During January we saw 88mm of rain which saw the course closed a total of 11 days. The 88mm of rain mainly came in prolonged heavy spells of a mixture of rain and snow. However, the course has dried up well meaning most greens were quickly brought back into play. We are certainly seeing an improvement in how quickly the greens are drying up after heavy periods of rain. The new drainage on the course has also improved playability on certain areas around the course. We plan to keep adding to the drainage around the course and on certain greens to improve the playability of the course further during the winter months.

This month all cutting machinery have received their main annual service and deep clean. All engine and hydraulic oils are drained from each machine, all oil and fuel filters removed and replaced with new filters and filled back up with fresh oils. All air filters are cleaned or replaced where necessary and each machine is greased, we then thoroughly wash down each machine to remove any grime and muck. All cutting units are currently receiving their annual re grind and sharpen by a contractor who comes on site for 2 days with mobile grinding machinery. The sharpening and servicing is a vital part of keeping our machines running smoothly and maintain a high standard of cut quality.

During the drier spells of weather during January we took the chance to cut most of the main playing areas. Fairways, Tees, surrounds and approaches have all been cut. This helps keep the definition and improves playability. During these winter months its usually a case of waiting for a window of opportunity to try and get jobs such as cutting and spraying done when ground conditions allow. Greens are brushed and switched everyday to remove any dew or wormcasts, along with moving markers into fresh positions and moving hoops and ropes where needed and checking bunkers for animal damage. We are currently cutting greens once a week if we can when needed, along with sarel rolling which helps to keep the surface open to assist with drainage and airflow into the profile. Bunkers have also been reinstated after the periods of wet weather using our tiller and raking sand back up the faces followed by a full rake. Again, we try to give bunkers a full rake once a week when conditions allow. This month the greens have been sprayed with our turf defence pack which contains iron, calcium and magnesium along with phosphite. These products are all mixed together and sprayed to keep the greens healthy and harden up the plant and help prevent any outbreaks of disease. We have also sprayed Rocastem which is a form of liquid aerator and Flowsmart which is a wetting agent to help water move more freely thorough the soil profile.

We now have all the tree stumps dug out and collected from the trees that blew down from the previous month’s storms. We have also trimmed and shaped all the mature gorse around the course. This stops the plant becoming too high and leggy. Many of the gorse plants on the 6th and 8th had become too tall and started to sag and snap. All the plastic bins on the course were collected in and washed out, they are now all back out in use. The bench from the 3rd tee area has been taken in and has been sanded down ready for staining. All hazard posts have been cleaned off and reinstated, and all winter mats have been blown and brushed to keep the teeing area clear of grass and any shale. Moles continue to be an issue around the course, we do have dozens of traps set and are catching them on a regular basis. The traps are checked and moved at least twice a week at the moment. We have seen an increase of moles on the course as it is their breeding season. If you see a trap that has gone off on the course, please do not touch them. Moles have a strong sense of smell and will avoid the traps if human scent is present on the trap. We set traps wearing the same gloves all the time to prevent any scent on the traps.

As many will have noticed there has been several jobs going on down the 10th hole. The moat around the 10th green has been drained and the bottom cleared out of leaves and debris. The footings for the new bridge on the right over the moat have been dug out and concreted with the steelwork also set in place ready. Unfortunately, during works to the bridge, the 10th hole will have to be closed for the safety of people working on the bridge. The back of the 10th green continues to be an issue with this section of the green remaining very soft throughout the year. We believe there is an issue with the existing drains on the green. The company that originally installed the drains are willing to send us some parts to connect to the drain runs in the affected area, we can then test the drains properly by pouring water directly into the drains and see if the outlet into the pond runs the water out. We also plan to gravel band the back section of the green to link up all the drain runs and see if this has any effect on the playing surface. But until we receive these parts and can test the drains properly there is not much more we can do for the time being. We have tried every mechanical operation possible such as tining, slitting, vertidraining, linier aeration, coring, topdressing, scarifying and sarel rolling over the past year to improve the surface but only with limited effect. If we don’t find any obvious cause during our investigations, Gravel banding will be done, if this does not have the desired effect it may be a case of re draining the green.

During the next week, weather permitting we will be rolling out the 7th green with the turn iron. This will hopefully press down any proud areas on the new drain runs. The new drain runs have been regularly rolled using a small hand roller to gradually settle the new runs down. Over time the runs will settle. Unfortunately, as has been mentioned before the whole green had suffered a bad outbreak of disease during the drainage works which was expected due to the stress the green was under during the work and the sudden change of moisture in the soil profile. The disease scaring will be rectified with scarifying and tining to create a bed for the seed to sit in and seeding with our Dyna seeders and spread by hand to get as much seed on the green as needed. This along with some sand topdressing, fertiliser and warmer temperatures should see the green recover relatively quickly. The aim is to have the green back in play early to mid-springtime. Since the new drains have been installed, we have seen a great improvement, with the green remaining firm and free of standing water throughout this winter.

As we are still very much in the winter period, one of our main aims is to protect the course as much as possible therefore giving good surfaces going into the start of the main golfing season. Winter mats and teeing areas play a big role in protecting our tees. If main tees were played on all year round there would be very little to no grass coverage on our tees heading into spring. Below is a picture taken of the 2nd yellow summer tee and winter tee which are parallel to each other. These two tees are treated the same all year round, with the same cutting regime, mechanical processes and nutritional program. As you can see from the images the winter tee has lost a lot of grass coverage due to play during winter and lack of soil temperatures to aid recovery.


Ropes and hoops also play a big part in protecting areas around the course so please continue to adhere to them, if you must move any hoops or rope to play a shot, please return the hoops or rope to where you fond them. Please do not lift and walk under any ropes as these are here for good reason. Several members of the team have spotted members doing this. Please continue to repair any pitchmarks and replace divots.

Thanks Greens.