Golf Course Update - in order to keep members fully updated of developments on the golf course, we will be distributing a course update following every Committee Meeting.
Course Update - AUGUST 2024
As in the past, at this time of year a little bit shorter course report as work on the course has mainly been general maintenance and presentation work along with the greens renovation coring work.
Although the sun hasn’t been splitting the sky every day, June and July has given us a reasonably settled spell of weather. Not a lot of rain, 45mm for June and 38mm in July along with some decent temperatures resulted in strong growth throughout. So far, August has been slightly wetter but growth has remained good. Conditions were perfect for fast recovery of the hollow coring work carried out on the greens on the 22nd of July.
| Month | Rainfall | Monthly Average | ||
| May | 107mm | 65mm | ||
| June | 45mm | 76mm | ||
| July | 38mm | 107mm | ||
| August | 46mm (to 16th) | 89mm |
Greens
- Daily mowing @ 3.25mm with triple mower
- Regular rolling/double rolling with tru-turf roller
- Spraying with seaweed, liquid fertiliser, plant growth regulator, wetting agents and some bio stimulants according to plan
- Fungicide sprayed as and when required
- 16-3-6 granular fertiliser applied twice. Once at the start of May and another application after coring works
- Aerated once with 8mm pencil tines in May
- Verti-cutting every 3-4 weeks @ -1/-2mm
- Hollow coring with 12mm tines on 21st July
- Regular light dressings of sand after each verti-cut (approx. 7 tonnes each time)
- Heavy sand dressing after coring works circa 70 tonnes
- Regular green speed checks stimping consistently above 10 for general play, tournament and club championship measuring above 11 and closer 12.
We continued with a height of cut of 3.25mm all the way through the club championship whereas in previous years we have moved to 3mm. This year through good timing with PGR’s, correct nutrition levels and regular rolling we achieved very good surface conditions and speeds on the greens without the need to lower the height and increase grass plant stress.
Regular verti-cutting with light topdressing applications straight behind have also helped achieve a high-quality playing surface and maintained an increase in green speed for a more sustained period of time.
As in the previous 3 years we hollow cored the greens in July with the help of a group of around 18 volunteers. Massive thank you to all who helped out, many of whom have returned for numerous years and the club and membership as a whole should be grateful of their efforts. Its vital that the work is carried out as quickly as possible to allow for a speedy recovery and ensure each green is at the same stage and it would be impossible without the help of the volunteers.
As mentioned above, 70 tonnes of sand was applied to fill the holes which is around double the amount we have managed to work in the holes in previous years. This will significantly improve the profile of the soil and benefit the greens hugely going forward. It also allowed for an even quicker recovery and greens were back to a very good standard in under 2 weeks.
Tees & Approaches
- Regular mowing @ 8mm with triple mower
- Approaches recently aerated with 19mm solid tines with tees to follow
- Approaches fertilised with 16-3-6 (the same product as the greens)
- Approaches sprayed twice with nitrogen, iron, seaweed, liquid fertiliser and a PGR
- Tees sprayed twice with nitrogen, iron, seaweed, liquid fertiliser, PGR and wetting agent
- Tees divoted daily to aid recovery
- Lower height of cut recently added on green surrounds with pedestrian mower
Fairways, Intermediate & Semi-rough
- Fairways mowed 2-3 times weekly @ 11mm
- Intermediate mowed twice weekly @ 19mm
- Semi-rough mowed once per week @ 2inch height of cut
- Fairways/intermediate sprayed 3 times with urea, ammonium sulphate, ferrous sulphate and PGR
- Fairways @ 7&11 spiked with 19mm tines to aid drainage
- Grass and debris blown as required with tractor mounted blower
Bunkers & Paths
- Bunkers raked daily with various different rakes according to conditions
- Flymo and strimming work carried out regularly to maintain appearance
- Washouts repaired as required and bunkers rotovated after heavy rain
- All sand levels were topped up early June and bunkers re-levelled
- Paths have been weeded regularly and blaize added to 7, 8, 9 & 12. Weeding ongoing
Miscellaneous
The irrigation system hasn’t had to be utilised as much as in previous years due to the weather conditions but again has been a vital tool to aid with washing in of topdressing sand and fertilisers when required. Through the drier period a full irrigation cycle was ran every night on greens, tees and approaches and some hand watering has been carried out on hotspots with a wetting agent pellet.
Some of the thick areas of rough were cut and collected (2nd, 5th, 15th etc) to help thin them out and increase the speed of play. We will continue with this process as and when time permits.
We have two new pieces of machinery on order that should arrive with us in time for the beginning of next season. A new greens mower which will allow the current one to be moved onto the tees and approaches with that mower sold on. The other machine is a sidewinder rough machine which is used to mow tee bankings and some other tighter areas of rough. The current sidewinder is approaching 18 years old and is regularly causing issues. We also have a demo tractor mounted blower in this week and this will eventually replace the older buffalo blower.
Over the school summer holiday period we had some daily help from our weekend workers Lindsay Stewart, Fergus Ledger and Ruaridh Ledger with bunker raking, tee service, general course setup and tidying. All their extra work has been hugely appreciated by the team and they will continue with weekend work and extra when they can.
Elliot Stewart who has been with us again all summer will be returning to university in September. His assistance has been vital and this year he has expanded his skill set to take on other tasks and will he be huge miss to the team. Thanks again to Elliot and hopefully he can return next year through our busiest summer period.
We have had quite a number of divots appearing on greens, approaches and other random areas where balls have been hit back towards teeing areas. It is unacceptable behaviour and would appreciate if anyone witnesses it happening, they could report it to the club.
Just to finish off, I would like to thank all members for their understanding of the timing of the coring work. We have received support from the overwhelming majority and hopefully you are now seeing the benefit of doing this when we do and the remainder of the season can be enjoyed on excellent putting surfaces.
Included are some pictures 14 days after coring.
Shaun McNaughton
