COURSE NEWS 23rd MARCH
Bringing the course into summer readiness
It’s been an uneventful week - unless 'no rain’ qualifies as an event. Although the day temperatures have been quite pleasant we are still getting overnight frosts which keep the ground temperatures low enough to minimise growth. Our fine grasses root deep, and it takes time for surface warmth to reach down to them and encourage them into growth. Annual meadow grass is shallow rooting so starts into growth much sooner than the fine grasses, which is why such greens reach their best earlier than ours. Payback comes in the rest of the year!
Much of the week’s work has been aimed at bringing the course into summer readiness. The fairways were cut to their winter height of 16 mm for the last time. Next week they will go down to 14 mm and Gavin will reintroduce the first cut at 25 mm. It’s always a turning point in the season, seeing the course definition returning. We also got a cut on the greens but took very little off.
We also managed a cut under the copses round the course. The DEFRA tree plantings have also been mown out and a ring of weedkiller sprayed round them to help them grow. At a rough count we’ve lost just over 10% of the original 1200 that we planted 3 years ago. That’s in line with normal expectations, pretty good considering the winters they’ve faced. Later in the year we will replace the failed plants, which we have to do to get paid the second tranche of project funding.
Bunkers have been edged up, and this week we will check the sand depths and top them up as required. The new tees have been dressed.
There is early evidence of leatherjackets (cranefly larvae, which eat the grass roots) on the greens. If it worsens there is still a legal spray available. It’s not nearly as effective as previous products which have now been banned, but at least there is still something we can use, unlike several other pest controls which are no longer available. Carbendazim worm suppressant is the most missed.
The small runabout van has now been delivered and put into service, with trips for petrol and various course supplies e.g. paint for marker posts.
Course committee
Much of the week’s work has been aimed at bringing the course into summer readiness. The fairways were cut to their winter height of 16 mm for the last time. Next week they will go down to 14 mm and Gavin will reintroduce the first cut at 25 mm. It’s always a turning point in the season, seeing the course definition returning. We also got a cut on the greens but took very little off.
We also managed a cut under the copses round the course. The DEFRA tree plantings have also been mown out and a ring of weedkiller sprayed round them to help them grow. At a rough count we’ve lost just over 10% of the original 1200 that we planted 3 years ago. That’s in line with normal expectations, pretty good considering the winters they’ve faced. Later in the year we will replace the failed plants, which we have to do to get paid the second tranche of project funding.
Bunkers have been edged up, and this week we will check the sand depths and top them up as required. The new tees have been dressed.
There is early evidence of leatherjackets (cranefly larvae, which eat the grass roots) on the greens. If it worsens there is still a legal spray available. It’s not nearly as effective as previous products which have now been banned, but at least there is still something we can use, unlike several other pest controls which are no longer available. Carbendazim worm suppressant is the most missed.
The small runabout van has now been delivered and put into service, with trips for petrol and various course supplies e.g. paint for marker posts.
Course committee