COURSE UPDATE

Course Report

January produced a mixed bag in terms of weather with very low morning temperatures and heavy spells of rainfall leading to very hard frosts. Adding foot traffic to this unstable surface can cause the grass roots (which we work hard to promote growth as deep as possible) to shear causing damage to the plant and reducing the quality of the surface both in the immediate and longer term. We appreciate that the decision to restrict play can be frustrating, particularly when everything above ground appears to be fine, but it is a decision we don’t take lightly and only do so to protect the surfaces when necessary.

Course

The cold weather has allowed us to focus attention towards other areas of the course and we have been able to complete a lot of tree work and clearing where it was required. Low hanging branches and canopies have been raised. Thankfully we managed to get a woodchipper in and 90% of what we chopped away from those trees has been turned into bark chippings, which can be reused on the flower beds around the clubhouse at a later on in the year.

We have made a start on bunker renovations that had initially been delayed due to the bad weather. There are a few small bunkers that we would like to tackle and improve, so watch this space.

Damage

Greens

Despite the cold snap we have managed the greens well, there was only slight damage around some old pin locations where we weren’t able to change holes for nearly 2 weeks with the freezing temperatures. We will be looking to complete greens renovations in early March.

I just wanted to remind members that we really do need your help to avoid inconsiderate, lasting damage. To the right you can see the damage caused by a trolley being tracked over the 4th green and the burn marks created that will take weeks to recover. Please also keep trolleys off the tees – for some reason this appears to be happening more often but trolleys should always be kept well away from the teeing ground, particularly during the winter. If you see me around and have any questions or queries please feel free to ask – I’m always happy to talk about the course and it’s rewarding to see members take an interest in our work.

See you on the course!

Craig Betts Course Manager