Storms

Before this weekend of storms things were beginning to get a little dry. The irrigation was being pushed to it's limit which brought inevitable breakdowns. 

This time a leak in the control box behind the 10th green. The leak damaged a coil on one of the valves making the electronic control not function. The box was repositioned and the leak fixed before the electronics tested. We also took the time to drain the box into a drain we installed this winter as this is a natural low spot.

Last week we had a tree fall down on the 6th hole. A willow that had become rotten at the base. The weight eventually pulling it down.

This was cleared within a couple of hours by the team. Luckily when it fell no other trees were damaged.

With the upcoming maintenance weeks getting nearer I thought I would remind all golfers when holes are due to be closed. 

Holes 1-9 will be closed from Monday 3rd august to Thursday 6th 

Holes 10-18 will be closed Monday 10th august to Thursday 13th

And holes 19-27 will be closed Tuesday 25th august to Friday 28th. 

I will cover more details on what we do within this period nearer the time, however this is a good example of the benefits of the work. Taken when moving the hole 

Sand penetrating down to the bottom of the plug with roots using the airspace to grow deep into the soil profile. This helps growth in dry conditions as water is less likely to evaporate the deeper in the ground. It also help drain water from the surface. This is critical to improving the lower soil profile which currently is soil based.

On Friday night we had the first of a series of storms. This one brought 20mm of rain. Fortunately the lightening strikes haven't done any damage to the course. It has greened things up nicely and the course is looking great. With growth restarted we have groomed greens and sprayed with growth regulator.

We have also scarified and cut surrounds. Ryegrass is starting to creep back into surrounds, scarifying helps lift the coarse ends to be cut. We are planning to spray them with rescue which helps remove rye grass. This will be done in September.

Bunkers also have been tidied after the rain.