PLANNING FOR GROW-IN OPERATIONS

8th tees-surrounds turfed and the teeing platforms seeded

8th green and surrounds seven-days after turfing and seeding

8th green putting surface ready for fertilising and rolling

view across 7-day old, germinating seedling turf

4th green stone-carpet and irrigation installation

3rd green putting surface rootzone installation 

2nd green rootzone and topsoiled ready for turfing and seeding 

THE GREENSTAFF TAKE OWNERSHIP . . . .

The wetland-areas at the 8th and 9th are completed with a light, dusting layer of topsoil.  Minimal organic-matter has been returned to these areas to guard against weeds and coarse grasses potentially out-competing desirable aquatic and marsh-wetland vegetation. 



The wetlands are top-soiled and connected to the Thames

A channel has been cut into the existing pond behind the 9th tee at a level which will not compromise the integrity of the pond.  This pond is connected to the Thames via the Ha-Ha and it is proposed that as the tides rise and fall then the new wetlands will capture flood-water.

A couple of hours later and on the cusp of a high-tide, the wetlands get wet!

 

Constant wet, dry and re-wetting cycles will promote an aquatic environment around the margins of the high-tidemark dominated by water-meadow vegetation. 

Flood-water flows the full-length of, 'Charles Canyon.' 

In other news, RMS Greenstaff now have ownership of the 7th and 8th holes.  The key ingredient for their success or failure in the next several days is the provision of adequate water to ensure neither the turf nor the seedbed drys out.

 

Turfing the surrounds was completed last Wednesday 14th and seeding the putting surfaces was completed Thursday morning.  



MJAbbott finishing crew seed the 8th green

It is anticipated that RMS greenkeepers will commence rolling the putting surfaces this weekend if the surface provides adequate stability.  Soon after this will come a variety of granular fertiliser applications and spray operations. 

 

After five-days a green tinge appears on the putting surface

The catalyst for timing the first mowing operation will be a risk assessment of the turf-cover at 70%.  If turf-rooting is accelerating below 30mm then the first cut could be within the next 10-days at 8mm height-of-cut. 

7th putting surface and green surround all completed, signed-off and handed-over

At the end of this week, the 9th and 1st-greens, the 8th tees and possibly the chipping green will be turfed and seeded.

*FIRST FOUR GREENS READY TO TURF AND SEED*

Premier Turf have started turfing the greens and tees-surrounds this week.  

The turf-line runs right up to the edge of the putting surface construction and includes all bunker surrounds and bunker faces.

The putting surfaces and the tee-platforms will all be seeded.  

All Taylor-mounds added-back in the fairways and greens working-areas will be seeded.  

Turfing starts at the JHTaylor 8th green area

Premier Turf board themselves in and out of the working area

8th tee platform and surround ready for turfing

Elsewhere the proposed wetland areas are complete and MJAbbott shapers are now returning 3-inches of low organic matter, sandy topsoil to line the banks and base.  It is anticipated that this minimal layer will provide for;

*  moisture retention in any event these, 'compensation-areas,' capture water

*  austere nutrient retention to encourage desirable vegetation to thrive around the margins

Medal & Ladies tees at the 8th - and final shaping within the limits of the borrow-pits

4th green shaped in the sub-base and signed-off by the course-architect

The 4th, 5th and 6th greens are ready to have the drainage installed.  Quickly after this the stone-carpet and rootzone will be installed in advance of the topsoil being returned to the green and bunker surrounds.  

2nd green with rootzone installed & surrounds ready for topsoil re-spread

1st green and surrounds ready for pre-turfing fertiliser, turfing and seeding

The hand-over to RMS greenstaff is triggered when the seed hits the putting surface.  At this point all grow-in activities are owned by RMS.  Our primary ambition will be to stabilise the turfed surrounds to guard against animal damage and erosion at the same time as managing seedling germination to protect the putting surfaces against weed invasion and wind-erosion.

JHTaylor front-nine *PROGRESS*

With a tailwind of warm and dry weather MJAbbott continue to make good progress.  

The project is mostly on schedule although a number of interfaces and project logistics have dictated that the imminent seeding and turfing activities are now split into two phases.  The value-added in this decision provides for increased opportunities to achieve first ambition of full-turf cover and resilient turf density by December 1st.

The previously outstanding issues on the 4th, 5th, 6th and 9th with badgers and the National Grid high-pressure gas pipeline are all now discharged. Subsequently MJAbbott now have ownership of all the working areas.

1st green with the gravel-carpet spread overlaying a pipe-drainage system  

In all areas the outline shape of the putting surface is well-defined within the working areas.  Apart from the 4th, and 6th all the greens and surrounds are presented at an advanced stage of construction.  

Martin Ebert, the Club's architect, is making routine visits to sign-off the construction works at key stages to manage the integrity of the works and guarantee that his levels, topography and designs are replicated in the ground exactly.

3rd left-greenside bunker drained & with sand-lines painted in by Martin Ebert

3rd green surface ready for rootzone installation

During a recent visit, Martin Ebert painted out the sand-lines in the bunkers in advance of MJAbbott returning the topsoil to the green surrounds.

MJAbbott strip the 4th green and surrounds

The evacuation under license of the last two badger setts which impacted the working areas at the 4th and 6th are now signed off by the STRI Ecologist on behalf of English Nature.  

MJAbbott have had ownership of these two greens for one-week now and are busy in these areas with initial topsoil stripping and surveying.

5th green shaped out and marked for final-shaping in the sub-base

8th green complete; ready for inspection and sign-off by Martin Ebert

The 7th and 8th greens offer the best indication of a finished construction.  

The construction of the putting surface and green surrounds are complete and ready for a final inspection this week. 

Returning the topsoil to the surrounds and re-spreading it only requires a little more work with a steel dragmatt.  This key-skill smooths out imperfections and restores topsoil-levels to the correct depths over the shapes designed in the sub-base.

Turfing and seeding is due to start here in the week commencing 12th August.       

8th green-surface almost ready for seeding

Elsewhere, the 9th green is almost a stand-alone project.  It is now risen out of the flood-plain, shaped in the sub-base and ready for all onward activities.  

9th green area - final shaping at sub-base level

The greenstaff are now increasing their manoeuvres on the JHTaylor front-nine and working in areas around the margins of the reconstruction.  

All the tees are being hollow-cored ready for late-season topdressing, overseeding and fertilising.

A planned and organised scarification and linear-aeration operation to the fairways and semi-rough is due to commence within the next ten-days.