Winter 2016/2017 Course Report & Improvements Update
It’s time to update you all on the golf course, how it is holding up in the winter and to share the work our fantastic greenkeeping team have been doing over the winter period.
The course so far this winter is coping very well. The ground conditions are reasonable and the greens we have in play are rolling nicely going on the feedback we are receiving. Thankfully we have not endured as wet a winter as last year, and hopefully this will continue in to the spring.
The winter project work has gone really well so far with the last of the drainage work on the greens now complete, and the greens in question recovering nicely. This leaves us with plenty of time to bed in the new drains, restore the surface on the greens we have been working on, and have them back in play for the start of the new season. We’re pleased to say initial results are good, and the greens in question i.e. 9th, 11th, 12th, 13th, and 14th, are drying out and firming up nicely. The drain lines do require some topdressing and rolling to make good, but as I have already stated, time is definitely on our side this year.
We have also installed an open French drain at the front of the 3rd approach which will grass over naturally in time, and should alleviate the wetness in this area.
Over the remainder of the winter we will be doing some way overdue tree work. This will include, but is not exhaustive of removing the Silver Birch on the 5th hole next to the left side fairway bunker, removing a number of Silver Birch to the left side of the 14th hole, removing two rows of trees from the plantation on the 15th short right of the green, removing uprooted trees from various locations across the course, and a number of birch will also be removed from behind the 14th green in a bid to create more light and air movement across the green. We will also be removing as many low overhanging branches as we can within the timescale we have.
We are also trialling a new path material, which if successful will lead to all paths across the course being resurfaced over the next 2/3 years. The trial will be on the path from the 9th green to the 10th tee, all the way out to the 10th fairway. The material we are trialling is crushed Red Granite, as opposed to the crushed Red Shale used in the past. The new material is believed to be heavier, so not as easily displaced by footfall, and is reported to have twice the life span of what is on the paths at the moment.
All things considered we are in better shape than we were at this time last year, and we are looking forward to what should be a successful 2017 season.
