7th Fairway.....

Members will have noticed (unless you are totally blinkered) that the 7th fairway has "burnt off" during the summer months. Notwithstanding this coincided with the renovation of the 6th and the mounding between the two holes the rational for the lack of irrigation over the summer months has escaped a number of members myself included. Mark recently explained his thought process and reasons for limiting the water to the hole.

The programme for shaping the mounding will be completed in late March with the addition of a sand cover from the 'mountain' behind the 7th green, the mounds will then be seeded for the Autumn growth period. The base soil is the tailing's of the topsoil removed from the renovation and as such contains a high level of poa. As you will be aware poa is a "bad grass" and requires a regular supply of water in order to survive. By depriving the mounds of moisture natural reseeding from the tailing's has been prevented and the creep of poa from the 7 fairway into the recycled soil has been stopped.

The area will be seeded with a brown top mixture which is of a significantly hardier constitution and will establish and survive without the need for substantial watering thereby banishing the miscreant poa. Generally we do not have a poa problem in the rough because irrigation does not fully cover those areas and accordingly poa does not invade and take over. The outcome of the burn off will be the rejuvenation of the fairway as we head into winter hopefully with a by-product of reduced poa in addition to a good strike of grass on the mounds.

Sometimes we question the amount of water applied to the course - here we have a clear indication of what Shirley might look like if we did not have the benefit of an advanced irrigation system. I think most would agree that the result would not be acceptable!! In the interim make the most of the 'bunt & run' shot because it won't last for too long.