Golf Course May Update

May 28, 2024

Weather

In a break from recent trends of dry spring periods we have seen a steady supply of rainfall so far this season, including a little-needed 160mm in April (near three times the average) to top up the groundwater from a punishing winter season.

Rainfall through May has been steady and useful. Soil temperatures have risen gradually and we have not seen the intense growth spurts that often occur in spring and make mowing become a tedium of daily catch-up to merely keep the height down.

The wet winter had a big impact on managing bunkers where each time we have a significant downpour the demanding task of raking and moving sand was undone swiftly, resulting in flattened and recompacted bunker sand often within hours of the work being done. The persistence and hard work of the greenkeeping team through six months of arduous weather needs to be acknowledged.

Gravel Banding

Improving the resilience of the course during periods of high rainfall is a key focus over the coming year as part of a multi-year programme of works. The most significant of this work, which includes sand topdressing and gypsum application, is the installation of gravel bands to compliment the existing drainage system and assist in moving surface water away more quickly into the drainage, improving surface playability.

Banding has commenced on the third fairway and carry. Once the planned areas on the third are complete, work will commence on the eleventh fairway and semi rough.

We will review the impact that these works have on play and implement necessary rulings if needed.

Bunkers

All bunkers that have had new sand installed have had new rakes placed in them. These rakes will produce a more suitable finish when used in a pulling action. They will not pull sand back towards the user and over time this will result in lower sand migration towards the rear of bunkers. We have reduced the number of rakes out on the course as it has been demonstrated over the last few years, that increasing the number of rakes in each bunker does not increase the likelihood of golfers using them.

See you on the course.

Jaey Goodchild
Head Greenkeeper

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