Greens News - November & December 2017
28 December 2017

Following Septembers outbreak of fusarium the greens have shown reasonable levels of recovery.  The greens do have good grass cover and should recover quickly in the spring once warmer weather arrives.  However we needed to spray a fungicide in mid-November as the scars where showing signs of resurgence.  The early mild winter weather proves great for golfers but is also ideal for fungal activity!

Early November we applied dressings of sharp sand to areas of high foot fall.  These included pathways and areas adjacent to tees and greens.  The 8^th tee received additional dressings to improve the profile and drainage.

Repairs had to be made to the 17^th bridge as a number of cross beams where rotten.  New hand rails have also been installed.  Following last years bunker work we took the opportunity to reduce the slope leading to the bridge.  It appears to be working well reducing the risk of slips in wet or icy weather.  The addition of the footbridge across the ditch on 15^th serves as a purpose while the new bunkers are under construction, with the added benefit in years to come reducing wear and tear on the adjacent pathways.

Fineturf have been and gone.  This year 3 holes where under construction, ten bunkers have been filled in, ten re-constructed and one new bunker added.  For those of you who don’t think many bunkers have been filled in over the past few years, we now have 72 compared with 95 when the course alterations began.  Bearing in mind the golf course had approximately 130 in its infancy.  We have also made repairs to the bunker on the practice ground, creating a new face and removing the sand splash.

Unfortunately and more recently we have had a to make a number of course closures due to poor weather.  Heavy rain falling on already saturated ground combined with snow and icy frosts made for very testing conditions.  However we do try and keep the course open as much as possible even resorting to temporary greens as a last resort.

Gareth Williams, Course Director

Rainfall                        November            53.5mm

                                    December             25 mm                                          

Year to date       632.5mm

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