Course Update

We’ve finally seen some helpful weather – a welcome combination of warmth and rain, just what the course needed.

It’s been a highly productive week out on the course. We’ve applied wetting agent, seaweed, and selective weed killer to the tees and other targeted areas. The greens have also received some valuable attention – they’ve been needle-tined, lightly top-dressed, and treated with a slow-release granular fertiliser. This is part of our ongoing bi-weekly nutrient plan. We’ve also edged the pop-up sprinklers around the greens and approaches. Alongside all this, the usual mowing and routine maintenance have continued as normal.

We currently have a robotic mower on demonstration. It’s working on the 11th fairway, some of the rough on the 10th, and the right-hand side of the 11th. This is something we’re seriously looking to introduce in future, though it will require the right infrastructure – including electricity supply for the charging points and reference stations – so it may take a little time to implement fully.

Next week, this unit will be swapped out for a smaller robotic mower, which will operate on the driving range. As we already have power available there, this is likely to be our first step into robotic mowing.

This week, our irrigation contractor, Lakes & Greens, has been upgrading the tee irrigation on the 4th, 13th, 14th, and 17th holes, and they are currently working on the 1st. The major disruptive works will conclude today, with the remaining electrical connections and system programming due early next week.

Unfortunately, despite our recent efforts, the Grillo machine is once again experiencing electrical issues. A specialist engineer is due to inspect it on Monday, and we’re hopeful it will be operational again sometime next week.

Looking ahead, with warm weather on the forecast, you can expect to see the team carrying out isolated hosepipe watering, as well as roll-cart work on selected fairways. We’ll also be giving the fairways a light monthly feed and applying some wetting agent. Our regular fortnightly nutrient spray to the greens and approaches will continue as planned.

We’ve now finished reshaping the ditch between the 16th and 17th, including the removal of tree stumps and debris. What remains is a bit of final shaping and seeding. I’ve since turned my attention to digging out the remaining stumps from the clearance work between the upper end of the 17th and the 18th. Once cleared, the area will be scraped and shaped, ready for brushing to be added later in the year. I’ll then return to tidy and shape the remaining piles of waste from the ditch project.

And finally, a gentle reminder to all – please take a moment to repair your pitch mark and, if you’re feeling generous, one other. I was always taught as a youngster to leave the green better than I found it, and I think that’s still a good rule to live by.

Thank you,
Matt