Course Update

Good Afternoon Jack,

Can you believe it is coming up to one month since we were able to play golf again! The sun has been glorious, the food and beers have been going down well, the renovated range has been utilised well, what more could we want . . . some rain!

RAINFALL

After an incredibly wet winter, we suspected that Spring would be challenging and potentially cold and dry, (the worst conditions for growth and recovery) and although there was no golf for three months there was also next to no growth. From the graphs below, you can see the incredible reduction in rainfall from April 2020 to the 22 days for April 2021 so far:

Tee boxes still have a lot of divots but will recover soon when we begin to lose the frosts in the mornings. We had 6 touches of frost in a row from the 13th of April which is more than we had through the whole of December!

Due to the very dry conditions we have not been sending the fairway waterer out yet as we need to be mindful of possible drought later this year and need to keep our water levels high for the greens, tees and approaches. As soon as we feel confident with water levels in the reservoir we will start watering with this piece of kit again.

LEATHERJACKETS 

We have seen some evidence of leather jacket damage on greens. As you can see from the photo below, the leather jackets are coming up through the old tine holes and eating the grass around the top of the hole.

Unfortunately, all the chemicals that we were able to use to remedy this problem are now banned and are no longer available for us to apply. There are some new methods being trialled which we will continue to monitor along with the performance of the greens. For anyone who played on Thursday, you may have noticed that one method was quite effective with a lot of the insects being bought to the surface, 

BACK OF THE 9TH GREEN

We still a couple of small winter projects open including the work at the back of the 9th green. Last year we filled in two bunkers on the right-hand side of the green following consultation with our Head Professional Jon Jones.  We seeded this area however with the lack of moisture over the past couple of months, the seed has not germinated yet. As soon as we get some proper moisture, this area should grow back well. When it does we will be looking to grow this area to about 4 inches which is between the rough and semi-rough height. The path material on the 16th will also be removed over the next couple of weeks and will continue the work with the path extension later in the year.

TRIAL WINTER MAT ON 11TH TEE

We are currently trialling a new mat product which will save our path ends, particularly in the winter months. It is an artificial mat with holes in it to let the grass grow through and disguise the mat but will be very hard-wearing.

When the grass seed starts to germinate, the mat should start to disappear. If this works as we hope it will, we will look to roll this out in other areas where the pathway ends such as the 3rd, 9th and 10th.

SHOUTING FORE!

When to shout FORE!

With the course being busy, it is important to remind you all to shout FORE when you hit a wayward shot! This includes any shot heading towards another individual/group, and any shot that lands in a ‘blind spot’.

Common blind spots include:

• 4th– Drive hit right towards 10th green,
• 5th– Drive hit right towards 7th tee and 6th green,
• 10th– Drive hit left towards 11th fairway,
• 11th– Drive hit left towards 10th fairway,
• 12th– Tee shot hit right towards 13th tee,
• 14th– Drive hit left towards 13th fairway,
• 18th– Drives hit left towards 1st green and right towards the chipping green. Approach shots hit left towards the putting green,

Shouting FORE is simple etiquette and important for the health and safety of everyone on the course.

Remember, if in doubt, shout FORE!

LITTER

Just a polite reminder for all members and their guests to ensure that all litter, including cigarette butts, are put in bins or removed from the golf course to continue the high standards we aim to provide. 

I hope you all have a great weekend. Please let me know if you have any questions at all. 

Best Regards,

Jack Slade
General Manager

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