Leaves!

[Kennysarmy]

So who plays a course where leaves are prevalent? And of those that do, who's course/club actually makes an attempt to try and keep them off the fairways and clear them from general areas?

Our course/club makes no attempt at all and you can quite often between the start of Autumn and early new year be losing balls on the course (sometimes in the fairway!) because they've rolled under leaves!

I wondered if this was just how it was!

I've played other courses though and have seen the green-staff clearing leaves!

 

[patricks148]

i don't play at a course where leaves are a problem, but on our outing in september two of the clubs we played had tractors with giant blowers on the back that were going along the edge of the fairways blowing the leaves off the fairways. one was a course in Edinburgh the other in Dunfirmline

 

[Deleted member 21258]

Don't know about your area, but its not been helped by the lack of wind over this autumn/winter. Normally in our garden the leaves are blown away in hedges or fields, not this year, all still on the lawn/drive.

 

[Colonel Bogey]

i don't play at a course where leaves are a problem, but on our outing in september two of the clubs we played had tractors with giant blowers on the back that were going along the edge of the fairways blowing the leaves off the fairways. one was a course in Edinburgh the other in Dunfirmline

What's the point in that? Leaves blow where the wind goes and will find their way back. Get the GK to pick them up!!!! Why has no one invented an industrial machine to do this?

 

[patricks148]

Don't know about your area, but its not been helped by the lack of wind over this autumn/winter. Normally in our garden the leaves are blown away in hedges or fields, not this year, all still on the lawn/drive.

wind swirls around in our back garden, but i have a petrol blower. blow them into the orchard and pick them up there.

 

[patricks148]

What's the point in that? Leaves blow where the wind goes and will find their way back. Get the GK to pick them up!!!! Why has no one invented an industrial machine to do this?

take that up with those clubs then if you have abetter solution

 

[casuk]

We have a lot of trees in our club and leaves are an issue, the green staff keep them of the fairways with a blower behind a tractor and petrol blowers for the greens and tee boxes there out almost every day or two doing it and do a good job it's a losing battle tho until all the leaves drop

 

[Lord Tyrion]

What's the point in that? Leaves blow where the wind goes and will find their way back. Get the GK to pick them up!!!! Why has no one invented an industrial machine to do this?

They have! I follow Tynemouth gc on Facebook and they posted a photo at the beginning of Autumn of a greenkeeper driving a machine that was picking up leaves. I don't know how it worked but you could clearly see the line where it had been already. Presumably it comes down to cost and how much of a problem it is.

I've played at courses in the past that had big leaf issues and they did nothing. Very annoying to lose balls when you have hit a shot straight up the middle of the fairway.

 

[need_my_wedge]

We have them in abundance. the club has a blowing machine that is towed by a tractor, and uses it regularly. However, the leaves are generally blown from the fairway into the tree at the side, which means if you hit it off line, you wil invariably have little to no chance of finding it.

 

[jim8flog]

We have a heavy duty blower which blows all the leaves in to a long line in the rough and we have a very big vacuum machine which sucks them up.

What's the point in that? Leaves blow where the wind goes and will find their way back. Get the GK to pick them up!!!! Why has no one invented an industrial machine to do this?

see above.

 

[jim8flog]

If leaves are a serious problem a club has the option of Local Rule F14


Long form of local rule
During play of the specify hole number, any ground with temporary accumulations of (identify types of loose impediments) in the general area or in a bunker is treated as ground under repair from which free relief is allowed under Rule 16.1.

 

[Imurg]

Sometimes I miss DelC....

 

[Deleted member 23344]

We have plenty of leaves, but I understand that the very wet ground means that the machines to deal with them cannot currently be used.

 

[sunshine]

What's the point in that? Leaves blow where the wind goes and will find their way back. Get the GK to pick them up!!!! Why has no one invented an industrial machine to do this?

Yes this has been invented - plenty of clubs have machines to hoover up the leaves. The mowers should do the job too. It's just much quicker and easier to blow them out of the way. Such a waste of time watching greenkeepers clearing the green with leaf blowers, and then 5 minutes later the wind has blown them all back on to the green.

Maybe in a comp, each group should carry a leaf blower, or maybe a cordless vacuum cleaner, to speed up searching for balls in the leaves

 

[FuzzyDuck]

Lots of trees at my course and leave have been an issue for a couple of months. Greenkeepers blow the leaves to the side of the fairways and then collect them on a regular basis.

 

[harpo_72]

Last club vacuumed them up, this club does a bit of both. Having done the job at home it's a bit like ironing a shirt .. all the labour is lost in 5 minutes. I hoover them up, we see the grass and 5 minutes after I have come in they all jump off the tree ..

I use a mixture of toys, I rake into piles then suck and shred them normally, I have not used the compost myself but i am assured it's very good.
This morning I used an electric raker, that was okay but some leaves just don't want to come up, then i mowed the lawn (and I assured my wife that the mower would pick them up - she doubted me, I am expecting an apology !)

 

[hovis]

at the belfry the cheeky buggers actually blow the leaves off the Brabazon on to the derby?. on these holes we play "the leaf rule". if we are certain that the ball should have been in play but we can't find it you drop where you think it ended up.
both players have to be in agreement though

 

[Parsaregood]

One of my clubs is tree lined and are very active throughout the autumn months clearing/collecting leaves keeping the course as tidy and playable as possible. If you play a parkland course its just part and parcel and if yours is a club unable to provide the staff and man hours to green staff then your going to just have to get on with it. I'd imagine you could easily occupy 2 staff for most of autumn with just clearing leaves if it's a tree lined course

 

[upsidedown]

Constant battle this year . We blow then collect, looking at a new collector next season , £30k with attachments

 

[Tashyboy]

Played last week when a nine hole comp was on. I never entered the comp, slow play, mud areas around the greens and frozen greens. Not my cuppa tea. Anyway, one our front nine, there's a few holes that are lined with oak trees that are hundreds of years old. A PP lost his ball 2 yds off the fairway, he was not happy. 150 yds further on another PP lost his on the same hole. Twenty mins later we were walking past the same hole and the green keepers were blowing the leaves off the fairway, 1st and 2nd cuts. PPs were livid. We know it's gotta be done, but why midway through a comp. why not day before or after. It altered the course conditions mid comp.