Greens Update - March 2024

Hi everyone,

The bunker work is finally complete and all 8 greenside bunkers on the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd holes are now compulsory GUR. A white line has been sprayed around all those bunkers and we ask all members to avoid walking on the newly laid turf, subject to ball retrieval.

You can see the new turf edging the bunker, including the new liner.

The late start to the bunker project has meant that focus on other winter projects has been shifted, but we will try and carry out as many as possible from the original winter jobs list. The next phase of bunker work will definitely be started a lot earlier, giving us more time to carry out more tasks.

The greenside bunker aspect on the 3rd.

I mention winter, although I feel we haven’t really had one yet as such. Constant warmth and rainfall have meant the carrying out of winter tasks has proved very difficult. It simply has not been possible to carry heavy loads across the course, such as soil for bunker construction, which has been very frustrating. However, this last week or so has been much more conducive to greenkeeping work and we have been able to carry out plenty of tasks.

All the greens, tees, and approaches have been solid spiked with the Procore, another machine we could not travel round the course for weeks on end. This has provided much needed air movement into the surfaces, as well as allowing moisture to travel deeper away from the surface.

The greens have also been given an early spring granular feed, which will give the surfaces energy when the weather warms slightly, allowing growth to start. We will keep trimming the greens a couple of times a week to keep on top of any early growth, and gradually bring the height of cut down as we approach the start of the season.

The tees have also been fed and are looking well after much needed rest over the last few months. On the whole, they should be in good condition for the start of the season. Now that we have our own grinding equipment the tees and approaches will be worked on a lot more than before. This will mean more aeration, more topdressing etc, knowing that we can sharpen our blades to improve performance.

Looking down to the 17th green.

The golf course is currently drying out, but we are well short of it being 100% firm. However, it was nice yesterday to be out on a mower and cutting a few areas down. Some parts of the golf course have not been cut for months and we are going to try and gradually bring them back into line over the next few weeks, weather permitting. Once the golf course does dry out significantly the focus must be to try and improve the wetter areas with increased scarification and aeration. This will help to remove the thatchy organic matter that is holding more moisture in the top surface.

Shiny new machine!

With the addition of a new machine to our fleet, the Grillo FD 2200 TS cut & collect machine, we will be able to carry out more of this work and immediately pick up the arisings. The Grillo will be used to cut the long areas of the golf course too, giving us better definition, as well as help with the removal of leaves in the autumn. The robotic mower demo went very well, and a full review with details of its range and heights of cut will be done shortly.

Thanks for stopping by!

Steve

Head Greenkeeper