—GREENS— Social Evening OUR ANNUAL SOCIAL EVENING MOWERS Will Be Held in Nicoll & Smibert's Restaurant, Dundee, on Saturday, 28Th March, 1964, at for Every 7 P.M
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
NORTH AND MIDLAND SECTION —GREENS— Social Evening OUR ANNUAL SOCIAL EVENING MOWERS will be held in Nicoll & Smibert's Restaurant, Dundee, on Saturday, 28th March, 1964, at for every 7 p.m. Tickets can be had from members of the Committee. GOLF COURSE TASK Our next lecture will be on 19th February at 7 p.m. The subject will be "Grass Identi- * fication", by Dr N Jackson of The Sports MOTOR MOWERS Turf Research Institute. • WILL MEMBERS PLEASE NOTE THAT GOLF GREEN MOWERS the General Secretary is now on the telephone * —number SHEttleston 6591 ROUGH CUTS * SITUATIONS VACANT HEAD GREEN KEEPER required, starting VERGE CUTTERS * wage £13. House available. Apply Secretary, Saltburn Golf Club, Yorks. GANG MOWERS ASSISTANT GREENKEEPER REQUIRED • for Hartley Wintney Golf Club, Hants. Experience not essential. Apply W J THOMAS GREEN & SON LTD. Dauncey, Esq., Brincliffe, Odiham, Hants. P O BOX 45, NORTH STREET, MISCELLANEOUS LEEDS 2. PROFESSIONALS AND GREENKEEPERS having stocks of used golf balls contact Sparkbrook Telephone LEEDS 20357 Golf Ball Co., 295 Highgate Road, Stoney "A Hawker Siddeley Company" Lane, Birmingham, with a view to filling export orders. 1894 1964 EDINBURGH THE SCOTTISH GOLF GREENKEEPERS ASSOCIATION EVERYTHING FOR GOLF COURSES Chairman D. L. MACDIARMID, GRASS COMBS Royal Burgess Golfing Society GOLF FLAGS Barnton, Edinburgh 4. GRASS SEED General Secretary: R. B. MOFFATT GRASS MANURE 71 Kelton Street, Glasgow E.2 *fSSSSSSSSSSSSSS//.SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS///SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS> FIBREGLASS FLAGSTAFFS s THE WEST SECTION REGRET to announce the death of John Irvine, AND SWITCHES late of Irvine Municipal Golf Course. He was a member of long standing and was well known in the West STEWART & CO., Section. SEEDSMEN LTD. The Annual Spring Competition of the EDINBURGH, 2 West Section will be held over Kilmarnock Brassie on Thursday, 16th April, 1964. NEW With the addition of extra staff it was now our turn to take part in the pro- COURSE ceedings. We cut out three temporary greens NOTES which would be played until the new course was finished and ready for play W Milton, Assistant Greenkeeper at We also had to remove dykes which Downfield Golf Club, describes some of crossed fairways and we carted the the jobs and problems in making new stones to the site of the new club house, holes when his course was remodelled also under construction, to be used as last year bottoming for the car park. With a new UE to the ever-increasing need for tractor and gang unit the fairways and D more houses, about threequarters semi-rough were cut out of the now of the course on which I work is being well-established grass and kept at a taken over for housing, adjacent land height of three inches for the rest of the season. being constructed as a new course, using only three of the original holes. By now the roots had been extracted The land originally consisted of wood- and buried in an old quarry nearby and land and pasture. The first procedure another job was in progress. A stream was the ploughing up, harrowing and which was piped through the fields and sowing of the pasture land with a mix- flowed into ponds on the original course, ture of grass seed suitable for fairways. still incorporated in the new one, was This was done about four years ago. It made into an open ditch winding its way was then left to grow naturally, except across six fairways before it ran into a for winter grazing by sheep for two sluice-box where it could be run into years. While this was going on, wood- the ponds or diverted into another ditch cutters began cutting down the trees, which is also a feature of the course. huge beech, oak and sycamore, leaving We greenkeepers now started to clear barren gashes through the trees, except the fairways through the woods of for one or two fine specimens left at stones and roots which had been torn strategic points designated by the archi- up by bulldozers and discs in the process tect responsible for drawing up the plansx of cultivation. This continued through- to which the constructors have to work. out the remainder of the season and I About now the greenkeepers begin to would not like to estimate how many realise the tremendous amount of plan- loads were carted. But we filled a large ning and careful measuring that has part of the quarry left for this purpose gone into the drawing of the plans of and we must have shifted hundreds of the course and the greens and the tons of material. amount of work involved. After the I would now like to point out a mis- woodcutters are gone, a new machine take which was made. We are making appears, a huge bulldozer with long a nine-hole par three course ourselves, steel teeth starts to dig out the roots of also in woodland. Instead of tearing it the trees, a few smaller ones also arrive up with bulldozers, we ploughed it and and begin work on the greens. They although it was rough going we did not remove the top soil from the area of the have a fraction of the stones to clear greens and put it in spoil heaps, then and it was much more easily prepared start to shape the contours of the greens for sowing in the sub-soil. The end of the season was approach- While all this was going on we had ing and the contractors were stopping been continuing our normal duties on until spring as conditions were getting the old course, with the exception of the too wet. By now the greens were shaped head greenkeeper, who was fully occu- out and six had been covered with a pied supervising operations and seeing 6 in. layer of clinker plus a 9 in. layer that the correct procedure was being of top soil, taking care not to go on to carried out in accordance with the plans. the greens with tractors, at this or any other stage of the operation, as this it also brought back the contractors to compacts the top soil and possibly breaks resume where they had left off They drainpipes which are also in the greens finished off the greens, then added peat, and most essential if the greens are to be sand, manure, and incorporated it into properly cared for After making a few the soil with a small rotovator, firmed tees in the same manner, except that and raked, then making any slopes they were turfed, winter was upon us blend as gently into the surroundings as and we all know what last winter was possible and sowed the seed. By now like, but it started us off on a new job we have brought the fairways into a which kept us busy all winter finer cut and can see the course taking With seven of the fairways and two shape with a certain amount of pride greens being in the woodland, there was in having been a part of the pro- a lot of undergrowth, branches and dead ceedings. trees to be cut down and cleaned up. So As I write now, the contractors have with axes, saws and fires, we kept our- gone, most of the greens have been cut selves warm. There was a lot of limbing a few times at half-an-mch and also to be done along fairways, round greens had a light roll, i am looking forward and also trees which were left as to next year eagerly, as we hope to open hazards. This was often quite tricky, for play some time in the new season. but by using a rope tied round the We realise there is a lot to be done for trunk, we were soon clambering round many years yet, frequent top-dressings the trees with great confidence and and some bunkers to introduce and also rather began to enjoy it as we saw the a lot of tree planting, to bring the per- trees begin to take shape and look more fection which we wish, but at the symmetrical. moment I would say it will be an excel- Spring arrived as usual and brought lent modern course of which we will be quite a few troubles on the old course, very proud. turf to be proud of Sutton's know about turf. And they operate a special advisory service for greenkeepers and those responsible for the condition of grass. But most- important, Sutton's provide the right grass seed for any need, and know which seed is right for your soil your conditions. Buy your grass seeds, fertilizer, weedkiller and dressings from Sutton's. don't fail to grow Sutton's grass seeds FEBRUARY 12th Southern Section Lecture, "Fertilisers", Talbot Restaurant, London Wall, Moorgate, London, E.C., 6-30 p.m. 17th North-West Section Lecture, Garrick Hotel, Fountain Street, Manchester 18th Northern Section Lecture, "Weeds and Weedkilling", The Market Tavern, Godwin Street, Bradford. 18th S.G.G.A. Lecture, Christian Institute, Bothwell Street, Glasgow Dr N. Jackson, "Grass Identification" 19th S.G.G.A. Lecture, North and Midland, Nicoll & Smiberts, Nether- gate, as above. 20th S.G.G.A. Lecture, Free Gardeners' Institute, Piccardy Place, Edin- burgh, as above. 20th North East Section Dinner, Gosforth Golf Club. MARCH. 9th North-West Section, Lecture, "Turf Topics. What do you know?" Garrick Hotel, Fountain Street, Manchester 13th Southern Section, Annual Dinner 28th S.G.G.A. North and Midland Section, Annual Social Evening, Nicoll and Smiberts Restaurant, Dundee. APRIL. 16th S.G.G.A.