The Winter Programme

One of the questions I get asked a lot is what do you guys do in the winter? Well I thought it might be easier to add a copy of the winter programme I give to the MC to show all the areas we are planning on working on. This is weather depending and a rough guide because like we know in life, things come up that have to be dealt with (for example: High winds may bring trees down or snow may stop aeration and turfing works).

Note: Projects Teams are Aesthetics Team (step repairs 150 posts etc), Heathland Team (Shaping, pruning and clearing the last leaves, removal of invasive species) Drainage and Irrigation team (improvements to both areas) and Repair team (repairing damage on fairways, surrounds etc)

As you can see the winter works are pretty busy, some would say busier than summer. With normal tasks taking longer. 

In the Summer one member of staff can cut the greens using a triple mower (ride on) in 3.5 hours including Pre start checks and washing down. In the winter, the greens are hand mown. This takes four members of the team 3 hours to do including set ups and wash down. That's 8.5 hours more for the same task. That's not including having two staff members blowing leaves off the greens so they can get cut, again this takes 3 hours. So cutting greens alone takes 14.5 hours compared to 3.5! The reason we hand cut is to minimise compaction on the greens and damage around the course and I think we can all agree our greens in the winter have definitely moved forward.

Lighting kits have been added to machinery to help us set the course up in the winter months

During the summer course set ups normally include mowing greens daily and rolling them three/four times a week. In the winter the growth drops away but our disease pressure intensifies. Removing dew in the morning is one of main tasks as long spells of moisture on the leaf cause turf diseases, especially when its mild. The greens are dewied most days in the winter unless being cut, rolled or frost. This is done by Dewie brushes. These are 6ft wide brushes that the team push round the greens to knock the dew off. Walking around 12,000 steps by 8.30am...

Dewing Greens 

One question I sometimes get asked, is Why are the team driving around the course when we cannot take trolleys? Well in short if it gets too bad, we will not! Driving in the winter is kept to a minimum but due to the amount of equipment needed to carryout a course set up, it's not possible to walk around with it all.

(Tools for morning set up : Blowers x 2, Squeegee x 1, Hole changer-board-bucket with flags-hole puller-scissors-top hat-syringe, shovels x 2, swish x 1, bin bags, divot mix, white paint and head lamps)



We are lucky at Stoneham to have the old 'Stoneham Park House' driveway which went down to the fishing lakes (originally the house lakes) Below is a picture of the lakes with the house in the background. I am going off piste a bit but the now internal greenkeepers path which has been extended over the years runs from the Greenkeepers yard round to the 12th meaning we can drive around in the winter and the team can stick to this, but have all the tools they may need close by. Sometimes this may require a few trips back and forth to the machine to get everything we need.

However, Golfers tend to follow the same routes due to the nature of the game and in these areas that damage is caused. Roping off areas to stop people with carry bags as well as trolleys from causing to much damage its essential. We have introduced rubber mats to walk on and turfed areas with rubber mats on top, so the grass can grow through. This then becomes a hard wearing area that looks more natural in the summer. We plan to intro more of these in the future.

Please remember that banning trolleys is the last thing we want to do and when we ask for you to make every effort to carry your bag, we hope that those who can honestly say they need one will and those who can carry will. If you are young, fit and healthy... you can carry your bag! It's your golf course but damage costs can spiral if trolleys are used when damage can be caused but its the members that eventually end up with the bill...

Anyway back to the winter program. You can see we break this down four main areas;-

1. Renovation/Maintenance
2. Construction
3. Other
4. Woodland Management

Renovation and maintenance- These areas are really general greenkeeping duties (Aeration, Seeding, Irrigation, Cutting etc).

Construction - This is pretty obvious and includes all major works and tasks that take a bit of time to complete.

Stripping back the dead turf from the summer

After being re turfed

Other - This is where our time allocation goes mainly outside of daily work and projects. Leaf clearance (remember this takes over 900 man hours every winter from October to December alone and is a huge drain on our resources but we have other tasks to do at the same time and it's my job to prioritise these), shrub cutting and clearance, health and safety updates etc.

Woodland Management- We have huge areas of woodlands, these are as big as the golf course (playing areas) and this area need to be managed. We are lucky to have the 'Bon fire crew' who help us on Tuesdays to maintain these areas but its at this time of year our attentions turn to these areas as the growth rates drop.   

All of the above works need to be carried out along with our daily set ups, cutting of the course and anything else that may come up. You can see from what I have said earlier, tasks take longer in the winter, even basics like course set up and cutting greens. We have also have other priorities, like keeping the dew off the greens and then the issue of leaves, turf that needs to be down early enough to root and get recovery ahead of the summer. 

Planning like this helps us to focus on what is important for the long run and not just the short run and enables us to keep moving the course forward! 

See you all soon and wrap up warm 

Matt  

2018 Wow what a YEAR!

I would like to start this blog wishing you all a 'Happy New Year'!

As the dust finally settles on 2018 and we finally put all the Christmas decorations away and the empty bottles in the recycling bin, it's time to look back and forward.
It's like making the turn on the course and realising how bad the front 9 went, or at least how good the front 9 went but what is for certain, as we look to the back 9 we have HOPE. We hope things will turn round or things will continue to keep getting better and better...that's a human trait.

When I look back over the last twelve months, I know it's been an interesting one! I can safely say it was the hardest year I ve had as a greenkeeper. We all know I am obsessed with the weather and that's because it affects everyday life for us, everyday decisions, everyday outcomes or comments back in. It affects budgets and resources and whatever weather we get we have no control over...  None of this can be planned. What we can do is plan our best way out of each situation, we can change plans on the last minute if needed and have back up plans, we can plan using the seasons (even though they are shifting) and we can use the weather to forecast our plans. Last year we have had to learn and adapt more than ever but do you know what? I loved it...

Below is a link to Video I have made summing up 2018 in four minutes. The team at Stoneham have been great during the challenging year and that includes all the clubhouse and pro shop staff. Teams get you through difficult situations, individuals don't. A massive thank you to the team!
Please enjoy the video :-  https://youtu.be/v2P71CNDx14

2018 started off started off wet, very wet. This was mainly due to the wet end of 2017, this then carried on with 280mm of rain in the first 3 months plus 10 days of snow. We thawed out from the first round of snow in time for the February greens maintenance, something I had been considering a lot and all the data said it was the best time to do it... we did it and got it finished only for the "Beast from the East" to arrive with more snow and freezing conditions.
I had never seen snow on the beach and told my son he would not see it again in his lifetime or at least until he was a man and then two weeks later it snowed again on the beach! At that point I should have realised it was not going to be a normal year. Interestingly, the greens had fully recovered by the week we were planning to hold Maintenance week at the end of March, meaning we had better greens for extra month nearer the season. Imagine if we had a good spring!

So the cold SSW (Sudden Stratospheric Warming) which is a swift jump in temperatures linked to cold weather was our biggest worry in March and April as temperatures dropped and so did the growth and recovery around the course. The rain came down heavy again in April with low temps meaning no evaporation so things were wet. This highlighted some areas that will required drainage in the future including some greens and the 18th fairway near the top was almost un-walkable. This has since been drained as part of the bunker project and has been good ever since.

May came with only 6 days of rain and temperatures started to jump as did the rough, this caused issues for a couple of weeks and we tried to get on top of certain areas but we knew it would eventually burn off in the summer and this is something we had to be wary of as we looked to protect the heather areas. June came with 30 degree heat (plus 26 for 25 days in row) with NO RAIN, 0mm that's never been recorded here. It must have happened during history but nothing recorded.

By July we were now getting close to beating 1976.. the hottest year on record. The down side was grass coverage and heather. We just could not get enough water out, we watered all day and all night where we could. Golf clubs with fairway watering were putting out so much that eventually they had to make the decision to stop due to costs or licences meaning they would not have enough water for greens. We concentrated on Greens, we moisture probed all day long and applied enough to water to cover ET (evaporation). The tees showed how badly are aging system is and things we need to do to improve it. These were also getting hand watered along with the heather areas that we could reach. Unfortunately the fairways took the biggest hit by August, everything we were taught in college about grass species had gone out of the window. This left Greenkeepers and Agronomists all over the country asking questions to why? The hottest and most prolonged heat for 42 years was the answer.
We had great tans, good bbqs and amazing golfing weather but even that became a chore with evening or early morning golf becoming the answer. In short... even the golf course got sunburnt and now our next three seasons (Autumn,Winter and Spring) will be taken up repairing the damage for the new season.

One of the bonuses from the hot spell was that we finally caught up on the lorries filling the practice ground (phase 1), apart from the dust which they spent many man hours trying to hose down (that must have been sole destroying for there staff, we were at least were watering to keep the grass alive).

The other big bonus being there was no delay to phase 3 of the bunker project. We finished nearly 40 days ahead of  the previous year, mainly down to the weather. The heather turfing was finished in December like previous years due to only being able to be lifted until mid November.
The work in phase 3 has been dramatic and enhanced some holes that previously not as visually impacting as other holes on the course. What has come out of the bunker project, is a modern version of Stoneham, a more aesthetically pleasing with increased 'risk and reward' for the golfer. I think the changes have been fantastic!

As we go into 2019 we will be addressing all the teething problems (the 2nd drainage issue just short of the apron, refining the grasses, re-turfing the summer damage on bunker banks, firming up and making sure bunker sand levels are correct plus more). Doing a huge project like we have over the last three years will always bring teething problems but these are just another challenge for us to get over, it would be boring without a challenge!

Our other battle, the leaves (remember those trees get bigger each year) started in October and is still going on with small amounts of drift from the winter winds in January, these drifts tend to blow leaves out of woodland areas around the course and these gather in ditches (which have been cleared 3 times already this winter, this alone take three peoples two full days ) They also get stuck in the heather. Again these are constantly blown out. All leaves with the course are collected are moved with Trilo or Grillo (big hoovers) these are not just blown into the woods. We average about 10 loads a day moved from play to dump sites within the boundary and we spend over 900 man hours on leaves alone during October and December each year (as recorded on G2C).

 
Along with the leaf clearance work, we have been working hard on hollow coring/solid tinning the playing surfaces while topping up bunkers from the sand lost during the year.
The main area for our attention (outside of the greens) has the fairways, these took the biggest impact during the drought and these have been scarified, hollow tinned, wet agents applied, fertilisers applied (both granular and liquids) and over seeded. Over seeding fairways costs thousands of pounds and the club know we may have to go again in spring in some areas. The mild weather at the the end of 2018 finally helped us as most of the seed established. Yes, we still will see an increase in moss and weeds. We knew that would happen due to the grasses thinning out. These are easily fixed and something we will be addressing in the the spring renovations.

                                                                                             
During this time the EU Banned some major chemicals from being used within horticulture. The withdrawal of chemicals used to suppress worms has gone, meaning worms cannot be touched and worm casts is a battle that only reducing OM levels and brushing will help. We have already upped our hollow coring in the last two years to fairways and from 2019 we will be boxing off (collecting clippings) fairways as the club have invested heavily in new fairway mowers.
We have also seen bans to pesticides used to stop the grubs from eating the roots of the grass plants (this might not be a bad thing enviromentally). This again will cause other issues as birds will peck these areas as they look for a tasty snack. We are looking at encouraging Starlings as these eat the grubs but they have smaller beaks causing little to no damage. Watch out for more on this...
The big withdrawals have come in for products used to prevent turf diseases on greens or as I would call them the 'get out jail free card' for those of you who play monopoly. Improved cultural practices like we have been doing for the last three years with monthly aeration to keep the plants healthy, good drainage and air flow will be needed too. Looking at increasing our speed of bringing in more disease tolerant grass species. A greater understanding from golfers across Europe is going to have come as disease outbreaks will happen on any turf from time to time but is how quick we can get recovery and keeping the plants resistants up. In other words, we will keep the vitamins high and hope not to get to many flu's!!!

All in all, with the practice ground project, the final phase of the bunker project, the aeration being upped, the woodland management, the drainage work, the drought, the snow, the cold and the mild plus the new regulations, it's been a learning year. It's been a good year and we have a lot to be positive about. Stoneham has come along way this year and in the last three years and we plan to keep improving. When I think of 2018... Wow, what a year!

See you all soon

Matt

 

Course Update December 2018

Hi All,

11th Green December 2018

As the famous lines of John Lennon say "So this is Christmas and what have you done" ring out in my head on this grey overcast day as I sit in my office, planning work and signing off invoices.

Well to answer my opening line... a lot of work is being done out on the course. Mostly it's been clearing leaves and laying heather turf plus daily set ups for the team of late. This as you can imagine with all our trees is very labour intensive but I felt the team dealt with the leaves really well this year. We had some weekend set up's from hell  (Set up's include blowing greens and surrounds, blowing out every bunker and every tee, dewing or cutting greens, raking every bunker, moving any holes or emptying any full of water and moving the markers all before the first tee off time and then the battle to stay ahead).

The heather is now being added to areas to frame the holes and new features and giving the finishing touches to the new bunkers (which I think look great).

The new look 18th

 The 2nd hole is still having some teething problems with water holding on the apron. The little drain we put in is running but cant cope with the amount of water sitting on it. I plan to lift an area and shape it back down to the levels the shaper put in which I feel has been lost during the top soiling phase of the works. We have not been able to see this until the levels settled. This is an easy fix and something we will address once we have completed the heather turfing and leaf clearance.

I have done a video blog to save you reading anymore of my ramblings, which is available here:-

https://youtu.be/nBIaT56ruCo

As I look back throughout the year, I realise how tough it's been. From the wet start, to the snow, the cold spring and then the burning heat. I think the Bunker project has gone well, obviously we are left with areas to re turf following the drought and this will be addressed in the new year along with more over-seeding and aeration to get the grasses back. Weeds and moss were inevitable this year after losing coverage but that's part of the challenge. Every year is different and every year has its challenges. The removal of some major aids to Golf Course Managers with chemical removals will and adds to the pressure because we have lost our get out of jail cards. When I say we I mean golfers! So we are going to have address as many issues as we can rather than spraying something to hide them. Air flow, light and aeration will be key. My job is to minimise the impact of this work to you all. 

It's been a tough year but we have some really positive things to be proud of. The greens have played well this year and we have hit a lot of our targets regarding OM levels (this alone will help in the future), we have completed our bunker project so disruption will never be at that level again. We have added drainage to some wet areas and seen huge improvement to our aprons and tees. We have added real quality to the team and I believe next year is an exciting one for Stoneham as we look to improve and move forward!

Winners BIGGA Turkey Trot 2018 Stoneham 

I would like to thank the team at Stoneham for all their hard work and commitment over the last year, it's been a hard one but you all have been fantastic.

Lets end as we started... as John Lennon also sang we wish you 

"A very merry Christmas and a happy new year, Let's hope it's a good one without any fear"

Matt 

  

Stoneham Recovery (After the War)

Hi all,

I just thought I would put these pictures up for you all to look at. This was sent to the club via Twitter but it’s a copy of an article written about Stoneham and how it survived the war and held the Dunlop Masters (Now the British Masters). I hope you can zoom in on the pictures. This will allow you to read the article after all these years. I have asked for a copy so I can put it up in the clubhouse.

From this article I have learnt some very interesting things:-

•1906 Willie Park Surveyed an old deer park north of Southampton and reported it would make a “First-Class golf course”

•June 10th 1941 - Four parachute bombs landed on the course. One landed in the car park killing 16 soldiers who were standing by military vehicles. 

•During the Blitz no fewer than 2000 people were fed snack meals and given shelter in the clubhouse (old clubhouse). 

•The clubhouse became a Air Raid Precautions (ARP) Rendezvous and the bomb shelter to the right of the clubhouse (from 18th) was Southampton’s Emergency Control centre before becoming a Greenkeepers building later on. 

•Wire and metal poles erected on the fairways to stop planes landing (Some of these chains are still visible within the truck of some of the trees on the course today). 

A Bunker was added to the 18th Fairway to make it narrower for planes to land. 

•George Tolfree Head Greenkeeper (50 years) ran the course pretty much on his own during the war with volunteer parties helping out. He did however get help from the then Captain Mr E C Waller (Un Paid). Both have caricatures hanging in the clubhouse!

•Plus lots more...

Please have a look. It’s amazing to see some of the old photos and here the reasons why certain things are how they are today! 

Enjoy 

Matt 

The Unsung Hero's of Stoneham Golf Club

Hi All,

Hollow right of 18th Opened up to be more of a feature

18th Hollow Before

I just wanted to do a quick blog to thank the Unsung Hero's of the club in my eyes.
Golf clubs up and down the country are run with huge help and time given by volunteers. These volunteers come in all ways, some give their time, professional expertise and advice on committees.

So many at this club have done this throughout the years, some for many, many years like Angus Murray Fisher who we sadly lost this year. Thank you to all of you who have sat on the Management, Captains, Ladies, Seniors and other committees in the past and present for helping to shape the club.

Others will give their time as starters, ball spotters, referees, gardeners, flower arranging, Christmas decorations etc. Others will help repair a leaky roof or plumbing that might need fixing and offer to help quicker than we can get tradesman in. Some have helped make things, bake things or donate things. ALL of YOU have played your part in helping to run the club.

View From 10th January 2018

View after the work by the crew

View From 10th 1980's

 My special group 

There are one group outside of the Committees, who also give so much time to the course. A group I get the pleasure in spending time with and seeing most weeks. The group known to the greenstaff affectionately as the "Bonfire Crew', the reason for this is because generally when they are in, you can see smoke rising up at some point on the course and for those of you who know this group is organised by our president Niall Fitzgerald, know that Niall loves a bonfire!

This small group of volunteers come every week and spend time cutting back bushes, removing dead or small dangerous trees. Sometimes when we have a big competition on they will divot the fairways to help out the greenstaff. Generally though they remove unwanted undergrowth and tidy our woodlands, raking up leaves and protect the future of woodlands by "proper management" - a quote from the Forestry commision on their visit to the club this year. Don't ever think a park, National trust site, RSBP site or even the New Forest isn't being managed because I can assure you they are and I am normally on training courses with them.

The group all so enjoy some amazing home made food (which I can tell is the most talked about thing as group, not how hard they are working) while sat around the fires when the decide they need a break. There have been many who have been part of this small group, a small group who do big work and help me, the greenstaff and the members of this golf club with pride... We thank all of you, past and present!

Matt           

Fairway work, Bunkers and 2nd hole update

Hi Everyone,

I just wanted to do a quick blog with some updates from the course. I have done a quick Vlog covering the 2nd hole, fairways and bunkers.


link here:
https://youtu.be/WAgD6vTZAVg

The fairways, tees, aprons and surrounds have all been hollow cored. The pictures above show just how dry it was until the 40mm of rain over the weekend.

Over seeding fairways with Dwarf rye and Fescue has been started. We have had to stop while the seeder is repaired. This will be finished next week

Other news

The dark mornings are making course set up harder for the team. The first few holes are being set up under lights. Please be aware the team are trying there best to stay ahead but set up takes longer under torch light.

2nd hole drainage added to help water shed quicker. James Ferris our new greenkeeper, getting stuck in on his first day.

The blowers and Trilo (big hoover) are now out and will be a common site in the coming months

The team have sanded all the new bunkers (more on the bunker project to come) and are now re visiting the first and second phase bunkers to check and add sand 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The home straight!

Hi All,

I can’t believe it after 3 years of major disruption for you the members and stress for me, we are finally on the home straight of the Bunker project. 

I wasn’t ever sure if we would ever raise enough money or would we be supported so positively in getting this project finished but we have. Seeing those machines coming down 18 filled me with such joy. 

I know it’s been tough at times but I must thank you ALL for your patience, support and enthusiasm over the last three years. Like I said in my first ever blog. Stoneham is a great course, a fantastic club with amazing history. 

We are making history right now... We are changing a course from 1908 and modernising it but keeping it very ‘Stoneham’. 

This is a term we have used a lot during this project, we have looked at original photos, copied sand lines or tried to mimic the original features around the course. We wanted to modernise so the golfer has something to think about. We wanted to make it more aesthetically pleasing on the eye and improve the health and safety. We wanted it to be great... WE WANTED IT TO BE VERY, VERY STONEHAM! 

The Autumn Equinox has been and we are now in Autumn

So the home straight isn’t quite finished but the end is in site. We have started to add sand to the bunkers, we will be finishing turfing the bunkers on the 15th and 18th. The 18th green surround and bunkers are now finished and awaiting out fall drainage and turfing . These were probably the most difficult on the course hence why we left them to last. There is very little room between the green and putting green.  We also wanted them to be visual around the green and from the clubhouse. 

You may have also noticed the new fairway bunkers. These were all part of Ken Moodie golf course Architects plan. The Bunker left was set at 240 yards and the one right has been moved back to 285 yards. Meaning a real risk and reward shot up 18th from the tee for the big guns. 

The new approach Bunker has been added and the hollow on the right lowered to narrow the gap for those playing short. 

One less bunker right of 18th giving a bigger walk off area towards the clubhouse 

The green side Bunkers have reduced by one from six to five to allow us to give more exit room from the green towards the clubhouse. 

Let’s talk about what else we have been up too lately. 

Greens 

The greens recovery from maintenance week was very impressive but we have been out again giving our monthly solid tine. 

As I have spoke before about this, it is essential for us as we look to keep organic matter levels under control and improve soil biology. Improving the biology will help with the battle against diseases. It’s basically improving our immune system and aiding drainage. 

Fairways

The summer has taken its toll on the fairways

With 2018 being the hottest on record and now one of the driest six months ever, we have seen some serious damage to the fairways. 

The plus side to clay is that it tends to hold on to moisture longer meaning we were greener than most during the start of the heat wave but the downside is if it drys out, it takes a lot to re wet. We have applied wetting agents and fertilised them in attempt to get some growth but we simply haven’t had enough rain to make a difference. Another thing I am monitoring closely are the grass species and how they are reacting to the heat and how they have recovered after the heat.

This has been interesting because everything we Greenkeepers have been taught in College about certain grass species being drought resistant or quicker at recovering from drought hasn’t been true this year. Was the heat so extreme? Have we not had enough rainfall since? What species have come out the best and why? These are all questions being discussed by Course Managers across the south. There are not many Course Managers around that worked through 1976 to ask how they recovered. My guess would be they didn’t... They just let nature take its course but Golf has changed and standards have undoubtedly been raised.

So what are we going to do?
Well we have scarified fairways already and we are hollow coring them next week. I am hoping even though they are hard the hollow time will at least get in the top inch or two to punch holes in the mat layer on the surface. This will then allow grass to come through this. I expect then we will carry out some over seeding of the worst areas along with more liquid fertilisers to try and establish grass before the temperatures drop too low. One of my major concerns with have bare areas on fairways is weed and worm invasion. I know this sounds like a 70’s film but it what will invade bare areas first! 

Let’s hope the coring works and some minor over seeding plus some rain will see huge improvements... fingers crossed.

We may be forced into over seeding fairways, this is obviously a costly exercise

Aprons and Tees 

The aprons and tees have had there winter fertiliser and were hollow cored and solid tined during maintenance week. These will be done again during the fairway hollow coring. Our plan now it to lower the organic levels in the aprons to firm them up over the coming years, so they react more like greens and shots can be played with this in mind. We also will be adding lots of sand. This will help with drainage especially on the tees but will also assist us in our battle against worms. 

Worms 

A reminder... we are now not allowed to use the products we once used to control worms. The chemical is now banned in Europe meaning things are going to get tougher in the winter months that’s for sure. We are looking at improving all cultural practices to help us in this battle. Including dressing with sand. Why? Because worms don’t like sand as it can irritate them. It also helps change the ph of the soil (again something they don’t like) and over time we will build a layer of sand above the profile meaning the three types of casting worm will bring sand up rather than clay. Which as you can imagine will be easier to remove and should naturally disperse. 

Phase 3 Bunker Project 

2nd 

Flymoing the first cuts on 2

The 2nd hole grow is going well but is still very soft in places. This maybe something we have to keep an eye on as the weather changes and maybe we will need to review the hole opening on a daily basis. 

Most of the seed has established but I would think we are still only at 85% establishment. The high points and tops of ridges are always the last to come through as the moisture tends to shed off of these. 

We have managed to get three cuts now on the main areas including hand mowing the aprons turf that was put back down. We started off Flymoing the turf and have now moved to the semi rough mowers set at 20mm. We intend to slowly bring this down ready for the start of next season. 

When will it open? 

Well, that’s the big question. My honest answer is... not long. At the moment we need to work on the apron area so any balls coming up short may have a chance of getting on. Lots of top dressing is required o smooth this out too. We may rope off the weaker areas and provide ball scopes for you to be able to retrieve your ball. So in short I think it’s days not weeks away from opening in some shape or form. This will be monitored daily. 

The 2nd being cut and sand added to the bunkers

11th Ditch 

The ditch across the 11th last year took us nearly two weeks due to the heavy rainfall. We had dumpers and diggers stuck down there and the scares still haven’t fully healed. We were never totally happy with the finished look as it didn’t match the 8th ditch but this in the end was more about getting across rather than aesthetics. One year on and we got chance to rough it up and make it blend with the ditch at the 8th. This took just three hours in the dry and shows you the difference having the right weather can make to the projects. 

9th

The new swale linking to left of the 9th has now rooted but is still a bit soft but we are now cutting it and will continue to work that areas until it’s ready to open. The new Bunker right is a big improvement on the last one and it drains... which is nice. 

We have also shaped the front right to take rain water away from the green and not near the bunker. We have removed the old steps behind and added a walk off path for those without a trolley. 

The rear of the green got stripped and reshaped and been re turfed. You may have noticed this has been very dry and just shows how little rain we have had. Having a member of the team hand watering the new turfs all day has been a four days per week task for us plus some additional work at weekends. At some point the weather should break bad Mother Nature can give us hand. 

10th

The new bunkers on 10 look fantastic. The left Bunker has completely changed shaped and has moved closer to the green. We are governed by seeing the sand lines v cutting v heights of the banks. This is prime example. Any closer to the green we would be able to mow it. Any further away it would be back where it started. The middle Bunker moved closer too and the right Bunker has been turned to you can see the sand line back left and maybe some added heather like the old one might be coming soon...

The mounding left took some work to try and make this look more natural than the old version but also giving you the same short of issues you had before. We again added another swale/ run off left of this to take surface water running towards the green away from it and pushing it down the back or  falling the other way towards the ditch st the front. 

These subtle movements will help keep us more playable during wet spells.

The dead pine behind 10th green

Two trees at the rear of the green were removed due to drought damage. I know drought damage... one of them was one of my favourite pine trees on the course. Unfortunately the summer took its toll and they were both dead. The tree surgeons confirmed this and we had no choice but to remove them on safety grounds. The only positive is the fact we have some stunning old oaks behind which have filled the void. 

15th

The bunkers at 15th have been remodeled. The left Bunker has come closer to the green and the one right has moved closer left meaning the gap to the green has been tightened! (said in an evil voice). 

The Bunker at the rear has been lifted so it’s now what we would call a reverse Bunker. A higher back than front.  The advantage to this is you can see the sand line at the back of the green as you approach. Mounds have been added to the left to stop rain water running down 16th and across and onto the green. 

We have also reduce some of the slope at the rear of the green as this wouldn’t hold water and we were left with thin grass coverage on the green.

A huge amount of drainage was also added to the area from the Bunker. This joins up fall from the bunkers at the 16th and then goes down and out into the ditch behind the 16th tee. We are hoping that will improve the wet area we always got near the steps of that tee too. 

Look out for some subtle heather being added to the mound between the 15th fairways. 

16th

This hole has seen a huge transformation. The one Long Bunker in from has now been broken into three. Sand lines are now visible from the tee. The bunkers were moved slightly right due to the amount of rain water that falls from the green off the front and into the old bunker. This meant it was always washed out and leaving clay mixed with sand . We obviously didn’t want to many wash outs so again we shaped it to try and get the majority of the water away from the bunkers and green.

Graham giving the re laid green its first cut

The front of the green was lifted and lowered with lasers by 6 inches to allow a better view onto the green. This has had its first cuts and will re open soon.

Some turf has been striped ahead of the heather plugging

The left side has seen some major work with a swale added short of the Bunker. This has a gully pot in it to take excessive rainwater away. The new Bunker has a sand line now visible from the tee and no the angle isn’t to steep. It’s just long but is only 28.4. Blinder guarantee slopes up to 35 degrees. 

The mound left will hide the pathway behind and link up to the existing mound and blend into the new Bunker. 

The bunker at the rear of the green has been removed in an attempt to create more walk off points to the 17th tee. 

Again lots of drainage work went into this hole to get the correct falls away. This has now been turfed and we have started to add sand to the bunkers. We are trying to do this before the weather turns to minimise damage to the course. These will along with the other will open once ready.

I hope this blog has given you a quick update and understanding of what’s going on out the course at the moment. As the late great Elvis Presley once sang “ I believe for every drop of rain that falls a flower grows”! My flower is grass so let’s pray for SOME rain preferably at night to help us get recovery from the summer and to help bed our new turfs down before the new season. 

Speak to you all soon and thank you again

Matt