The below article follows on from last week's feature, On A Mission.
I’ve known Harry Jones, the Course Manager at the Wrekin Golf Course, since he came into the role as one of Chris Roberts’ protégés. Chris is the Course Manager at Sutton Park Golf Course and he’s doing wonderful things there, but that’s another article.
Harry was one of the hardest working young greenkeepers that I’ve ever come across – and turned the greens around from being wet, disease-ridden sponges for eight months of the year to firm, healthy playable surfaces throughout the year in a few short years. No mean achievement, not least of all for someone so young and inexperienced. Self-effacing and always happy whatever the weather, Harry would listen intently and make comments which demonstrated his keen ambition to do the best for the course.
Harry had mentioned to me that he was clearing out the bottom of a spinney to bring in more light and encourage the wildflowers. I should explain that I’m an ecologist – no it’s okay, some of us are actually quite civilised when you get to know us. I joke about it, but for many land managers ecologists are trouble, and the worst thing you can learn is that you have newts or bats and all of a sudden all of your plans are subject to scrutiny and regulation. Whilst I acknowledge that legally protected species can cause managers difficulty, it’s not an area that remotely interests me - too much conflict and late nights. I tend to think that we would be better served thinking about habitats rather than species: more “build it and they will come”, Kevin Costner in ‘Field of Dreams’ or was that God to Noah?
I am someone who occupies the middle ground, and I enjoy working with managers who recognise that their life is easier when they work with nature and not against it. So when Harry announced that he was clearing out a spinney, there was the familiar sound of air being sucked through teeth. The kind of sound that builders and mechanics make to convey the phrase “that could cost you…”.
Mysteriously I’ve somehow become older than most of the people I meet, and the world has become full of the most amazing shades of grey that my youth deprived me of. Life is less black and white, and more marvellously complex than I dared anticipate, but that means that when someone asks for advice, it comes with a lot of caveats. Ecology tries to help us predict how complex systems work through improving our understanding of them. So when Harry asked what my thoughts were I had a look around at what was there to benefit from the work he’d done: Grime’s C-S-R triangle (sounds like an American cop show) is a model we can use to help us predict what might happen if we take a particular action.
Woodlands are the culmination of a set of processes which create a relatively balanced and stable situation. I could see that several decades of removing clippings from the adjacent tee and scattering them in the spinney had favoured Nettles, the C component in the C-S-R model, C for Competitor because they thrive on nutrients – they grab the nutrients and climb above the surrounding grasses and herbs and even employ the trick of pulling nutrients out of lower leaves to ensure they overtop surrounding plants, just one of many thousands of strategies that plants use to ensure they are adapted to their environment. So in this instance I was able to give Harry advance notice that the disturbance would favour that species, rather than the Bluebells he was seeking to promote, and advise him to adopt a zero tolerance approach in this scenario. Harry mentioned that he was contemplating allowing some areas of the course to become a little more natural and asked if I would take a look and let him know what I thought.
On the 8th April I had a look over five areas of the course, each approximately 500 m2 of carries, bends on fairways and some green surrounds that Harry had identified, from watching golfers, would have a minimal impact upon play but the benefit of not mowing these areas, of cutting them and scarifying them later in the year, would hopefully enable some wildflowers to grow. But would the wildflowers need to be sown? And if so, what seed mixture would work? How often would it need to be scarified and when?
Early April isn’t a great time to assess grassland with any precision but that’s because I’m busy elsewhere during the growing season. I would prefer to have recorded quadrats (which are defined areas, typically 2 x 2 m2 in grassland) which provide numerical data which can be analysed, but again time was of the essence so I opted to provide a broad brush survey recording the relative populations of the species in these areas. Using a scale known as DAFOR, all the plants that were present were ascribed a relative abundance: Dominant, Abundant, Frequent, Occasional and Rare (details below).
This provided the basis for a brief report which stated:
“Several notable species of diverse grassland were recorded: Succisa pratensis, Devil's-bit Scabious is an axiophyte of fens and grasslands that has been declining within the county. It is an indicator of unimproved grassland, ranging from strongly calcareous to mildly acidic, and mainly occurs within the MG5c Cynosurus cristatus-Centaurea nigra grassland, Danthonia decumbens sub-community. A tall herb which flowers late in the year with attractive deep blue capitula that are a nectar source for the following butterflies: Brimstone, Brown Hairstreak, Gatekeeper, Large Skipper, Large White, Meadow Brown, Peacock, Small Heath, Small Skipper and the Small Tortoiseshell.
“Stachys officinalis, Betony is an attractive herb forming pink heads of flowers on upright stalks that would be quite at home in a cottage garden – there are ornamental versions of this plant. This is a nectar source for Brimstone, Green-veined White, Marsh Fritillary, Peacock, Small Skipper, Small Tortoiseshell butterflies.
“Conopodium majus, Pignut is an umbellifer with fine, pinnate leaves and an umbel of white flowers found in ancient woodlands and old pasture, usually on slightly acid soils. The plant springs from a small roundish underground tuber which is edible, tasting hot and dry, but which is diuretic. It was popular in previous centuries, and is still sought after by pigs, which feverishly sniff them out and dig them up with their snouts to eat.
“Nardus stricta, Mat-grass and Potentilla erecta, Tormentil are indicators of acid grassland. Mat-grass is frequent in the upland grassland and heath, it is a densely tufted, shortly rhizomatous perennial found on winter-wet, base-poor, infertile and peaty soils that has noticeably declined in the lowlands.
“Festuca ovina, Sheep’s Fescue and Anthoxanthum odoratum, Sweet-vernal Grass are both fine grasses of unimproved grassland and meadows that have declined significantly over the last century.
“The survey undertaken did not follow the NVC methodology but used relative abundance and therefore can’t be used for statistical analysis. However, the plants that were recorded indicate that if a survey following the NVC methodology were undertaken the grassland would likely be interpreted as a MG5c Cynosurus cristatus-Centaurea nigra grassland, Danthonia decumbens sub-community. For comparison I listed the species recorded within this community, which might be considered when contemplating future management and what species are likely to become established. The MG5 Cynosurus cristatus-Centaurea nigra grassland is considered by ecologists to be one of the most diverse communities. To have this as a baseline is a very good starting place and with consistent and favourable management these areas can be a source of merit and enjoyment by the golfers.”
I hear a lot about tree planting and whilst I am certain that we will need to use all the tools we can muster to mitigate the carbon dioxide that is now in our atmosphere, one of the best things, to help combat the ecological emergency, that course managers can consider is managing appropriate areas of their course to increase diversity. Nature has been planting trees, and species that will thrive, without our help for quite some time. Hopefully in time golfers and course managers aesthetics will embrace the development of wilder areas on courses.
The report then went on to offer specific advice regarding the practical management of these areas:
“Although Yorkshire Fog can be frequent (typically up to 25% cover) it can also represent a move towards an undermanaged sward dominated by Tall Oat-grass, Arrhenatherum elatius, the MG1 community (see accompanying technical information note TIN147). Regular mowing has favoured the dominance of the grass species. Managing away from Yorkshire Fog and towards Red Fescue is done through scarifying.
“It is hoped that relaxing mowing will enable the herbs to become more dominant but it must be expected and effectively communicated that this won’t happen this season. Ideally a sward would be dominated by Red Fescue and short herbs as this provides the best lie for a ball, constituting a penalty but critically easy to find the ball and relatively easy to play out of. Unfortunately many golf courses manage for Fescue and fail to obtain much diversity which can be of interest to the members and a benefit for wildlife.
“This summer the grasses are set to continue their dominance but as the height of the sward increases the sward will become thinner in the base and after the cut later in the year create locations for available species to seed into. Scarifying in the autumn and in the spring, when temperatures and available moisture favour sward recovery, should help limit the dominance of Yorkshire Fog. The use of the phrase autumn and spring are loosely applied here as better growing conditions, suitable for sward recovery following management operations, have been available right up until Christmas in recent years than the cold, dry springs we are currently experiencing. Be responsive to the weather rather than led by the calendar.
“Monitoring during the growing season would provide an opportunity to obtain abundance data that could be used for statistical analysis i.e. percentage data collected through quadrats. It will also give a more informed baseline for decisions, such as frequency of scarifying but this would inevitably come with an associated cost.
“It is important to help members visualise the potential outcomes from this project, to promote the benefits both aesthetically and for wildlife, although this needs to be done advisedly to ensure that they don’t feel that relaxing the management has led to unsightly areas that are problematic for play.”
This is an exciting new area of management, managing for amenity and conservation, it echoes where the inspiration for the game arose – people having fun playing in wild areas. Managers who can work with ecologists and improve their understanding of the different habitats they are trying to manage will get the best out of their location for golfers and for wildlife. An increasingly informed public are looking at golf courses with expectations around water, nutrient, pesticide and ecological management. If you don’t ask advice from an ecologist, I’d recommend you get to know one, we’re really quite friendly when you get to know us.
