PRESTWICK CLUB Advisory Report on the on behalf of the R&A Championship Committee

Report date: 21st March 2013 Consultant: Jay Dobson

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CONFIDENTIAL

Date of Visit: 15th March 2013

Visit Objective: To inspect the golf course ahead of the 2014 Boy’s Amateur and to make recommendations for progress towards this.

Present: Dr Douglas Mack – Greens Chairman

Dr Paul Stevens – Green Committee

Mr Ken Goodwin – Secretary/Manager

Mr Murray Stewart – Head Greenkeeper

Mr Jim McMurdo – Assistant Greenkeeper

Mr Tom Jacques – STRI Ltd

Mr Jay Dobson – STRI Ltd

Contents Executive Summary 3 Key Observations 4 Greens 4 Tees 6 Fairways 6 Bunkers 7 Roughs 8

Key Recommendations 8 Greens 8 Tees 9 Fairways 9 Bunkers 9 Paths 10 Roughs 11

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Executive Summary

• Once again discussions on rainfall totals through the late part of 2012 into 2013 were foremost in our assessment of the golf course. However despite this the greens have apparently provided good playing quality and have attracted positive comments from members and guests.

• Growth is still slow, although some root initiation has taken place, however low air and soil temperatures mean that the over wintered condition of the plants is still affecting recovery and this will remain so until some harmonisation of temperature and moisture occurs.

• Moss still remains an issue here and there on the greens, although there are signs of reduction in more trafficked areas. Application of iron sulphate prior to inspection will be of benefit in helping to desiccate the moss as we continue to work on managing this within the greens.

• Profiles seem to be in slightly better condition with a notable increase in sand in the upper parts of the profile. However there is still evidence of some ‘stickiness’ in the top 30mm and this will be worked on over the next growing season.

• Disease pressure has reduced significantly since we made some slight changes to the programme and at this inspection there were no symptoms seen. Individual meadow grass plants showed some pressure from anthracnose, however this was not widespread and fairly localised. There was no evidence of either fusarium or snow mould and no carried over red thread from the back end of 2012.

• Maintenance has been fairly focused with the greens being verti-drained on one occasion and slit on six. Coring was only carried out on aprons and approaches and this was positive in helping to remove some of the thatch and organic matter and to help firm these up.

• Top dressing totals were between 120 – 140 tonnes for 2012 and we would like to see >150 tonnes in 2013 if this could be resourced. We had some discussions on winter top dressing, something which has been beneficial to many courses during drier periods in the winter time. Something to consider for the latter parts of this year and beginning of next.

• We continue to discuss paths on the golf course and some positive and excellent work to the 3rd and 17th have improved both of these areas notably. We still feel that some work to manage the traffic routes on the golf course in a more appropriate manner and to reduce the amount of hard materials would be positive. To this end, we feel that the trial of the Tebbutt rubber grass mats with the RTF and dwarf Rye on the approach to the ridge at the 10th would be a worthwhile consideration to allow members and committee to assess the effectiveness of this.

• Further discussion on bunkers took place, including looking to standardise the approach presentation towards the bunker throats. While this is not going to be possible for all bunkers and in fact would look out of place, certainly moving the semi rough back slightly to allow more ‘gather’ would be positive on a number. Further discussions on the standard bunker presentation from our previous inspection including leaving the bunker tops as rough and unmanaged is positive and looks attractive and authentic. We also looked at some water table issues in the Cardinal bunker and on the bunker on the approach to the 17th. These have been relatively wet due to the rainfall and high water table over the last year or so. However we would hope that in drier conditions would reduce and lower this in conjunction with improved drainage and use of the pumps and further assessment of this will be made at our next inspection.

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• We continued to discuss some of the rough and extensive grassland on the golf course. There are some positives in recovered heather on for instance the left hand side of the 14th and the area to the right hand side of the 18th has dried out considerably due to some drainage work carried out by the greenkeeping team. We would continue to manage the buckthorn as has been the case at the rear of the 11th tee and the more rank material in the roughs over the next few years. The use of Rescue on the left hand side of the 14th in the rough area appeared not to work as well as we would have hoped, however it appeared relatively clean at inspection with only some creeping soft grass having retained its nature. Further application on selected areas in late August would be supportable.

Key Observations

Greens

• As would be expected at this time of year, general agronomic condition was slightly variable as there is little or no recovered growth in the grass plants as yet. As can be seen from the photograph, the application of sulphate of iron has made the leaves ‘smutty’ however there are the beginnings of some recovered growth here and there and certainly surfaces were intact.

• Soil and air temperatures were still below 5°C which means that growth will continue to be relatively slow till these pick up. Having said this, ball roll qualities appeared reasonably good and certainly anecdotally the greens have performed well through the back end of 2012 and to the start of this year.

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• Moss remains a contributor on many of the greens, a combination of dull and wet conditions over the last 2 years which favours the ingress moss as well as the slightly water retentive nature of the upper profile, something we are working on currently. Having said this, there appear to be slightly reduced colonies on a number of areas and certainly where traffic is more concentrated little or no moss was seen.

• Profiles remain ostensibly similar to previously. There is a notable incorporation of the Hugh King washed dune sand in the upper profile at approximately 10mm in places. Beneath this, a mix of the fen soil and medium coarse sand can be seen overlying the original indigenous sand which makes up your greens. Generally we need continue work on the organic matter as the surfaces appear to still be water retentive, something we will further assess at our programme visit later in the spring. There was some evidence of pitch marking here and there and surfaces were retaining too much moisture here and there. This concept will improve as we increase top dressing totals to get the thatch and organic matter in the upper profile under control.

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Tees

• Tees have no real major issues, other than those areas that are being commonly used over the winter. These will be recovered as normal through the spring as temperatures and weather conditions improve. The main point at inspection is the management of the rear-most platforms this year and next ahead of the Boy’s Amateur. As per discussions, good control of thatch and organic matter, reductions in moss populations and increases in top dressing with thatch control and removal would be a worthwhile addition to the programme towards the end of this year. We would generally recommend:

• Scarifying

• Coring

• Top dressing

• Oversowing (where appropriate).

and then further protection in the spring of 2014.

Fairways

• There is still a fair amount of dog lichen within the fairway tops and this is something which we feel still would be improved by some slightly more competitive grass plants. Low level use of

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Porthcawl or similar would certainly help fill in the gaps and is something we feel should be a consideration going forward.

• Outside of this, fairways appear to have held up well over the winter months and although slightly discoloured due to early season condition and some desiccation due to the cold and dry conditions prior to inspection, showed reasonably good playing qualities. The divoting programme is also well formed and dealt well with the damage from winter play.

Bunkers

• Winter works are well progressed and some excellent shaping and revetting has recovered some of the bunkers prioritised for work this winter. The main point of discussion was the adoption of a recommendation to have bunker heads unmanaged where appropriate. This reduces substantially maintenance and management input whilst at the same time leaving a more authentic look and feel to these features.

• The wet weather continues to create some problems here and there with bunker floors which are near the water table. This was most notable in the Cardinal bunker as well as the approach bunker on 17. In the short term, we feel we should just review this further later in the spring and move matters forward from there.

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Roughs

• Rough areas on the golf course continue to improve with reductions in the rank material and control of standing vegetation such as sea buckthorn and gorse. The photograph shows a nicely recovered area on the left hand side of the 14th fairway where heather has now regenerated in what was previously a fairly heavy rough areas. The continuance of this programme is to be supported. Key recommendations

Greens

• The main focus of the greens programme remains to reduce and control organic matter within the surfaces. This will improve firmness and reduce moisture retention, in turn improving agronomic condition as well as ball roll quality. The aim is to have firm and dry surfaces which have authentic ball/turf reaction and reward good shot making. The programme to continually core the greens is therefore to be supported and although this will be difficult given the busy schedule with an event in May and in August this year, it is important to continue with it.

• Top dressing should be to > 150 tonnes for 18 greens for the year with a view to continuing to dilute organic matter in the greens proper.

• We also discussed winter top dressing as a way of increasing top dressing totals and we feel that this would be worthwhile at an appropriate time during the winter months at low levels. The only issue to watch is with ‘bridging’ which requires the turf to be matted subsequent to the top dressing application.

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• Growth is still slow and temperatures low, however an application of your 6:2:10 fertiliser at an appropriate time post this visit would be worthwhile as the water potential of the plants increases and they begin to grow out of their over wintered condition.

Tees

• This year prioritisation of renovation on back tees to include reductions in moss, improvements in firmness and playing quality should be the short term goal. Scarifying, coring, top dressing and then regular light dustings on the softer surfaces would be a worthwhile option.

Fairways

• Fairways were in good condition albeit that thatch production has been slightly higher over the last couple of years. The photograph shows a build up of organic material at the top of the profile and local work to verti-drain would be positive in getting water through the tops. In addition some localised coring, top dressing and then dragging the cores back into the holes would be worthwhile on softer areas or areas where water is sitting in the thatch at the top.

• Top dressing of local fairway areas can also pay dividends and should be introduced on a limited basis where resources allow.

Bunkers

• As discussed, some form of standardised presentation on the throats of the bunkers to allow slightly more gather from the fairway should be considered where appropriate. Not all of the bunkers reviewed require this, but where appropriate moving the semi rough back slightly and opening the front of the bunker up to the fairway height of cut should be introduced if possible.

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• Discussions on raising the sand base in here (Cardinal buker) continue, however currently we feel that just assessing the condition is the best option. Raising sand levels in here would be expensive and time consuming and would then be subject to wind blow. Further assessment will take place at our next inspection.

Paths

Path 3rd hole 2012 New path 3rd hole • Work to improve this area has been excellent. Dropping the level of the path takes some of the pressure off the uphill and downhill parts of the sandhill and should improve matters

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substantially. Further review, once in play will be worthwhile to see how the area copes with wear and tear.

• Similarly to the work on the 3rd, the introduction of a grassed path to the 17th has been excellent and as can be seen from the photograph has repaired and improved the area substantially. Further assessment of how this performs once in play will be a priority, however it is hoped that the tall fescue element will help with wearability as will the ryegrass.

• At our last and this inspection we further discussed the use of rubber matting on the golf course. We feel that due to the amount of play and amount of concentrated traffic damage on and around hard path surfaces, it is important to look at using whatever is available to get a grassed surface that will cope with wear and tear. As we reported last year, the use of Tebbutt rubber grass mats with the grass growing through them appears to be an excellent way forward. Many courses including links are using this to control known traffic routes and to keep grass cover in place while at the same time dealing with health and safety issues. We feel that to move this forward, the best option would be to have a trial area on the approach to the bridge at the 10th. This would allow us to monitor progress on this heavily used area once installed. Please consider this.

Roughs • This area was of concern at our last inspection due to the rise in the water table and the ingress of rank grasses and wetlands species including creeping willow. Work to improve and recover drainage in this area has been positive however and it has dried out substantially. Further assessment later on in the year will allow us to see what else we have to do in here to improve matters and reduce the biomass. However all in all a good result.

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Signed

Jay S Dobson

Turfgrass Agronomist (), STRI Ltd

March 2013

STRI is completely independent and has no alliances to commercial products, services or contractors. This ensures that our design, project management and advisory services provide the best solutions for each individual client.

The STRI Programme provides golf courses with measurements and data that help to monitor and assess golf course performance. The R&A has recently developed CourseTracker (www.coursetracker.org), a free, online business management tool for golf courses, to record, review and analyse golf club performance across many areas of your business, including the golf course. STRI believes The R&A CourseTracker combined with the STRI Programme provides the tools you need to objectively monitor and assess your golf course performance.

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