AGRONOMY UPDATE

MATTHEW PERRY, Golf Course Superintendent AGRONOMY UPDATE

Dear Members,

Well, what a whirlwind start to the year for the Golf Course Maintenance department. The Slync.io Desert Classic was something we were all looking forward to as it was a new elevated tournament and we got to show off the work we did to the Majlis greens last summer. There was a little bit of nervousness going into the tournament as we all know the greens are still very young and still finding our way on how much we could push them to get speed. Well, it was safe to say they did exceptionally well. Most days during the tournament week was a single cut and a single roll which shows how consistent they were. The rolled great and we had some great comments from players and organizers which was nice to hear. Below is the last day stimp readings so you can see how consistent we were. This table is done every morning so we could see if any greens needed a bit extra work or if we needed to back off.

HOLE CUT/ROLL STIMP HOLE CUT/ROLL STIMP PPG SC + SR 12.9 1 SC + SR 12.9 10 SC + SR 12.9 2 SC + SR 12.7 11 SC + SR 12.8 3 SC + SR 12.8 12 SC + SR 12.7 4 SC + SR 12.8 13 DC + SR 12.8 5 SC + SR 12.7 14 DC + SR 12.8 6 SC + SR 12.8 15 SC + SR 12.8 7 SC + SR 12.8 16 SC + SR 12.8 8 SC + SR 12.7 17 SC + SR 12.7 9 SC + SR 12.8 18 SC + SR 12.7

SC = Single Cut DC = Double Cut SR = Single Roll

It was great to have the team at the presentation this year and Viktor Hovland our winner was very engaging and complemented the team on the course condition.

Would like to also thank the team for their hard work during the lead up to the tournament, they really raised the bar. We were also grateful for 3 volunteers coming over for 2 weeks from Gleneagles Golf Club. They loved there time here and said it was an experience of a lifetime. It’s great to support greenkeepers starting their careers and they really settled in with the team very well. Thanks also to our Dubai Golf Interns who have been working with us since October and now experienced 4 professional events across our clubs.

The course has bounced back very well since the tournament has finished and the greens are doing well. There are a few areas that had some shade issues and high traffic areas but we are confident that once warmer temperatures return these will recover nicely.

Tropical Signal Grass removal has started on the Faldo course as this is something we want to eradicate as much as we can this year. The spraying of this broad leaf grass is something we have not done on Faldo before as it does kill the paspalum. We plan to spray it 3 times so that it’s fully eliminated and then sprig with new grass so that we have a purer grass golf course and not a mix. There will be some brown areas around the course, but this action is only a positive to get the course in better condition over the long term.

It’s been great having the new carts on the courses and with them being Lithium they are much more ecofriendly and lighter which is great for wear on the course. There has been an issue with them being much nimbler and that is they can damage the turf if sharp turns happen at speed. Please can we keep that in mind when out on the course so we can protect the grass from damage as you would not want to have your ball in a ripped turf mark when playing.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all then members for their support over the last 2 months. We did have some testing few weeks and appreciated members who reached out to us and showed amazing compassion towards the Golf Course Maintenance department.

Happy golfing and enjoy the rest of the season.

Matthew Perry

Golf Course Superintendent