Greenkeepers Update while the course is closed
While the golf course has had no foot traffic we are taking the opportunity to get some essential maintenance done to make sure that by the time everyone is back playing the course is hopefully the best it can be under the circumstances. Obviously with only limited staff it is difficult to say how much progress we can make but with the course being empty this should help us crack on with some jobs that would normally take longer.
Greens
Because we don’t have golfers we are letting the greens grown up a little which will increase root stimulation and help the sward thicken. Don’t worry, they aren’t going to ruin! We are cutting them at 6mm (usually 4mm in April) twice a week so that they can be easily brought back down once we look like opening again.
We are putting in a more investment and hours into maintaining the greens through the summer month, with a more regular wetting agent and growth regulator schedule here which compares with previous years:
Divotting
We are waiting on a delivery of rootzone so that we can go around and spreading a seed mix in divots on all tees and fairways over the next few weeks, so that the place will look as lush as possible for the summer. We were hoping to start this week but due to COVID-19 delaying deliveries of rootzone we are unsure how quckly this will arrive. The process of divotting is a time-consuming job but will be rewarding for us all in a month or two’s time.
6 & 10th Competition Tees
We are looking to complete the renovation of the competition tees within the next few weeks complete with irrigation and turf installed, so look out for some more progress photos on this.
New Machinery
We have plans to purchase new machinery for the golf club this year but obviously with the COVID-19 closure this has meant we have to hold off temporarily until we know where we stand with reopening and adjusting our budgets. We still plan to make these purchases in 2020, but it’s too much of a risk right now to make any financial commitments.
We need rain!
You’d never believe it but we actually need some rain to wash in the fertiliser that we put on the fairways and green surrounds last week, it’s amazing that we had so much rain in the winter and then it just all of a sudden seems to stop, but that’s the nature of the beast!
The irrigation system is all fired up so the tees and greens are getting the drink they need, though, so are greening up nicely!
Rest of the Course
We are keeping the fairways and rough mown, but keeping all other maintenance down to the nessecities for now until we are back open.
See you all on the fairways again soon, stay safe.