Major work on the field in the coming weeks:
Week 28: The teeing ground at the driving range is on break.
Week 28: Clover is treated on greens surroundings
Week 29: Greens are being pricked and reseeded. Expect abnormal surfaces this week
Week 29: Clover treatment continues
Week 30: Clover treatment continues
The Royal Copenhagen Junior Cup has just finished. It concludes the first part of the golf season on the course. The poor juniors got more or less the only rain we've had in a while which resulted in some wet feet from playing from the rough and high scores.
July is a relatively quiet month marked by a holiday atmosphere on the course. Many members are at their summer homes or are abroad on holiday. This gives the course some well-deserved peace from the otherwise high workload from players and greenkeepers. On the course, the focus will be on bringing the greens and green surroundings through the heat and drought without too much damage. If there is a bit of random rainfall, we also protect the fairways by using a rinse agent that makes the ground retain moisture for a little longer.
There has been full pressure on training on our newly renovated teeing ground on the driving range. Now we are trying to give it a summer break from all the wear and tear. We will reseed and dress the teeing ground on Monday in week 28 and then it will be closed for play for a week or two, depending on the weather conditions. In the meantime, balls can be hit from in front of the teeing ground, just like in winter. We will then evaluate whether it was worth the “fuss”.
It has become increasingly difficult to find space for the late summer reseeding of greens due to a packed tournament and activity program. Therefore, we are working on the greens in week 29. The greens are being pricked, reseeded and top-dressed. As always, the routine results in slightly uneven greens, but this quickly subsides.
We need to keep our clover down, especially around the greens, and therefore we will begin our iron treatment in week 28 and onwards. The iron treatment causes the clover leaves to scorch, which then gives the grass a small competitive advantage for a shorter period. The treatment causes black spots on the greens, is not as effective, but it is our best tool in the fight against clover as a weed when we are not allowed to use herbicides like other courses in the country.
In June we had another visit from our course consultant Alistair Beggs. The last visit was in 2018 when Alistair worked for STRI. Alistair now works for the Royal & Ancient and is responsible for the advice for all the golf courses used for the British Open, qualifications and other championships under the R&A. Although Copenhagen Golf Club is not a links course, there are many similarities in the approach to care and our long history. This time Alistair has assessed whether there has been progress on the course, whether our strategy is correct in relation to our location and our underlying legislation, and whether there are areas where we can still benefit from intensifying our care efforts to create a high-quality course in a sustainable way. Alistair's report can be found on the club's website.
As always:
Straighten your impact mark,
Keep the pace up on the pitch and let faster balls go through
Watch out for deer on the course and driving range. The same rules apply as for humans: You must not hit if there is a risk of hitting them.
Watch out for the rough. It's thick!
Happy summer
Martin Nilsson, Chief Greenkeeper