Course Update

Project Work

This winter we have a number of construction/renovation projects planned across the links with the aim of further improving the quality of the golf course.

The 8^th tee will be levelled, new irrigation added and re-turfed. The existing turf from this tee will be used on the side of the 11^th tees, an area that is subjected to high wear. A temporary tee mat is in position on the 8^th hole and will be in use until March next year. Similar levelling work will take place on the 15^th yellow tee. No tee mat will be needed in this area however as alternative grass tees will be used instead.

Bunker renovations will take place on holes 3 and 8. This will entail rebuilding the revetted wall and topping up sand levels. Larger scale bunker renovation work will take place on the 17^th hole. The two bunkers on the left side will be completely reshaped with the aim of drastically improving both visual and playing characteristics.

A path extension is underway on hole 12. This work, which includes drain installation, is being done to further fine tune traffic management in an area that is subjected to high levels of wear and tear. Some planting of Marram grass has taken place nearby to ensure the new path section remains out of site when viewed from the tee.

We have almost completed our first winter project. Reshaping and contouring of the walkway from the right side of the 10^th tee has been undertaken to widen the access towards the 11^th tees. This area had become rather worn over the last two seasons due to the way the ground contours caused a bottleneck when players were exiting the green complex. A considerable amount of material has been removed from the end of the mound in this area and shaped to ensure consistency with the surrounding land. Green surrounds quality turf has been used to give the best match with the surroundings. Turfing work has been extended up to and beyond the 11^th tees which means the whole area will need to be protected while the turf beds in. All players are being directed to the left of the 10^th green and the 11^th hole is being played from the ladies tee.

Barn Owl Conservation

We recently had a visit from the Barn Owl Conservation Network who installed a new owl box. We currently have a pair of owls in our existing box and we hope the new accommodation will attract more of these beautiful birds.

Maintenance Week Update

I am happy to report that all planned work on the greens has been succesfully completed. The weather has been kind and with 9 holes closed each day we were able to get everything done by lunchtime today. The greens will need some time to recover from the intensive operations but the tine holes are mostly all filled already. There is quite a bit of sand still visible on the greens but we hope this will grow out over the weekend allowing us to shift our focus to surface refinement from next week.

Maintenance Week

Maintenance Week  

Our annual autumn maintenance week runs from Monday 23^rd – Friday 27^th September. We will carry out a number of vital operations to the putting surfaces with the aim of decreasing the amount of organic matter present in the upper profile of the rootzone. We plan to core the greens using a 13mm hollow tine, deep scarify in two directions, over seed and top dress. Weather permitting; we will apply around 3 tonnes of dressing to each green. This procedure is a fundamental part of our course maintenance plan and represents the single most important week of the year from a greenkeeping perspective. To enable the work to progress uninterrupted, restrictions will be in place with 9 holes open for play only on each day until the work is complete.

  

June Course Update

Greens

The year so far has proved to be very challenging from a course maintenance perspective. Poor weather conditions have meant the playing surfaces are slightly below expected levels for this point in the season. Some of the grasses are still in the seeding phase and this has been more vigorous and longer lasting than usual causing green smoothness and pace to suffer. Regular brushing, double cutting and rolling of the putting surfaces is maintaining standards to a reasonable level but aeration of greens has been suspended until the seeding has stopped. We can expect to see a significant decrease in seed heads over the next fortnight or so which will allow a resumption of regular needle tine aeration. This, when coupled with sufficient top dressing is the key element of our in-season greens maintenance program and is entirely necessary to produce the desired putting green performance.

Rough

How ironic that as the closely mown playing areas have struggled for growth this year, the rough areas have seen growth in abundance. The current length and density of the roughs is causing some problems from a playing perspective. With this in mind we have cut extra rough areas on holes 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 9, 10, 17 and 18. This still leaves some dense patches on the course but we can already see it beginning to die back now that the wettest weather seems to be behind us. Rough grassland management is not as simple as just keeping it all cut down. We must balance the needs and desires of the player with those of the grasses to ensure we have a healthy and robust sward for the remainder of the year. These grasses provide an aesthetically vital frame to each hole and give crucial definition between holes. There are ecological matters to consider also; the marsh harrier is just one of the bird species that are enjoying the current conditions. Wild orchids have had their best year for some time and countless other flora and fauna have been able to exploit the productive conditions this season.

Old Trolley Shed

The unsightly wooden shed situated between the 15^th tees and 16^th green is scheduled to be removed in the next few weeks. Specialist contractors will be used to remove the roof section before the rest of the structure is dealt with by the course staff.

 

New Bunker Rakes

A different style of bunker rake is being trialled in some of the bunkers on the course. This is to try to minimise bunkers losing shape during the days play. It is hoped the new rakes will stop too much sand being moved around causing over softness and contributing to the problem of downhill lies. Players should find the rake lighter, requiring less effort to use. Please remember to leave rakes outside the bunker on the side away from the normal line of play.

Hole 7 Irrigation Changes

This week we finished installing extra irrigation heads and pipework into the two areas that were previously pathways on hole 7. The pipework and cable is pulled through the ground using a mole plough. The machine required for the job is hired in for the day from a local contractor.
With the pipe and cable installed the heads are then fitted in the desired locations, ensuring and even coveage of water will be possible when complete. These high wear areas require a relatively large amount of water to give sufficient growth to recover from the stress of constant foot traffic in a relatively tight space. Rope and posts will be used regularly here to direct traffic, spreading the wear as much as possible.

Winter Work Review - 15th Bunkers

Another task completed over the winter was the refurbishment of the two bunkers next to the 15th green. Over the years we have found that the faces in these bunkers degrade quicker than average due to the high levels of play they experience coupled with the fact they're in direct sunlight for most of the day. On this occassion we decided to use a bunker liner during construction to minimise sand contamination from beneath and to help maintain a good shape in the sand on the bunker floor.

 Bunkers before

Reshaping around bunkers

 

Liner fitted

Finished bunkers

Winter Work Review - 7th Hole

To improve the visual characteristices of this hole we have taken measures to dramatically reduce the footprint of artificial paths on the 7th hole. The path from the tee has been shortened by approximately 30yds. Beyond improving the look of the area, this allows the chance to extend the fairway towards the tee thus reducing the distance of the carry. As a result, we hope this makes this hole more enjoyable to play.

The path in the centre of the fairwayy leading to the green complex has been removed. The area has been completely reshaped and turf from the old 5th and 10th tees used to provide a good blend with the surrounding ground.

Greens Update

What a pleasure it has been out on the course recently with the warm sun on our backs. It feels like summer may have arrived. On the course this week we have top dressed all greens and sprayed a liquid fertiliser mix. These tasks will help to refine the quality of the putting surfaces further now that we are into the golf season proper. Soil temperatures are good and with careful water management there should be no impediment to good growth. We expect to see improved surface smoothness and consistent grass growth across the various species within the greens.

Winter Work Review - Tees

Two tee refurbs took place over the winter months. The 5th tee was extended and slightly reshaped. More space was added to the rear of the tee to provide extra spots for the white markers. This job took much longer than expected as we had to remove a fairly large quaitity of granite from beneath the surface before the new rootzone and turf could be added. We took the opportunity to replace the irrigation pipework and heads while the work was going on as this tee was not done with the rest of the system installation in 2007/8 The finished result made all the effort worthwhile.

The 10th tee also has a new surface. We levelled the existing teeing ground and slightly extended the red tee portion in order to improve this area.

The new turf on both surfaces is being maintained with longer grass than other tees while the new turf settles in. The grass length will gradually be mown shorter as the new turf matures.