14th October 2019
What a lovely start to the autumn we’re having! I suppose all my prayers for rainfall have now been answered! Hopefully the wet weather will ease up and we can enjoy some good golfing conditions for the rest of October and early November.
Apart from a few of the usual areas forming puddles, the greens have held up remarkably well to the weather. The greens with the rope drainage have performed brilliantly and are firmer under foot than the others. We have carried out our checks in the inspection chambers and I am pleased to say the water is flowing through the drains exactly how we had hoped.
The club have recently purchased a pedestrian verti-drain. This machine will enable us to aerate our greens throughout the year and especially in the winter months. This is something that we have not previously been able to do. It is certain that with frequent use the greens and indeed other playing surfaces will greatly benefit from the purchase. I would like to thank all involved that made this possible.
I think it’s fair to say that the greens have been superb all year. We were a little unfortunate to be on the receiving end of a disease outbreak a few weeks ago. This is under control and we have applied an autumn granular turf hardener. This will boost the health of the greens and also grow out some of the scars. I apologise for the temporary appearance of the greens and also the sludge that may collect on your ball. The worst of this is now gone. If the weather plays ball we will be cutting the greens on Sunday. They will be back to looking clean, tidy and healthy.
For those of you that have braved the elements, you may have noticed that the worms have been casting!! Unfortunately our usual preventive procedures are no more. This is due to chemicals being removed from the market. We are currently experimenting with some new products; however they are certainly nowhere near as effective!
Now that the damp days are upon us, I would ask you all to be extra careful when out and about on the course. Slopes and banks will almost certainly be slippery so please take care. We will soon be marking out the trolley and buggy lines. Please be sensible and avoid areas that may be prone to wear. I’m sure all of you would agree that it not acceptable to drive buggies or pull trolleys close to greens or the collars! Rope has been put out to help guide you away from such areas. When using buggies please stick to the tracks provided. The top section of the 8th is particularly wet. Buggies should remain on the path and players should walk to the fairway to play the shot!
Night time temperatures are still relatively mild so seed will still germinate. Please help us to keep the fairways in such wonderful condition by using the divot bags provided. I hope you like the new divot racks that we have built. We will be building more throughout the winter months.
I would like to thank you all for your high praise of the course. The Green keeping department works extremely hard to provide the best quality playing surfaces and your praise is very much appreciated.
Kind Regards
Chris Ball
Golf Course Manager