Fresh from the Fairways

Update from our Course Manager

Welcome to Fresh from the Fairways, the first edition of 2025.

Our greenkeeping team has already started preparing for the upcoming 2025 season. I will take you through those works a little later in the blog. Firstly, a quick overview of where we are now.

January was much kinder to us this year, compared the horrific weather we had 12 months ago. However, just as we thought we’d got away lightly, February started with a deluge of rain. The greens coped well, but 62mm of rain in the first week of February is still taking time to drain away.

In response to the unprecented levels of rainfall experienced early 2024, we invested into a programme of ‘sandbanding’ on the greens, last November. This has made a huge difference on 90% of the greens, and we have seen a clear improvement in conditions across both courses. However, there is no ‘magic wand’ approach to drainage and while much improved, we’ve still needed to rely on a small number of temporary greens this month. We are planning to continue drainage works through 2025, mainly with secondary systems that will supplement the newly sandbanded areas.

The biggest issue we have faced this year is worm casts. Due to the stricter legislation on use of chemicals, we are now left with less efficient alternatives to control their impact. Increased worm casts causes issues with cutting, resulting in the spread of mud around the site. Another pitfall of worm cast is the increased in bird damage, as they are drawn by grubs that come to the surface. We have not been affected as badly as some courses and we will monitor the and repair any damage. Again, this is now out of our control with tighter legislation, but it is at a manageable level.

While never an easy decision, we have been forced to close the Prince’s Course on several occasions so far this year, simply down to volume of rain that has fallen. The Duke’s Course has remained closed so far this year, as it takes longer to recover due to the difference in topography and soil profile. Course closures are frustruating for everyone, but necessary in order to protect the playing surfaces.

What work are we doing?

For the first time since I have been the Course Manager we have managed to deep aerate the greens on both courses. This process uses a tractor mounted machine that punches deep into the green breaking up the soil underneath, allowing water to permeate through. For this aeration method to be succesful, we have had promote deeper root growth over the past 18 months. They are now strong enough that this process can continue more frequently going forward, helping the greens to drain and promote further root growth.

We have now re-turfed several tees across both courses. Once the weather improves the surrounding tee areas will be seeded and improved. Unfortunately, the heavy rain keeps on washing these areas away. It’s just a matter of timing being on our side to get these areas ready for the season ahead.

Our tree contactors are out on the course. As I write this blog they are completing a lengthy list of works across the site. We have purposefully delayed the clearance of the large oak on the Prince’s 10th hole, which was felled in the recent storms. The work will likely neccessitate closure of this hole, so we will wait until the Duke’s is open to minimise disruption.

The bunkers have also been completely washed out in this weather, so we will be soon be out edging and topping up with new sand. We just need to wait until the ground firms so we can minimise damage to the ground.

Path refurbishment works are also underway, but we have had to change plans, again due to heavy rain. The bridge on the 12th Duke’s is now repaired and can be used as normal when the course reopens.

The woodland pathways will soon benefit from fresh wood chipping. This work has also been delayed, mainly down to a change in policy which means we can no longer source wood chipping from our usual suppliers – it now needs to come directly from tree works that take place in the main park, and there are only certain times it becomes available during the year.

We have just started to aerate the tees and the approaches across both courses. This should allow an earlier first cut of the season as the ground dries. The worm casts around tees have been particularly damaging compared to previous years. We are doing our best to improve ground conditions ready for cutting. We have ordered extra sand and seed this year to increase the areas we top dress. This will help with the recovery in these fine turf areas.

What’s going on with the Duke’s Course?

While, we’ve not seen quite the catastrophic levels of rainfall experienced the same time last year, we’ve still had to make a decision to temporarily close the Duke’s Course, again due to prolonged heavy rain. The greens have seen a major improvement in drainage following the sandbanding work, but not enough to risk opening and unravelling all the good work. The plan is to get Duke’s Course open on weekends for members, before it’s fully opened to all. Unfortunately, the rain keeps hitting us hard on weekends, and those plans keep getting put back, but we’re hopefully we can reopen in the coming days.

The closure of the Duke’s means we’ve had the opportunity to carry out deep aeration of the fairways and the greens, without disruption. This is a intensive process, but the results have been really positive. We have also been clearing ditches to help the new drainage to do its job. This work will allow us to start cutting far quicker than we were able to last year. We are in a far better position this year and we will communicate the reopening of Duke’s as soon as we can.

Machinery replacements for 2025

We made an decision to upgrade key machinery earlier this year. The inherent nature of the original greens on both courses means they are easily damaged by ride-on mowers during the winter months. For this reason we purchased a fleet of Toro walk-behind mowers and smaller format Toro ride-on mowers to replace the current larger units. This means we can cut greens without risk of damage, with the benefit of an improved cut throughout the summer months too. Rather then disposing the older mowers, we’ll repurpose them to perform supplementary cutting of tees etc.

To increase the quality of cut around the greens we have invested into a dedicated Toro mower that will better cope with the contours around the greens. We will again recycle the older machines to carry out other cutting duties around the course.

After struggling to keep up with grass growth in the first part of 2024 we decided we needed a blower that could help speed up the clearing of grass clippings and debris. The existing tractor-mounted blower is somewhat of a beast to manage and only certain staff can operate it, so went for a different approach. We’ve taken delivery of a compact, but powerful jet turbine blower. This machine is trailed, so any staff member can operate it safely using a standard ATV or buggy. Just what we need to clear up grass cuttings and leaves at the end of season!

One of the big issues I have faced at Richmond is the ability to transport equipment and staff around our large 300-acre course. We’ve recently ordered a fleet of Yamaha electric ATV’s, which allow staff to quickly get around the course with all the equipment they need. They are also kinder on the environment than diesel vehicles.

Irrigation system upgrade

We are carrying out major upgrades to our irrigation system, which will give us a lot better water coverage in 2025. Work is ongoing through the winter as we prepare for the summer months.

We are also adding approach irrigation on the higher holes on The Prince’s course, which tend to get burnt out quickly in the summer. This work will start soon and we will keep things as tidy as possible. We are also upgrading the approach irrigation on the holes where it has not been in use.

Thank you taking time to read this edition of Fresh from the Fairways. As always, I welcome any feedback or suggestions, so please feel free to drop me a line.

Roger Mills

Course Manager, Richmond Park Golf Course

roger.mills@glendalegolf.co.uk