Thursday 2 February 2017

Irrigation update #4

As we enter into the 3rd week of the irrigation installation things have taken a turn for the worse. Doing anything in January is going to be at the mercy of the British weather, Having started on holes 10-18 on Tuesday things were going smoothly with another 350 meters installed in dry conditions, reaching the 10th green area. Over night we had around 25mm of rain, which not only closed the course but put the contractors on hold until things started to dry out.

Fortunately today has brought drying winds and thankfully we can continue. The aim is to reach the 10th tee (passing the 13th, 15th and 27th greens) to complete a loop with the holes on 1-9. Once this stage is reached the team are then going to concentrate on connecting up and filling in all holes that are currently exposed. The contractors have at least one of their team working on tidying up the work as the plough is working. He concentrates on the 'in play' areas first to ensure play can continue.

Some of the holes are already being filled, all irrigation lines, repairs and infilled areas will remain GUR until further notice.

The bins that are being made 'in house' are now going out on to the course, we have also put a couple out in front of the clubhouse. These are to replace the open style metal bins that are near some of the tees. We have had a lot of issues with animals, crows and squirrels in particular pulling out rubbish which looks very untidy. The sleeper style we have made will hopefully solve this. They are very heavy and are not intended to be moved , so they will be placed in areas where we do not need to move them but are close to the tee. They will be placed on a concrete slab to finish installation. The small bins will be still placed near the tees for any areas we can not place the new ones.

The Air 2 G2 machine is continued to be used and we saw really good results after the recent rainfall in terms of increased drainage rates. Certainly a machine we could use more through the winter.

About Me

Im the Head Greenkeeper at Malton and Norton Golf Club. I began my greenkeeping career at Malton and Norton Golf Club straight from school as an Assistant Greenkeeper. Wanting to climb the greenkeeping ladder I gained my NVQ level 2 and 3 at Askham Bryan College. I continued with my education gaining a HNC in golf course management and took the position of Deputy Head Greenkeeper at Malton and Norton Golf Club in 2005.In 2008 I was promoted to the position of Head Greenkeeper, leading a team of 6 hard working and dedicated Greenkeepers. Our aim is to continue to improve the condition of the course year on year maintaining our high reputation within the area.