Mytton Fold Golf Club

Course Management Terminology and Science

All course-care procedures must be carried out at specific times of year, often dictated by weather conditions. Many autumn operations, for example, must be completed well before the risk of frost. Please understand that none of these practices are done to inconvenience golfers. Our sole aim is to maintain a healthy, high-quality golf course that remains playable throughout the year.
Thank you, Patrick and the team.

Verti-Draining

Verti-draining is similar in principle to using a pitchfork, but on a much larger and more precise scale. Hollow or solid tines punch deep holes into the soil profile. As each tine enters and exits the ground, it creates a slight heave that fractures the subsoil. These fractures improve both air and water movement throughout the root zone. The resulting channels are then occupied by new root growth, strengthening the grass sward and allowing plants to reach deeper nutrients and minerals.

Top Dressing the Greens

Top dressing helps dilute thatch build-up at the turf surface and improves overall smoothness. A more even surface translates into more consistent ball roll and better year-round playing quality.

Brushing the Greens

Brushing incorporates the sand dressing into the holes created during verti-draining. This enhances surface evenness and promotes a tighter, smoother turf finish.

Leatherjackets & Worm Treatments

In September, leatherjackets and chafer grubs become active, feeding on grass roots. These pests are the larvae of crane flies and chafer beetles. At the same time, wetter autumn soil conditions encourage worms to move closer to the surface, creating worm casts that disrupt play. These issues are managed by applying targeted treatments to the greens. Please look for signage around the golf shop to stay informed about when these applications are taking place.

Fusarium Treatment

Fusarium patch (often called “Fuzz”) is a fungal disease that thrives in autumn. Warm, moist conditions—especially heavy morning dew combined with residual summer heat in the soil—allow it to spread rapidly. Treatments for leatherjackets, chafer grubs, and worms can sometimes reduce beneficial soil biology, making turf more susceptible to diseases like Fusarium, so additional care and management are required during this period.

Dollar Spot

Dollar spot appears as small, pale, bleached patches on close-mown turf—roughly the size of a coin. Affected leaves show pale lesions bordered at each end by a reddish-brown band separating healthy and infected tissue. Over time, individual spots may merge to form larger affected areas. On dewy mornings, white mycelium may be visible on the infected turf, disappearing as the leaf surface dries.

Top Dressing Materials

We apply a 100% sand top dressing to maintain the sand-based greens. Sand improves water infiltration and air movement by utilising the pore spaces between particles. It also helps maintain a level, true-rolling surface. Bent and fescue seed is overseeded into the greens—typically in autumn before frost risk—to promote a healthy, resilient turf composition.

Fertilising the Greens

Over the past 24 months we have been working closely with Origin to implement a structured 12-month nutrient plan for the greens. Please keep an eye on signage around the golf shop for updates on when fertiliser applications are taking place.