[Stuart Hallett]

Just back from an excellent study tour, organised by the AGREF, french geenkeepers association. We had a guided technical visit of St-Andrews Old, New, Jubilee, Castle, Carnoustie & Kingsbarns.

Fascinating to see behind the scenes & discover against popular belief, some agronomical challenges, especially on the new built courses. TOC was, as always, close to perfection in terms of presentation, although I was surprised to see the new tee on 17 under construction (being built on the driving range  !! Any thoughts )

On Thursday, some of us had a knock around the Burnside course at Carnoustie. The first 3 holes are a little disappointing, but then the course winds through the championship course with some fantastic holes, typical bunkering and a couple of holes worthy of the championship course, notably the 14th & 17th. Great value for money at 35 pounds.

Anyway, what really struck me, was the obvious competition between The Castle & Kingsbarns. IMO, both courses have exagerated rugged landscapes, more suited to other parts of the UK. The Fife coastline seems to be generally more subtle in comparison. I admire the boldness & conviction of both designs, Kingbarns already looks a truly great golf course. I feel the Castle needs more time & a few minor changes that are already underway.

Given the agricultural nature of both sites, I just wonder if fescue will dominate, thus maintaining an important links characteristic. Poa & ryegrass is present & very invasive, something that sort of betrays the authenticity. The guys in charge of greenkeeping seem very competent & know better than anyone the challenge ahead.
Older, more natural sites have soil profiles that favour the management of fescue. I really hope the newer courses overcome this battle. IMO, the architects have taken risks and deserve the long term success of their works !

Any thoughts ?

[Tom_Doak]

Stuart:

I know that Kingsbarns had both Walter Woods and Dave Wilber on board at the start of the project, recommending how to handle the soils so that the fescue would have a happy home.  There was a lot of good sand in the bottom part of the course, and they conserved it to put a good layer across everything ... much different than the Castle Course, which was not sandy at all to begin with.  But, I haven't been out there for a few years to see how they are holding up. 

[Adam Clayman]

Stuart, I'm curious if you noticed more thatch than what you expected?

[Brett Hochstein]

Kingsbarns has held up quite well with the fescue.  I can say confidently it has a better fescue sward than the St Andrews Links courses, but they have had the advantage of starting from scratch and going all fescue, whereas the SA links just sort of 'came about.'  I said in a recent drainage post that the course played as fast and firm as The New, which is admirable because it had rained the prior 3 days compared to The New being dry for 3 weeks upon time of playing.  I will say though that the greens at Kingsbarns struggle from Poa annua quite a bit.  They are also quite green in color, and I wonder if it is simply related to the amount of attention they receive, if that makes sense. 

[Stuart Hallett]

Tom,

Kingsbarns certainly gives the impression of being sandy across the entire site, as opposed to evidence of heavier/stoney soils at The Castle. A thin layer of sand was spread on The Castle fairways and they are aware that improvements are necessary to build-up a decent rootzone to promote a healthy sward of fescue. As Brett rightly says, the only issue I noticed at Kingsbarns was the poa annua on greens.

Adam,
The greens on all the courses are very firm, despite recent heavy rain. They apparently topdress a lot, particularly at Kingsbarns (17 times this year I think). We seen a little localised thatch, but nothing that would keep you awake at night. Those guys are very careful concerning thatch & fertility rates, all appears to be under control. Interesting to see that hollow coring is very rare, if non-existant to avoid opening up the surface for poa invasion. They all use hydrojet on a regular basis.

Brett,
I agree totally. Poa is much more predominant on the greens at Kingsbarns since my last visit 4 years ago. Can't remember exact cutting heights, but they certainly looked shorter than the other courses. That will surely complicate the poa/fescue battle. Maybe they lowered just for the Dunhill to avoid bumpy surfaces (poa was in flower), I don't know for sure.   

[Brett Hochstein]

Stuart,

I am sure they lowered cuts prior to the Dunhill, but we were forced not to mow greens on both Saturday and Sunday due to the extreme winds on Saturday.  Thus the greens were much slower than desired during the third round played Sunday.  The target height though may be lower than the other two courses. I could see that.

[Tom_Doak]

Stuart:

You don't hollow-core fescue greens.  If you do, you are simply removing plants ... fescue does not spread from stolons or rhizomes, so you would just be taking a percentage of the fescue plants off your green and allowing other grasses (Poa, or bentgrass in a mixture) to replace the fescue there.

Fescue management is very different because of that.  You can only fight thatch buildup by keeping the grass really lean, and by topdressing enough to keep up with thatch production.

[Stuart Hallett]

Tom,

Absolutely ! makes perfect sense to me.

Just thought is was important to underline this point for the benefit of the discussion group.

[Gordon Irvine]

This is my first contribution and would start by saying hi to everyone.

The Links greens that are kept in a monoculture are always going to be weak and vulnerable to invasion from weed grasses.One of the many reasons the Old Course greens are so strong are the very nature of the mixed grass composition.Creeping Red fescue mixed with Chewings fescue and bent grasses is by far the strongest mixture for Scottish Links. The fescue and bent content will change both with location and weather conditions.
The main reason for not hollow coring a fescue dominated sward is simply to reduce the chance of invasion by weed grasses .We fight organic build up by aeration and regular topdressing,limited fertiliser and water. The principle is not to create the ideal growing conditions for fescues and bents. It is more about having these grasses survive under stressed conditions that limit the chance of invasion by weed grasses. The key to the success of this is by encouraging the deepest possible root depth and letting nature win the battle.

[Stuart Hallett]

Thank you Gordon,

You make it sound easy with plain english and common sense, reminds me of lectures given by the late Jim Arthur during my greenkeeping studies.

[Gordon Irvine]

Hi Stuart glad you see you recognise the influence of Jim Arthur . The challege is as always keeping the weed grass to a minimum the trouble is that not many golfers understand that not all grass swards play the same and with the traditional links game the surface is critical to how it plays.The fact that nature can be used to help protect the ideal surfaces is a blessing.

[Marty Bonnar]

Stuart:

You don't hollow-core fescue greens.  If you do, you are simply removing plants ... fescue does not spread from stolons or rhizomes, so you would just be taking a percentage of the fescue plants off your green and allowing other grasses (Poa, or bentgrass in a mixture) to replace the fescue there.

Fescue management is very different because of that.  You can only fight thatch buildup by keeping the grass really lean, and by topdressing enough to keep up with thatch production.

Tom,
yes, they're not hollow-cored at Kingsbarns, but they are punched with lots of sand top-dressing. esp. at this time of year. Like MOST of Scotland's other 'Links' courses, of course...

However, I'm also pretty sure I've seen the 'owl-pellets' - if you get my drift - on many's a Links...

FBD.

[Brian_Ewen]

However, I'm also pretty sure I've seen the 'owl-pellets' - if you get my drift - on many's a Links...

What I was thinking also !

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