Course Update
Spring is nearly here!
The weather leading to spring has been a mixed bag. As the gallery shows we’ve had snow, rain and more rain…. so far. But, with the temperature heading in the right direction and occasional dry and even sunny spells the greens team have been able to maintain progress with both course maintenance and development.
Path project on 17/18th nears completion and extension into back 9 continues
As you can see from the pictures below even with the interruptions caused by the weather the team have been able to do a great job in redirecting the new path from the rear of the 17th to the 18th tee. They have also re-laid the materials all along the path adjacent to the 18th up to the astro by the ladies tee. The astro will be laid as soon as conditions make moving the rolls into position possible.
Following on from the success of this work the greens team will be moving on to adding a section of path on the 10th hole. The strategy for the paths on the back 9 is to place small sections of path over areas where the ground is particularly wet and/or slopes may have an affect. The path on the 10th will be positioned approximately as described in yellow on the image below. Running along the line of the route planner across the wettest ground until it reaches the drier area whereupon buggies and other vehicles will be able to travel safely. Other sections of the back 9 are being identified by the Greens Committee and we’ll share the plans for these areas as they are agreed. This is part of the medium term plan to create a 15 hole loop (holes 1-13, 17 & 18) that will be available to use with paths whenever the course is open.
Other development works, including bunker renovations starting on the greenside bunker on 2nd, are scheduled to begin from September. Plans for these works will be agreed as the season progresses and shared with you all closer to the time. The greens team will focus solely upon maintenance and presentation of the course for the season ahead once the path on the 10th is completed. The short game area is still regularly maintained and is on schedule for opening in late May/early June. There will be more on the short game area in next week’s course update.
Maintenance work continues
A second spell of aeration across all the greens and par 3 tees has been completed again using the Procore pedestrian tinning machine. The work on the greens is scheduled to continue w/b 8th April in readiness for the season. The greens have also been fertilised and par 3 tees over seeded with a new low temperature germination rye grass. The combination of these works and hand mowing are showing positive results even in these the challenging conditions.
Seasonal worker joins the greens team
Finally we would like to welcome Tom Lennon to the greens team. Tom is a good golfer, playing off low single figures, and he is hoping to gain the skills and experience for a career in greenkeeping. He will be with us part time for the next couple of weeks and full time from after Easter. We hope he enjoys his experience with us and hope all GC members welcome him too.
The Greens Committee, March 2024