Dig update

Again the weather has been on our side. A few showers but nothing notable, they brought this cracking rainbow on a beautiful morning. Work progressed nicely on the drainage ditch. 

Reaching the point in front of the 20th tee  on Friday.

The next stage of the ditch comes in front of the 20th tee and joins to the 17th ditch. This will be more disruptive to play but we will work around competitions and players on the course. The soil we remove will also be used to make a new 18th tee which will extend the hole by around 60 yards. I must remind members that this hole is SI 6 and plays down the prevailing wind so plays shorter than it's actual distance the majority of the time. When holes 18 and 20 are changed the old 20th tee will be used as the new yellow tee. This will lengthen the yellows by only 25 yards. In general play members do have the option to play off yellows or whites. Technology is making Malton and norton golf club shorter so these changes not only lengthen the course but have other benefits in that area of the course.

1- waiting on the 18th and 20th tee is reduced

2- safety and waiting from tee shots from the 17th will be improved. 

3- area around the 19th green will improved due to different traffic flow. 

4- the angle of the tee shot will be improved on the 18th, creating better safety on the 27th. Although the tee shot will be going over the back of the 17th green slightly, the sequence of play will not endanger anyone playing on the 17th green. 

5- the 20th tee is virtually unusable due to the unevenness of the surface and the size of the white tee so would need to be rebuilt anyway

6- and the initial reason for changing/ making the tees, drainage. The drainage ditch we are excavating is a massive step forward in keeping the course open, more playable and allowing future drainage work to be completed. 

Else where on the course growth has strong coupled with dewy mornings has made getting clean cuts impossible. Height of cut on the greens has been lifted slightly to improve coverage and density going into the autumn period. This will make them slower in pace but once the anthracnose has grown out should still putt smooth for the time of year. 

Leaves are starting to fall so leaf clearance is a daily task at the moment.

Other wise the course is in good shape and the team are working really hard to still produce good playing conditions whilst work loads are increasing.