.  It sinks it into the ground incredibly deeply compared to a conventional scarifier using 2mm wide or 3mm wide blades spaced at 25mm centres to remove such matter and offer stability to the surface of the green.

The result is a lovely, true level surface with very little sign of any damage with only the parallel grooves visible. The green is playable virtually immediately, certainly playable within an hour or two. 18 greens would take between about 2 days to treat.

Full recovery can take upto 10 days dependant upon the climate and/or weather condition

The ditches through and round the golf course have now been all but cleared, amazing how much comes out of them. As you can see from the 2 images, it makes a bit of a mess with the heavy machinery but a vital part of getting the water to flow quicker, thus enabling us to open the course more through the winter and help drain the fairways.

The picture below shows the work on the 6th hole and how full it was with weeds, this will really improve the flow of water.

Golf course winter work 2016

AUTUMM

1.  Finalise the work on the 7^th bridge

2.  Relay the path with turf left hand side of the 1^st green and 2^nd tee box

3.  Bale the long rough on the course

4.  Turf all bare areas on the course

5. continue to clear the area for the new 6^th men’s medal tee

WINTER WORK

1. Clear the hedges in front of the 8^th tee also

   Clear the hedge from opposite the ladies 10^th

    Tee round to the electric pole

 2. Remove the willow trees that surround the

     Pond on the 11^th hole

 3. Remove some of the trees to the left of the

     9^th green {to let more light on to the green]

 4. Remove potentially all the large conifers to

     The left of the 14^th fairway bunker this will

     Improve the soil structure around the area

  5. Carry out pruning to other various trees

      Around the golf course

     All the work will be subject to the weather

                    Dave bell chair of greens

This Monday the 12th September the 6th Hole will be closed due to the clearing of the ditch down the left hand side of the hole. Marston Moor Internal Drainage Board will be there first thing, it will be closed all day, possibly into Tuesday morning early on, however one day should be enough. The 5th hole will remain open, although it will be a long walk to the next tee it is felt 17 holes is still better to play on the day.

This will allow the water to flow better and should allow more play through the winter months.

As you will have seen this week the ground staff have been very busy Hollow Corring the greens, this is some short term pain for long term gain!.  detailed below is some of the processes and reasoning behind this work;

The hollow tining of greens is an essential part of most golf course maintenance programmes. It’s a recognised and proven technique carried out every year at most UK golf clubs. Here is the lowdown on what hollow tining is and why it occurs.

So what is hollow tining?

It’s the physical removal of cores of turf from a playing surface. The holes are generally 13-16mm in diameter and of varying depths depending on the reason for the tine. The cores are ejected, swept up and removed. They make excellent compost. When completed, a smaller mass of soil will occupy the same area of green/tee/fairway.

Why is it done?

Course traffic causes the ground to become compacted and hardened. This means drainage is less efficient and the grass’s roots are prevented from absorbing oxygen. Hollow tining allows the compacted turf to expand and air and moisture to be more easily absorbed.

The coring helps address the problem of thatch. (Thatch is a layer of grass stems, roots, and debris that settle and accumulate over time.) A thin layer is acceptable but too much thatch will hold water like a sponge and close the course more in winter.

Tining also removes accumulated fibre in the grass’s root zone. It allows for the exchange of a poor soil for a better one through top dressing. That’s why the greens are normally covered in sandy top dressing immediately after they’re cored. We have added in excess of 35 tonnes this week alone, with possibly another 30 tonnes planned for next week

In addition, coring allows for overseeding: another effective way of improving the quality of the playing surface.

When is it done?

Hollow tining is generally done out-with the main playing season: often in early autumn. It’s important that the tining is completed before the weather turns wet and cold so there’s time for growth and for the holes to seal up. So the best time to hollow tine is late August /early September, but this coincides with the playing season at most clubs. We will possibly look to hollow tine very early in the spring season in preparation for the season.

I hope this helps people understand a bit more the reason and methods of this process.

Kind Regards

Alistair Burns

Managing Secretary

http://adm.pikehillsgc.co.uk/files/documents/ab8e983e-70de-11e6-a0f0-002590a5fe03.pdf

STRI agronomist Adam Newton came to Pike Hills on Wednesday 31st August for the second report of 2016. It makes interesting reading and proves we are certainly heading in the right direction.

there is still plenty of work to be done on the greens and around the course, but a positive report.

Jules starting to dig the 2nd path up ready to be filled in with soil.

Tyler is sarel rolling today, before the rain came!.

This is a light aeration process to enable the top surface to breath and take air. Also it brushes the green and stands any long end up for a cleaner cut.

On Tuesday 30th August Marston Moor who are responsible for the ditches around and through Pike Hills Golf Club will be here clearing them out. This comes at no cost to the golf club which is good news.
The whole process will take a few days but will have massive benefits to the club, mainly through winter when the rain comes as it should take some of the rainfall away from the playing area.

This will cause some but minimal disturbance to play, sorry for any inconvenience but it is essential work required.

Big Well done to John Masiak, as you can see raised £12,000 for the St.Leonards Hospice. It was a fun day enjoyed by all the volunteers.

The foot bridge has been removed from the 13th hole for safety reasons, the one that crosses the ditch at the green. It was beginning to rot and move.The clean up and re turf will follow shortly.

There are still the other two bridges to use.

Club Captain Bill Hopcutt with Vice Captain, Greens Chairman, and Managing Secretary tee off in the "York City Past Players Day" at Pike Hills, ran by club member Graham Bradbury.

Sadly 83 points is no where near the prizes, maybe next year.....................

This is how you get onto the island on the 11th hole, travelling in style!. The whole area is cut back twice a year.

Bingo Night

Friday 29^th July 7:00 for 7:30 start

 Cash Prizes

      Subsidised Bar

Tickets £5 (Available from the office)

Enter your names on the list below.

Chris satellite rolling the greens. This is a light aeration to the top 25mm of the profile and the brush stands the grass up to take any long ends off. 

Julian star tining the greens this is part of the on going aeration programme. It tremendously helps root growth and against compaction. 

This causes minimal disruption to the greens and once they are cut again the surface is back to normal. 

Tyler cutting the greens after Julian has been star tining.

You will notice on certain holes changes to our rough. We have taken advice from the STRI on this and part of the ongoing reports on the course to create areas for ecology. You will notice this defines the holes more clearly.

We are also saving man hours which can be deployed on vital areas of the course.

The process going forward will be to annually cut and collect this, know as "bailing".
We have the STRI report which details this whole work which is available for the membership to view.

Pike Hills summer BBQ is this Saturday, tickets are £10 adults, £5 under 12's.

We have live music from "The Mix",

STARt at 7pm, TICKETS AVAILABLE IN THE OFFICE AND BAR.

New 7th  Bridge

Old and new

The bridge is structurally finished now and just awaiting a permanent surface to go over the stone and hand rails.

Julian top dressing the greens this morning, we aim to get between 100 and 120 tons of sand on the greens this year. Today the 18 greens will have about 12 tons of top dressing applied. This will cause minimal disruption to play as it is immediately brushed in.

Chris verti cutting the greens. This is part of our on going maintenance plan for the greens. Verti Cutting is a process to remove thatch, seed heads and any lateral growth. This is all part of the ongoing summer maintenance.

The Bunker linings are now finished and the bunkers filled with sand, they are now in play so beware!.

 Jules and Chris laying out the bunker mat liner and cutting to shape. The joints were glued with a resin and left 24hrs to set. This is a new product we are trying on 2 bunkers close to Askham bog to try and help the base keep some structure.

Club Captain ready for action in the recent Lord Mayors Day.

Yes, its Pike Hills, not Augusta.

The is George putting some fine detail into the greens surround, trimming up around the sprinklers.

Team work at its best!.

Peter is top dressing the greens, this is done each year at this time, with the extra warmth in the air it will give a smoother surface for putting and encourage growth. last week they were over seeded so with a combination of this you will see a great putting surface.

New starter Tyler is now brushing the top dressing in on the greens this morning. He follows Peter round straight away to ensure that the players can play the greens immediately after application of the top dressing.
 

Chris over seeding the greens after they've been top dressed. This is part of our on going greens maintenance program.  

The 6th green is now open, slightly ahead of schedule i am pleased to say. There will be some interruption during the next fortnight to finish of the bunker lining and sand.

Club Captain Bill Hopcutt has played the hole and has made the first ever par on the new hole, well done Bill!.

Quiz Night          20^th May-7pm start

£2 a pint during the quiz & subsidised bar!

 

               Pie n Pea supper  

                                                      £5 per person, including quiz entry

Please register interest first in the office

Prizes to be won!!!

This weekends competition results.

Saturday 23rd April:
Paul Reed Trophy
1. D.Edwards & G. Cowley 39 Pts
2. M. Caley & G. Elstob 37 Pts
3. G. Bootland & J. Pavis 36pts



Dunera Malcolm mixed greensome
1. H. Cushing & I Halliday 62.2
2. M.Walker & B. Wakeman 62.6

Thanks to everyone for their entrance, well done to the winners.

Sports Turf Research Institute(STRI) have visited Pike Hills Golf Club once again and produced a report on the golf course, in particular the greens. The results were very encouraging, Adam Newton was impressed with the progress of the whole course.

Please take a good luck through the whole report on the link below

http://www.pikehillsgolfclub.co.uk/files/documents/90a2d026-0acc-11e6-902c-002590a5fe03.pdf

We have top dressed the greens this week now we have had some good weather. 

We will be hollow coring hope fully next week, depending on the weather then top dressing and over seeding immediately after. Following from this a light dressing through out the season, this will ensure we have a great surface and roll for putting.

Today all the greens will be Veri-Cut, with a view to top dressing them on Wednesday. This does conflict a monthly medal on Wednesday, however we have a window of nice weather in the forecast that will allow is to do it. The golf course will still be restricted holes in the short term so we feel for the benefit of the course top dressing the greens will improve the course condition throughout the season.

We have taken a decision to continue with the top dressing which will cause some disruption to play which we apologise for.

Julian Shanks, assistant head greenkeeper is trialing a new greens mower, which will give the greens a tighter smoother roll. Here is is on the putting green testing it. The machine is lighter and gives a slightly less compaction whilst mowing.

Peter was very impressed with the latest technology and we have purchased this mower.

Mark verti draining the 18th fairway. We are doing as much as possible to alleviate water retention on the course. It is not the ideal time to be doing it as ground conditions are wet and it's not relieving much compaction. This process is very slow and at 1km/hour takes time!, in fact to so 18 holes around the whole course is nearly a 3 week process. After a couple of days we saw a remarkable difference and the fairways were drying out very quickly.

Most golfers will notice that although the weather has been very poor this winter that the fairways have dried out pretty weel, the areas of concern have been the rough and areas from tee to fairway.

ROLL ON SUMMER!.