Head-Greenkeeper Course update August 3rd

Another month has passed I can’t believe how fast the year is going. The last few weeks we’ve seen some great weather and a small heatwave passing through. Out on course we’ve been continuing with routine mowing and course setup along side additional works to help manage and ease stress presented to the turf due to the current conditions.

What’s been done?
Greens
• Regular mowing at 3mm
• Vibe rolling twice a week to enhance surface roll
• Hand seeding and topdressing of scuffs and imperfections
• Procore solid tine with 8mm tines to help with air movement and water percolation
• Applications of seaweed, molasses, humic acid and bacteria tablets to boost soil life and improve stress resistance
• Hand watering and Wetting agents applied to help manage moisture levels
Tees and aprons
• Cutting 2-3 times per week at 10mm
• Regular divoting, topdressing and over seeding to aid recovery
• Molasses and Wetting agent applied
• Light irrigation and additional Hand watering to help maintain the surface and promote seed germination
Fairways
• Mowing at 16mm
• Wetting agent applied to driest fairways to aid water percolation
Rough
• Weekly mowing
• Height increase from 50mm to 63mm to improve definition and reduce mower scalps improving presentation.
General
• Strimming of banks, and around course furniture and fixtures
• Litter picking
• Ground works for new storage container and maintenance pad
• Installation of new container
• Mid season service of mowing machinery ( oil change, grease, sharpen and set)
• Bunker Edging
• Bunker base tillering to improve Sand quality along with stone sieving reduce stone numbers, work has started and is ongoing its not a long term solution but should improve bunker conditions in the short term.
• Mole trapping
What’s next?
The next few weeks we’ll be continuing to work to get the best out of the playing surfaces for the remainder of the season. Granular feed will be applied to greens, tees, and aprons to help boost there health and recovery. An increase in grooming, verti cutting will help thicken swards and promote fresh new growth. Work on the bunkers will be continuing along with general tidying up works to get us as tidy as we can be entering the autumn. Final measurements and estimates will be made and a provisional plan of improvements we will be carrying out the winter will be put together.
Hope your all enjoying the golf course and thank you all for your continued support.
Rob Lawley
Head green keeper