New toy!

I'm delighted to inform all viewers and members of Malton and Norton Golf Club we have purchased and received delivery of a ride on bunker raking machine. We have been without a ride on machine since March 2012, due the old machine being unusable through wear and tear after over 25 years of service. The machine was beyond reasonable repair so we hand raked bunkers when we had time over the last year and a half. The new machine is a Toro 3040 and makes a fantastic job.

The staff checked and adjusted sand distribution and raked all the bunkers this morning. Now we have the machine we will regularly rake the bunkers to improve this particular area of our course. From checking bunkers this morning we have identified a number of bunkers which require sand to ensure the depth in the bunker is consistent. This has been ordered and will arrive in the next few weeks, delivery is delayed on this particular sand (Devilla) due to a slow manufacturing rate in the glass production industry at the moment. The Devilla sand is an waste product from glass production. The bunkers will be topped up as soon as it arrives.

Else where we have finished micro tining the greens, all greens have been tined, groomed, cut and rolled.

Subsequently we have cut and rolled each day to ensure the greens are as smooth as possible and maintain the speed, currently at 10'6''.

Once the work on the greens had been completed we sprayed them with a compost tea brew, this application was brewed for 38 hours to compare to previous brews, which were brewed for 24 hours. The literature says compost tea brewed for this length of time will create a more fungal dominant liquid, which is what I am looking to apply to improve the perennial grasses on the greens.
The surrounds were deep scarified using the thatchaway units and groomed afterwards to remove coarse grasses and any lateral growth. Following this we sprayed them with iron, fertiliser and primo to aid recovery.
Copses have been strimmed, clubhouse plants are being replaced, excavated soil from winter drainage is being transported to the end of the range, some of the fairways have been divoted and regular cutting across the course continues.