Distance Education Course -Learn to Repair and Renovate Turf
Comment from Student: "In my role within a large Aged Care Facility a great deal of my employment is spent in the area of Turf management and garden care/refurbishment. With ACS I was able to study at my own pace allowing me to put into practise and thoroughly research the subject matter broadening my knowledge and study experience further. I enjoyed the way in which the subject matter was presented as it allowed you to study each subject further, allowing for greater depth, clarity and knowledge.
Overall there are not many areas in which the course subject matter will not turn out to be invaluable, everything is covered to allow you to become successful within your own business or place of employment. A big thank you to Gavin Cole [tutor] and all at ACS. It was a pleasure to study with ACS, look forward to further study." Craig Ledbury, Australia - Turf Renovation & Repair course.
Learn to diagnose and treat problems efficiently on:
- Golf and Bowling Greens, Playing Fields, Parks
- Home lawns, Public Parks, Commercial sites
A course specifically designed for people working with turf:
- golf course managers, superintendents, formen
- specialized gardeners and garden technicians,
- turf nurseries' personnel,
- gardeners and greenkeepers (amateur or professional) who need to maintain sportsgrounds, amenity lawns, playing fields of any kind, etc.
Advance your job prospects in the turf industry, extend your skills and lay the foundation to be a top level turf expert.
Lesson Structure
There are 10 lessons in this course:
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Understanding Turf Deterioration
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Inspecting Deteriorated Turf
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Using Checklists
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Report Forms
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The Effect of Traffic on Turf; wear and tear, soil compaction, environment, varieties, traffic control
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Turf Quality
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Factors affecting visual quality
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Factors affecting functional quality
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Repair and Renovation Equipment
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Scope of Equipment
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Machines that Penetrate the soil
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Aerators; hollow tine, solid tine, drills, scoop tines
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Air injectors
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Slicing machines
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Thatch Removal Scarifiers
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Rakes
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Sod Cutters
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Planters
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Sprayers
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Tool Maintenance
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Tractors; clutch, transmission, PTO, differential, etc
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Tractor Safety
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Calibrating Sprayers
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Turf Cultivation Techniques
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What is Cultivation
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Soil Damage
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Thatch Build Up
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Salt or Toxin Accumalation
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Impermeable Surfaces
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Drainage and Aeration Management
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Tree Roots competing with Turf
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Coring
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Spiking
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Drilling
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Grooving
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Using Forks, Hoes, Rotaty Hoes
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Health Improvement Techniques
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Minimising Problems
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Understanding what can go Wrong in Turf
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Assessing Problems
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Conducting an Inspection
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Tell Tale Symptoms
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Problems that are Difficult to Diagnose
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Common Turf Pests and Dealing with them
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Common Turf Diseases and Dealing with the,
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Irrigation and Soils
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Operation of Watering Systems
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Sprinkler Spacing
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Designing for Best Sprinler Performance
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Feeding Turf
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Optimising Turf Usage
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Turf Use, type of use, quantity of use
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Turf Friendly Footwear
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Machinery Damage
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Minimising Damage
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Preparing fror Use
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Rolling
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Replacing Damaged Turf
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Problems and Solutions
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Turf Repair
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Sportsgrounds
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Turf Wickets
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Planting Turf; topdressing, sprigging, sodding, pluggingstolonising, chitted seed
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Ploughs, Cultivators, Scarifiers
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Seeding
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Renovation of Degraded Turf
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Introduction
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Golf Course Renovation, todressing, changing pins and tees, feeding, soil amelliorants, greens and tees
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Weed Control
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Insect and Disease Control
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Dealing with Snow Problems
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Eradicating Turf Weeds
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Where and Why Weeds are a Problem in Turf
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Weeds in Seed Beds
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Weeds in New or Established Turf
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Where do Weeds Come From
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General Weed Control
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Ways to Control Weeds; suffocation, burning, cultivation, chaning pH, biological control, chemicals, etc
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Weed Dispersal Mechanisms
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Review of Common Turf Weeds
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Treating Aeration and Drainage Problems
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Soil compaction, what it is, solutions, etc.
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Drainage
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Improving surface drainage
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Improving Water Infiltration
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Sub Surface Drains; layout, outlets, gradients, depth of drain, laing the drain, etc
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Soil Degradation; erosion, Loss of soil fertility, Salinity, Soil acidification, Build up of dangerous chemicals.
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Managing a Turf Nursery.
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Types of Turf Nursery
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Growing a Sod Crop
Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the school, marked by the school's tutors and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading.
What You Will Do
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Compare the characteristics of different turfs with reference to hardiness, pest &
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disease resistance, tolerance to play, suitability for different applications, etc
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Explain different turf problems (including; soil problems, pest & disease weed, environmental, etc)
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Explain the effect of various adverse situations on the physiology of turf plants.
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Carry out turf consultancy, conducting site inspections and giving appropriate recommendations.
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Develop solutions for the repair of damaged turf.
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Identify the cause of deteriorating condition in a selected turf
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Explain different repair techniques for control of problems identified.
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Compare different solutions for the problem identified.
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Develop turf renovation programs for different types of turf facilities
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Compare renovation programs for different turf facilities
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Identify when renovation becomes economically prudent for different facilities
Why is Turf Renovation Needed
Turf is made up of living things; and like anything that is living, tutf plants can get damaged, get sick, age, and die.
- Damaged and sick turf plants need to be returned to good health, or they will eventually die.
- Dead turf plants need to be replaced with living ones, or parts of the turf surface will become bare and subject to erosion.
Traffic over the surface of a can take numerous forms -most of which have potential to damage the turf. The most obvious examples might be vehicular and human movement.
Examples of traffic include:
Golf course
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Golf carts and buggy wheels which compact soils
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Human shoes, often with sprigs that rip and tear turf
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Golf clubs and balls which cause divots and ball marks or plugs
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Animal grazing which tends to be more of a rural problem.
Parkland
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Human use including walking, lying down
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Erecting temporary structures such as a marquee, tent
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Ball games of all varieties
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Irresponsible vehicle use
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Animal use.
The amount of damage caused by traffic is relative to the amount and type of traffic, but other factors such as environment and turf species are also important factors. The resultant damage that does occur is called turf grass wear.
TURF GRASS WEAR
This refers to damage that takes place when some or all of the above activities take place upon turf. Turf can be slightly discoloured, thinned out or totally killed depending on the type and intensity of traffic, and what type of maintenance and repair procedures are adopted. Firstly, it is important to understand exactly why, where and when turf grass wear is happening and this in turn will enable you to plan control measures accordingly. Remember, turf is there to be used and so turf grass wear will always be a major component of any turf management program.
SOIL COMPACTION
This is the result of constant traffic or in some cases very heavy traffic. Trail development from shortcuts, such as what is known to park planners and landscapers as ‘lazy paths’, occur. Apart from the crushing of the turf grass itself, this type of wear may also result in the soil particles becoming more densely packed together. This encourages the clay particles to bind together which in turn can cause the soil to become less porous and hence restrict water movement and aeration.
Learn about other things that can damage turf and how to control damage, as well as how to repair and renovate
Enrol Now
FREQUENT QUESTIONS
Why Choose This Course
- Unique course materials (developed by our staff) and more current than some colleges (many reviewed annually); as a result, ACS graduates can be more up to date.
- We work hard to help you understand and remember it, develop an ability to apply it in the real world, and build networks with others who work in this field (It’s more than just serving up a collection of information –if all you want is information, buy a book; but if you want an education, that takes learning to a whole new level).
- Start whenever you want, study at your own pace, study anywhere
- Don’t waste time and money traveling classes
- We provide more choices–courses are written to allow you more options to focus on parts of the subject that are of more interest to you; a huge range of elective subjects are offered that don’t exist elsewhere.
- Tutors are accessible (more than elsewhere) – academics work in both the UK and Australia, 5 days a week, 16 hours a day. Answering emails and phone calls from students are top priority.
- We treat students as individuals –don’t get lost in a crowd. Our tutors communicate with you one to one.
- Extra help at no extra cost if needed. When you find something you cannot do, we help you through it or will provide another option.
- Support after you finish a course –We can advise about getting work, starting business, writing a CV, etc. We can promote students and their businesses through our extensive profile on the internet. Graduates who ask will be helped.
- Support from a team of a dozen professional horticulturists, living in different parts of the UK, and in both temperate and tropical climate zones of Australia.
About ACS
ACS was started in 1979 by John Mason, who at the time was a gardening author, horticultural consultant and lecturer in horticulture at several colleges across Melbourne (in Australia). Over the summer that year John discovered that there were thousands of applicants going to be turned away from horticulture courses at Burnley Horticultural College (now Melbourne University). There were simply too few courses being offered for the number of people wanting to study horticulture in Australia. This situation prompted a move to establish a correspondence course at Burnley; but after months of unsuccessful lobbying for support from government; John wrote a course, and with help from a colleague at Council of Adult Education, marketed it.
Standards were originally set in line with what were seen to be the standards of Australia's top horticultural college; and over the years, those standards have never been reduced. This makes our courses longer and more demanding than some other colleges; but it has also led to us building a credibility that stands tall in the horticulture industry across the world.
In the early 1990's John started visiting the UK and becoming involved with the horticulture industry there. Around the mid 1990's ACS began offering RHS courses, and in 2003, John was formally recognised for his contribution to British Horticulture by being made a fellow of the Institute of Horticulture. ACS, as a school, established an office and staff in the UK in 2001, and has expanded considerably since then. Today it is formally affiliated with five other colleges in the UK (including Warwickshire College); all of who license and deliver ACS courses.
A team of leading horticulturists work for the school's horticulture department, including 12 faculty members in both the UK and Australia
How You Study
- As soon as you enroll, we send an email to explain it all.
- We direct you to a short orientation video (downloadable over the internet) to watch, where our principal introduces you to how the course works, and how you can access all sorts of support services
- You are either given a code to access your course online, or sent out a CD or course materials through the mail (or by courier).
- Work through lessons one by one, each lesson typically having four parts:
- An aim -which tells you what you should be achieving in the lesson
- Reading -notes written and regularly revised by our academic staff
- Set Task(s) -These are practicals, research or other experiential learning tasks that strengthen and add to what you have been reading
- Assignment -By answering questions, submitting them to a tutor, then getting feedback from the tutor, you confirm that you are on the right track, but more than that, you are guided to consider what you have been studying in different ways, broadening your perspective and reinforcing what you are learning about
- Other - Your work in a course rarely stops at just the above four parts. Different courses and different students will need further learning experiences. Your set task or assignment may lead to other things, interacting with tutors or people in industry, reviewing additional reference materials or something else. We treat every student as an individual and supplement their learning needs as the occasion requires.
- We provide access to and encourage you to use a range of supplementary services including an online student room, including online library; student bookshop, newsletters, social media etc.
- We provide a "student manual", that is a quick solution to most problems that might occur
Recognition
- ACS has a highly respected international profile: by employers and academics alike. People are more aware of us than many other distance education schools –just do a search for “horticulture distance education courses” and see what comes up on the internet; or search for ACS Distance education on Facebook or Linked in, and see how many connections we have compared to other colleges.
- Recognised by International Accreditation and Recognition Council
- ACS has been educating people around the world since 1979
- Over 100,000 have now studied ACS courses, across more than 150 countries
- Formal affiliations with colleges in five countries
- A faculty of over 40 internationally renowned academics –books written by our staff used by universities and colleges around the world.
Extra Books or Reference Materials
- The course provides you with everything that you need to complete it successfully.
- Assignments may ask you to look for extra information (eg. by contacting nurseries, visiting gardens or searching the internet), but our school's resources and tutors are always available as a back up. If you hit a "roadblock", we can quickly send you additional information or provide expert advice over the phone or email; to keep you moving in your studies.
- Some students choose to buy additional references, to take their learning beyond what is essential for the course. If a student wants to buy books, we operate an online bookshop offering ebooks written by staff at the school. Student discounts are available if you are studying with us. The range of e books available is being expanded rapidly, with at least one new ebook being written and published by our staff every month. See www.acsebook.com
