AdiZero update

Today, the Course Manager Greg Evans and Director of Golf Ricky Willison met up with Adidas Golf. This was to discuss the issue EGC have with the Adidas Zero golf shoe. For those of you who are unaware let us remind you. We first noticed a problem when one of our members reported back that someone was playing golf with football boots on. This was very noticeable on the greens and after some investigation from our Course Manager (mainly through greenkeeping blogs) we found out that there was an issue with certain types of golf shoes. One in particular (The Adizero tour) was receiving several bad reviews. 

After much deliberation, we decided to put a ban on these shoes until further notice. We published this on our blog in December (http://egcagronomy.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/adidas-zeros-are-not-welcome-at-egc.html) and several other clubs followed suit. This has caused quite a stir amongst the golfing community. Normally our blogs receive between 150 to 200 views. With this one we have nearly reached 4000!

During today's meeting, Adidas were very positive and came armed with their new 'improved' model as well as several others. It also became apparent to us just how much technology goes in to making a golf shoe. The days of just sticking 7 or 8 spikes in a shoe have long gone! Now it is all about pressure points and comfort.

They explained that performance from the 'Golfer to the golf green' is their number one priority. The Course Manager tested the new shoes on the 18th green. What he felt is the new cleat (which is softer and at less of an angle) is a lot more green friendly than the old one, but based on today's conditions these were still deemed unacceptable to the greens. We then tested other models (some of which have yet to be released) and these are a lot more friendly to the turf.

So in conclusion we feel that the adizero's, new & old, are still unacceptable for our greens, but we have been assured that as conditions improve this will change. For the time being, the ban continues but will be monitoring the situation closely.

We would like to thank Adidas for taking the time to come and visit us at Ealing and we were delighted to hear that they take this subject very seriously. We would also like to clarify that we have no issue with any other Adidas shoes. In fact, we would like to state that we would take a similar stance with any shoe that is seen to cause damage to our greens, irrespective of make. 

The River Has Burst Its Banks

Unfortunately the river decided to burst its banks this morning. After all the rainfall that we have had over the past two months it is not surprising to see the river level topple over the edge. To date we feel that we have been quite lucky. With all this record rainfall it has only come over 3 times, which compared to other parts of the country is more than acceptable. Our drainage in these areas have been updated over the years. So once the river level drops it will go back in quite nicely. For instance on Saturday it came over but by Sunday we had all 18 holes open.

The clear up as you can image can be quite hard and messy. The worst is when we have silt being deposited on the golf course but this only happens in extreme cases. On average the river bursts it's banks 5 to 6 times per year. As it has already gone over twice this year we have had 33% disruption so far. You've always got to look on the bright side!

View to the 18th Tee

Big carry today to the 12th fairway

12th Tee is an island!

17th Fairway looks a bit wet:(

Hand Cutting Greens

After every blog that we seem to write lately it is with the anticipation of better weather. The last time that our weather station recorded no rain in a single day was the 10th December. Since then we have over 220mm of rain and the forecast is for more to come.

During intense periods such as this course maintenance as you will guess becomes an issue. We have many construction projects on the go but for actually cutting playing surfaces it becomes a problem. The only area that can be maintained and kept to a good standard are the greens. Over the years we have worked on their drainage capabilities. Not through the traditional method of land drainage but more on the rootzone side. We have done this by having a good deep aeration and sanding programme in place for the last 8 years. This allows the water to 'float' in the rootzone away from the top surface. It is paying dividends as during this intense wet spell we have not closed or gone on temporary greens.

The video above shows Mitchel cutting our 13th green with a hand mower. For the vast majority of time we use ride-on mowers to cut the greens but when ground conditions become soft we switch to hand mowers. These keep the greens in tip top condition even during the winter months. Our smoothness readings for the last two weeks have been 9.5 out of 10. Not bad considering it's January the weather we are having!

Root Pruning

Roots going on to the 13th Green

Over the last 5 years we have implemented a root pruning programme around the golf course. Being on a tight (88acres) parkland setting trees play a major part in the set up of our golf course. They add strategy and give the golf course its identity. However on the flip side they block out sunlight and restrict air flow. All needed to create a healthy plant. One other thing that they have which are not very welcome are their roots. The root of a tree extends at least double the size of its canopy. So next time you walk past a tree think about that. If it stands 30metres high, its roots will be around 60metres wide. Probably going on to a green and tee:(

Our root pruning programme has been predominately based around greens and tees. Last year we did the Oaks behind the 5th green. We were starting to notice in the summer months that this green was drying out a lot quicker than the others and was susceptible to disease far quicker. Since we cut the roots back last May this has been reversed. This week we carried on with the programme and the Ash tree by the 13th green had its roots cut back. This tree is only 5metres away from the green which is way too close. Ideally the Ash wouldn't be here but it plays an important part in the defence of the 13th hole. Trimming the roots back is a happy compromise:)

Happy New Year 2014!

It was a wet end to 2013 and the new year brings further wet conditions. Golf courses across the country are under extreme pressure and at EGC we are no different. The good news is the drainage that we have installed over the past two years is working well and these areas are handling the conditions. The bad news is getting to these areas in the first place becomes a bit of an issue!

Above left is a picture of a rather wet 15th fairway taken this morning. On the right is the outlet for this fairway which goes under the footpath, through the 11th tee and in to the river by the 10th bridge. As you can see, plenty of water is coming out of the outlet. So why you may think is the 15th fairway saturated? The answer is pipework or rather a lack of it. The outlet takes the water from the ditch to the left of the 15th fairway. However to move the water in to that ditch, pipework is needed. As we head in to the new year this will be one of our priority jobs. The plans have been laid, materials are in, so all we need now is some dry weather and we will be down there in a flash.

Merry Christmas from EGCagronomy!

Christmas unfortunately may be a bit wet here at EGC this year. With the storms yesterday the river decided to burst it's banks last night. We suggest santa brings a boat with him this year whilst delivering presents!

As it's Christmas we don't want to end on a negative note so we've posted this picture of the course last summer. The shortest day has passed and we are now on our way to spring. We wish all our members and guests a merry Christmas. Let's hope it dries up soon so that we can get all our new presents out on the golf course!

Adidas Zero's are not welcome at EGC!

Today we have taken the unusual step of banning some golf shoes. Within the greenkeeping world there has been much talk about the damage done by certain golf shoes to our greens. A new design seems to be coming out frequently and some of these can seriously damage the putting surfaces. As you can see from the picture to the left, Adidas Zero's golf shoes have left a bumpy surface on our greens. It looks like a pair of football boots have been walked across the greens. Until their soles become friendlier they wont be welcome at Ealing for the foreseeable future!