Course Update
Lets start with the good news from Golf Monthly. In the last top
100 golf courses from GB & I published in 2016 we were rated at 96 which is
excellent seeing as there are some amazing golf courses around. The latest
rankings were released yesterday and we have climbed 2 places to 94, which is a
great achievement across the golf club. Please look at the rankings in link
below.
The weather has not
been nice to us this month and has given us over 6 inches of rain, which is
frustrating but I feel the course has held its own and soaked a lot of it up.
During this time of year we work hard on drainage outlet clearance, from
cleaning ditches to making sure all outlets are free and clear. If anyone does
notice areas that are unusually wet, please let me or Ed know as it could be a
blocked drain that will need looking into.
You will notice that there are slit marks in the greens recently
which will help with the drainage, root depth and decreasing the organic layer
(thatch). We will slit up until early February as often as possible with very
little disruption to your golf or the green.
The greens, tees and approaches are in very good condition at the
moment and we are still getting growth which is very rare at this time of year
and the bent grass is really starting to show in the greens. I am not sure how
many can remember back 4/5 years ago when at this time of year when we had pure
poa greens, they were very yellow. They looked good through the summer but
would tail off quickly in terms of health and colour through the autumn, we
were not playing on surfaces like at present in late November.
The drainage we have done on 10th green is already a success and its only been 6 weeks since completion. Both outlets, front and back, have a lot of water flowing out of them and it will only mature and work better over the coming years, both in terms of drainage and also in getting bent grass to thrive in a drier environment. It is a very similar story for the back of the 3rd green where the drainage is working well, improving this area but also stopping water getting on to it from the railway line.
A notice to all golfers from Monday where
tree work takes place from a private contractor. He will begin on the right hand
side of 1st green, where the 3 oak trees will be removed to allow light on
the green as it sits in shade for a big part of the day, especially in the
winter when the sun is low. The photos below, taken in late September are mid
morning (11.15am) shots and show just how much the trees shade the surface for
most of the day for most of the year.
SAFETY WARNING - The contractor is happy
to leave to green in play but will not stop the chainsaw or chipper whilst you
are putting so please play on through the noise! Any ball that may head a
little off course and end up near where they are working, please use the word
fore and then please get one of the workers attention before entering their
working space. Many thanks for your cooperation with outside contractors. Once
finished on the 1st, the contractors will then move on to deal with the tree
next to the 4th tee and then 2 poorly beech ones next to the 3rd
tee.
Drainage work on the 2nd started well
until the weather hit and we then had to stop them due their machines marking
and wheel spinning. They are 90% through and need two days to finish the works,
we can then get on to the fairway and turf the main drain lines. We are hoping
the weekend forecast does not bring the rain it says and then they can get back
on Monday to finish.
One last note regarding the 10th green. We
are very happy with ongoing recovery process of the drainage lines. So much so
that we have decided to re open the green this weekend. Please be aware that
the occasional bump or two might happen when putting across the newly turfed
lines but it should be better than putting on the temporary green. We plan to
stay on the main green for the next week and then we shall re-evaluate whether
the recovery of the turfed areas is ok. If we feel the green is strong enough
and the drain lines are showing little stress, the likelihood is that we shall
continue using the main green.
A note from all green staff. Please
remember to remember to replace your divots and repair your pitch marks.
Kind regards
Paul
