Weekend update.

Bit of a mixed bag weather wise this week, but it's not stopped us completing our planned works.
Monday saw us giving the greens a light verti-cut, followed by another light sand dressing. After this was brushed in, the surfaces looked significantly smoother, despite the seeding of the meadow grass. Due to a damp Tuesday morning, we ran the iron over the greens, as the cutters were picking up too much sand in the dew.
On Wednesday, they were cut and then given a light application of soil amendment (Calcium, magnesium & manganese). These trace elements are a vital part of the soil profile and keep the rootzone in balance.
The bunkers have had another round of fly-mowing and edging. The sand has also been moved around following the heavy rain over the weekend.
Building up to this weekend, it's mainly cutting to prepare everywhere for a busy Bank Holiday.
The next few weeks will be spent tidying and trying to catch up with some unfinished jobs. This has been made harder by the fact we are 2 greenstaff down at the moment, due to people moving on to pastures new.

Have a great weekend.

Mark & the Greens team.

Weekend Update.

Make hay while the sun shines the saying goes. Well the sun has put in a few appearances, but we've certainly been making hay. The scarifying of the deep rough on the 2nd, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 14th & 17th holes has produced some large mounds of debris, which we've tried to hide around the course. The idea is to thin out these areas so balls can be found and play is not slowed up.
The greens have received another light application of nitrogen, just to tickle things along. Liquid seaweed & iron were also applied to give more colour. The meadow grass on the greens is still behind the bent grass, which is noticable by its pale colour. The newly germinated Velvet bent grass is clearly visible on every green. This will blend into the surfaces over the next few weeks.
The course is now being cut constantly, but growth is still slow following some early morning frosts.
Next week we plan another light verti-cut & top-dress on the greens (Monday am), we also plan to start spraying any weeds across the playing surfaces. The bunkers will also get another round of cutting & tidying.

Have a great weekend.

Mark & the Greens team.

Weekend Update

A great week on the course with the fine weather making up for our reduced staff numbers.
The scarifying of the fairways and semi-rough was completed and it has really tidied these areas up. We then scarified the tees and gave them a light soil dressing as well as a divot. Again, this has really improved the surfaces.
The greens were lightly scarified on Monday which fined the turf up and again we followed this with a dressing of sand.
The irrigation system is now in use, but still has a few issues to iron out which we will work thru next week.
It was also Bunker faces and tee bank maintenance week, so both these areas have been cut  tidied.
The dry weather is having a negative effect on the newly turfed bunker faces, so some hand watering will be taking place.
Next week we will be spraying the greens with a liquid nutrient to keep them moving forward. Spraying has proved difficult of late with the high winds.
All being well, preferred lies will cease for next weekend. So Spring may well have finally sprung.
Have a great weekend.

Mark & the Greens team.

Weekend Update

What a difference a week makes!

We've taken advantage of the conditions to get stuck in to some outstanding jobs on the course.
We have finally started the scarification of the fairways & approaches, which is a slow job but entirely weather dependant. All the outstanding aeration work on the fairways & tees has been completed and all areas have been divotted.
The full course has received a cut (1st time for some areas) and is starting to show some colour and growth. There are signs that germination on the greens is underway and I expect by the weekend the lines will be plainly visible.
The greens received some liquid nutrient on Monday in anticipation of the good weather and the turf has absorbed it well, promoting a nice flush of growth. Height of cut on the greens & approaches will come down slightly for the weekend, which will help the putting surfaces. The repair of pitchmarks would help the surfaces further, so please make sure you repair yours.
I plan to lightly scarify the greens early next week and follow that with a light dressing, again to move the surfaces forward. We will also continue with the fairway work.
The removal of the winter traffic control lines has allowed trollies much closer to the putting surfaces. Can I ask that you don't take your trollies between the greens and bunkers, as these areas will quick show wear and start to thin out.
Enjoy the weekend.

Mark & the (shrunken) Greens team.