Mark Hunt weather corner; 112

The recent run of wet weather this autumn has dramatically highlighted the requirement to ‘future proof’ a facility from the impact of incessant wet weather.  Last time, I highlighted the issue we sometimes face with slow-moving, low pressure systems dumping high amounts of rainfall accompanied by high rain rates.

Of course, wet weather in the autumn/winter is nothing new, nor is it a recent development only associated with climate change. We typically have this type of unsettled weather in the autumn/winter as a succession of Atlantic storm systems push in across the U.K & Ireland.

So what should we consider when we look at future-proofing our facility?

Obviously, playability has to be right up there, and not just when we consider greens on a golf course for example. Bunkers, approaches, fairways and cut rough all come into the equation.

The problem here is money and resources, of course, because if you aren’t on the right type of soil, remedial action will involve significant expenditure on machinery, aeration, resource and drainage. There is plenty that can be done and achieved by aeration, and this is one of reasons we do it. A joining of the dots between moving water through surface organic matter, down through a rootzone and into a (hopefully) efficient drainage system.

Aeration and drainage is, after all, designed to improve playability.

When you look at the statistics for this autumn, you can see why we need to focus on this aspect.

I looked at the rainfall, E.T (Evapotranspiration) and number of consecutive wet days from a Bristol location and charted them i8n the table below. Remember that E.T measures the loss of water from the grass plant and soil, so is effectively a measure of drying down vs. rainfall. (December data up to 11-12-23).

Aside from playability, maintenance comes pretty high up the list of future-proofing, because if you can’t get out on the course to maintain it due to inclement ground conditions, you are pushing a very heavy rock up a very steep hill.

The statistics above give a flavour of how tipped the balance is against drying down a facility during periods of prolonged and repeated rainfall, but don’t take into account the number of actual dry days a groundsman or greenkeeper has to achieve it.

Above, I charted out the consecutive days of rainfall this autumn/winter from the same location up until the 11th of December, highlighting the dry days as a ‘0’. It clearly shows how few opportunities there have been to ‘maintain between the rain’ and how some of the consecutive wet periods have stretched to 12 days at a time.

Just getting out to spray surfaces from a disease prevention perspective on the run up to Christmas, or applying a dew control to save time and minimise plant leaf wetness, is a challenge when you experience a run of weather like this. The creation of all-weather pathways, aerating and sanding access areas to and from a green to make then more ‘weatherproof’ are all key to improving the resilience of your facility.

Visit: www.weatherstations.co.uk
Send your questions for Mark to: editor@pitchcare.com