Summer……
The weather has not helped much again. With the exception of two dry weeks, heavy rainfall has occurred regularly, so some areas have not been able to dry out and recover. The longer days have helped the recovery in between the rain for most of the course and we are starting to see better playing conditions. These last few weeks have finally brought out the sunshine and we are starting to see the course come alive and some of the new features on the course are bedding in.
Growth has ramped up across the course due to the warm wet weather so day to day is full on cutting grass. We have taken the opportunity to bring forward some of our proposed works to be ready should the winter be problematic and new paths should mean some of our less able members are able to get more golf in during wet period and the staff can get around the course without creating as much damage to do essential works.
There are some drainage projects planned for August again in preparation for winter. We will try to minimise the disruption to golf, and planning will be done around the golf calendar where possible.
Finally, I would like to thank and praise the greens staff who have been and will continue to be working effectively short staffed due to my injury I have had surgery to repair my Achillies tendon which was fully torn back in March. Russ and the rest of the team have done fantastically so far to maintain the course battling against the rainfall, and we are starting to see the rewards of all their hard work.
Greens
The greens have come on well although they have still not had chance to dry down fully from winter, but the growth has now evened out. This has meant we have started to refine them down to summer condition. Fertiliser programs for the summer are well established and we will continue to monitor these through the summer and adjust where necessary. We have aeration planned to keep the greens heathy and to improve the roots. We will try to minimise the impact to golf by selecting appropriate times to do it.
Tees
Tees have been hand cut and are looking good. The new 10th tee is settling into its surroundings well.
We are starting to improve the quality of the blue tees also which we hope you can all enjoy.
Bunkers
The 6 bunkers built over the winter are now in play. They will take a while to settle in, but they have been firmed and wacked to improve playability. We have managed to fill up some of the worst bunkers and we hope to continue the renovations over the next few years but continue to top up the bunkers in the meantime.
Fairways and semi rough
Cutting quality has improved as the fairways and semi rough have dried out. We have sprayed and regulated them again to help improve quality.
Rough
Despite the wet weather we have managed to cut the rough each week and we are starting to see the benefit with each cut. Obviously, growth has increased, and the team are working hard to make sure we cut the whole course once per week.
Trees
We have completed lots of tree work this year. Again, due to the weather the stump grinding was delayed. We are working to remove the piles as soon as we can to return the areas to play.
Other Progress
The 8th path has been regraded and we aim to top it with a compatible dust to smooth it out.
We have added other paths around the course to reduce the impact of traffic in wet conditions. The longer goal remains to provide a 9-hole buggy route which can be used all year round.
The SGA schedule has been impacted by my injury and the weather, so we have some work still to do to get it ready for opening. We will only open it when we feel it appropriate.
The shoe blower has been having electrical issues and the compressor has been replaced.
Repairs to the course have been delayed due to weather and will be slower due to growth pressure and staff shortages.
We again apologise in advance for any inconvenience as we all work to better the course each season.
Thanks for working with us and we hope you enjoy your course.
Richie Stephens
Course Manager
