Auchterader Golf Club

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 - MARCH 2025

Report covering January and February – we have had a mixture of weather throughout this period with some sustained wet spells, snow, storms and more recently drier conditions. Both January and February were slightly below average rainfall figures but most of the rain came in bigger dumps forcing several closure days. As mentioned in January’s report we had a long period of closure at the start of the year due to snow coverage.
The end of February and start of March have seen conditions improve and a slight increase in temperature and some good drying wind days helping improve underfoot conditions.
At the time of writing the forecast is looking like the return of some cooler temperatures but reasonably dry which we will take!

Greens

• Mowing heights have remained at 6mm with pedestrian mowers but this will be slowly reduced as we near the end of March and firmer conditions return

• Rolling frequency has slightly increased and will continue on that trend

• Spraying has remained on a winter defence package to help reduce the chances of disease, stress and keep the plant strong through the tough conditions

• All nutrition over this period has been in the form of liquid fertiliser with a granular spring starter (10-4-4) due to kick us off at the start of the season

• All greens were aerated with 19mm Verti-drain tines approx. 9 inches deep the second week of February to aid drainage

• 3 applications of topdressing sand have been applied totalling approximately 30 tonnes of sand so far and we will continue to apply more in the coming weeks

• Putting surfaces have remained strong with good coverage and very little disease scarring putting us in a good position nearing the start of the season

• The drier conditions have allowed us to remain on the main greens and this will continue as long as the weather stays in our favour

Winter Greens

• Mowing as required at 8mm height

• Rolling took place after Verti-draining to try and help smooth them back out

• A light topdressing was applied

• Another spray application of ferrous sulphate and liquid fertiliser applied at the start of March

• Regular re-painting of the white lines

• Holes will be changed again if we need to return to them

• Daily blowing and clearing

Tees & Approaches

• Mowing frequency will slowly increase, height remains @ 8mm with triple mower

• Tees and approaches due to be aerated again with 19mm solid tines

• Spray application applied end of February – ferrous sulphate, urea, ammonium sulphate and a liquid fertiliser

• Granular fertiliser due in the coming weeks (10-4-4 spring starter)

• Topdressing applications have started and will continue through the next few weeks

• The lower height of cut on green collars has stopped for the winter but will return again when growth improves

Fairways, Intermediate & Semi-Rough

• Mowing of these areas will commence shortly as temperatures and growth increase

• All areas blown regularly over the period to remove leaves and debris

• A contractor was here in January to spike all the fairways with Verti-drains

• A spray application will be applied in the next few weeks of urea, ferrous sulphate and ammonium sulphate to help reduce moss and improve appearance

Bunkers & Paths

• Bunker rotovating will take place shortly with the worst of the weather hopefully finished. Rotovator currently awaiting new blades

• Washouts will be repaired and sand added as required

• All bunkers will be edged and fly mowed prior to the season starting

• Bunker banks will be sprayed with ferrous to reduce moss

• Paths have been blown and tidied regularly

• Potholes will be fixed and blaize added as required

• The winter bunker rule remains in place 

Winter Works

• As mentioned in the last report most of our time this winter has been dedicated to the 11th green rebuild project. All construction and turfing works are complete with just some small tasks remaining. More detailed info will be available shortly

• Some more gorse removal will be carried out In selected areas

• All ditches will be cleared again to allow better water flow

• A number of the thick-rough areas have still to be cut and collected. This will continue into the start of the season when time allows

• A new pipe has been inserted and connected to an outlet at the ditch on the 14th hole that was causing us issues with drainage. We have also managed to tie in the drainage from the 14th green which will allow better flow away from this area

• The 18th red and yellow tee work that was planned will be moved onto this winters plan. Storm recovery work restricted time for this project

  The storm that occurred at the end of January has taken a lot of our time away from some planned winter works. During the storm we lost 14 large trees along with several other damaged ones. Fortunately, most fell in wooded areas away from the fine turf surfaces except from 2 at the 13th tee which have caused a little damage to the playing surface. A lot of debris and branches covered most holes especially around the top part of the course which took a lot of clearing. Work continues cutting and clearing some of the logs in the “out of play” areas which we will pick away at when time allows.

Miscellaneous

The on-course toilet block should be back open from Tuesday 11th March with work and assessment being carried out on the Monday.

Just to finish I would like to kindly remind everyone to repair their pitch marks on the greens, this last week since we returned to the main greens has been exceptionally bad. Conditions are still soft with little growth and recovery so its vital to repair these straight away and keep your greens in good condition on the lead up to the start of the season.

Included are a couple of pictures of the new 11th green complex

Shaun McNaughton