Course Update

April has brought us some mixed weather so far with heavy rain to start and now dry periods with cold starts.

The greens are not yet growing at a consistent rate and therefore not recovering from the winter months as quickly as hoped.

 The greens have shown an improvement but these bobbly patches will remain until the weather really kicks in and the disease scars recover and the pitch marks start to be repaired. See pictures 1 and 2.

The greens have been verti cut and tined this week and been sprayed with seaweed and wetting agent which will all help the greens become healthier for the future weeks ahead.

Top dressing has been ordered and will be spread next week and brushed in with our new brush which the company has purchased after a successful demonstration and trial period.

The rest of the course is growing well and I feel the course is looking well despite having some technical issues.

 There are however some little areas which are letting the course down which we will address as soon as possible.

The white lines are back so please observe these it will benefit you all in the long run. It is disappointing to see members not paying attention and not looking after their course. See picture 3.

The bin on the 11th will be repaired after it was vandalised one Sunday.

 On the same day somebody took divots out of the new tee on the 1st. I know it is a minority causing the problem however it is still frustrating for us all.

Work is underway on the practice ground to install a 3 bay practice range and a new net is on order for the practice nets. There is a plan in place to make the most of our practice facilities.

The 16th hole is a very sore subject for most including myself as the foreman is constantly breaking deadlines and making false promises.

The developer has been on holiday and Ian has contacted him wanting results and fast.

I hope he is true to his word and we can start enjoying the 16th again.

Hopefully you're happy with the progress made and like me looking forward to playing on good greens in the sun.

James

Course Update

All the greens have now been hollow cored, tined, Top dressed and brushed.

This maintenance took 4 days and I must thank all the staff for their efforts and the majority of the members for their patience and understanding.

All the greens have since been "ironed" and are running as true as expected.

We have changed the top dressing from a 80/20 sand soil mix to straight dm35 sand which will improve drainage and the firmness of the greens.

 A micro granule fertiliser will be applied next week to help aid recovery and give us a kick start for the new season.

The cores have been placed in areas where we can use them and are all ground under repair.

 The new irrigation pipe work has been installed on the 10th and 15th tees and has been tested.

This design of irrigation is a project we will continue to install over a number of winters due to the time and cost of the job.

Work on the tees will commence shortly and now that the grass is starting to grow we will be able to present the golf course at a higher standard.

GOOD LUCK TO THE CAPTAINS FOR THEIR COMING YEAR

James and the Greenstaff

Course Update

We have started to Hollow Core the Greens this Morning as Planned we aim to finish this by the end of next week this will be the main focus of our work for the coming weeks we will be using 40 tons of Sand on them we are trialing a new Machine called sweep and fill this should enable us to get the sand in Quicker and more consistently

please bear with us while we are working on the Greens it will benefit you in the long run 

James

Course Update

The main focus over the past weeks has been the greens with them continuing to be aerated every week to try and reduce the thatch levels and get rid of the black layer.

 This has also helped us to stay mostly on main greens with increased drainage capability. Greens will only be placed onto temporary greens if there is any potential damage to the green or surrounding areas.

The car park area has been tidied when weather has stopped us from working on the course and area around the practice nets has been cleared.

We will continue to spread washed sand in the wet areas which hopefully will make these problem spots more hard wearing over time.

This week we are spiking and coring the tees and aprons in preparation for the season. This will be followed by a light dressing with a mixture of chemicals already being sprayed.

We have also made a prototype bin which has been put on the 2nd tee and with some slight adjustments in design more will be made when time permits.

Thanks

James

We are in the process of completing the paths

The End of the Year

The Greens are being spiked every week at the moment at different depths to avoid Panning.

The Greens are Draining better and the Thatch and the Black Layer are being reduced as airflow increases.

The Greens are rolled afterwards to void surface disturbance.

To allow us to complete the work as effectively as possible we will have the Green being worked on put on to a Temp Green until the work is complete.

We are currently spaying a mixture of chemicals to deal with the Fusarium; hopefully we can stay snow free which would help.

You may have noticed that we are lifting the branches of the trees to allow us to cut underneath and to improve playability and some nuisance trees have and will be removed.

SO FROM ALL THE GREEN STAFF HAVE A GREAT CHRISTMAS AND A FANTASTIC 2015

Update

Sorry it has been a while we have had some problems logging in but Adam seems to have got it sorted we hope!!!!

Anyway lots have happened since last time

 The greens as you are well aware are recovering from the work that was done in October and we were very disappointed not to get them all filled but after the warmest September we had the Wettest October Mother Nature Hey!!

This however keep the greens open during this very wet period we are constantly monitoring the greens for disease as this warm wet weather is perfect conditions for fusarium.

We are very disappointed to see the amount of Pitch Marks and Divots on the greens lately can we sort this out please.

If we ALL look after the course you will reap the benefits next season.

We have have started the paths on several holes which will be completed as soon as conditions allow.

LEAVES we try our hardest to put leaves in areas we have put cages on the course to house the leaves these are Immovable obstructions and should be treated accordingly but this is a war of attrition and we will endeavor to keep on top of this.

7th we have undertaken a program to reduce and help the trees here this on going and should help with a variety of issues.

16TH Hole 

Contractors will grade the mound in between the 6th Tee and the 16th Fairway before finishing with top soil and seed.

the Ridge in the fairway will be topped up with Topsoil to create a more gradual slope this will help with play ability and maintenance this will be finished with Turf.

 We appreciate your help and understanding and I am sure that once finished will add to the hole not detract from it.  

The Spiker that many of you will have seen around has been purchased and will add to the continual improvement of the greens working along side the Greens Iron and Verti Cutters already Purchased early on this year.

We have also brought a Bunker Master which again lots of you have seen and also commented on this with the addition of Sand to some bunkers had a marked effect before the wet weather set in.

Once again Thanks for your Support and your understanding in what are trying conditions for Greenkeepers

Cheers

James(Weasel)