Weather hits back

Alot of maintenace scheduled on the greens this week before the Christmas period has been delayed, as the weather has turned just at the wrong time. Aeration of the greens was due to be finished on Monday and Tuesday however the extremely cold conditions over the weekend has meant frost stayed in the greens for longer than hoped. Even today some of the greens were still frozen to an inch in depth. Mainly the sheltered ones such as the 5th, 14th,21st, 24th and 25th. Even where the frost had thawed, the 4mm of overnight rain had left the surfaces saturated, meaning no aeration work could be done. This will now have to be completed in the new year.
We started cutting the greens this afternoon with the hand mower, but only the dry ones, which meant only 5 could be completed today, hopefully tomorrow will bring better conditions
The last pick up of leaves with the tractor mounted cage collector was completed today by the Greenstaff, all the course will be tidied with the tornado blower in the new year.,

Winter servicing begins

When the weather is wet or to frosty for any work outside we turn our attention to maintaining all the machines and course funiture.

 Ransomes hand mower being stripped down and serviced ready for greens cutting later this week, along with fairway and tees units.

 Adam and Rob (below)servicing one of the many fairway units ready for the new season.

Alistair and Scott starting to sand, paint and stain the 170 tee markers needed for the upcoming season.

Frosty weather

The recent frosty weather has left the golf course frozen solid, as all members are aware it is the clubs policy to play on the greens all year round. The rain that has fallen today has begun to stand, as there is no where for it to go. As the temperature starts to rise water should drain more freely, however as the surface gets softer please take care around the course as it will become very slippy where soil conditions may still be frozen underneath. When it gets a little milder this week we will finish aerating greens with the 8mm tines and tidy the greens up with the hand mower, set at 5mm, followed by an application of iron. This should last throughout the Christmas period.

Bunker Renovations Continued

 17th right greenside, refaced

 17th left greenside, refaced and reshaped

18th second fairway bunker, refaced and reshaped

Recent Bunker Renovations

 18th greenside bunker, refaced

 9th third fairway bunker, deepened by 150mm to incorporate the required depth of sand and a new drain installed linked to the existing fairway drainage.

 7th fairway bunker, refaced. Face was lined with up side down turf to stop stone ingress.

4th right greenside bunker, refaced, reshaped and new drain installed to soakaway.

3rd left greenside bunker, refaced, face was lined with upside down turf to stop stone ingress.

Solid tining greens

 As soon as the frost had cleared on the greens the weidenmann was out solid tining with 8mm solid tines to a depth of 175mm. this will aid drainage, relieve compaction and give the rootzone vital gas exchange for healthy root growth. We should have all the greens finished for tuesday next week, weather permitting.

9th greenside bunker

9th greenside bunker has been excavated to remove sand from the face and reshaped, this bunker will now be turfed in the new year

Sleeper work at the 8th pond

Before: All the sleepers around the 8th pond were rotten after 23 years out in the elements, and in need of replacement!

After 3 days of hard work all the old sleepers have been replaced with sound sleepers, which should last another 20 years.

Welcome

Welcome to the Malton and Norton Golf Club Greens Department blog. This area helps to illustrate to members what is going on around the golf course and lets you know about changes and thoughts regarding the golf course. I hope you find it informative.

kind regards

Richard