Course Report December 2018
Up to now we
have been very fortunate with the weather this autumn and into the winter
period. It has been mostly dry and frosts haven’t been too severe, until this
morning (3rd December), where the coldest morning of the winter has arrived at
-3 degrees Celsius. During the middle of November however we had a wetter
period where there were heavy downpours giving around 10mm of rain on two
occasions. With the surface drainage that we have done and the dry underlying
soil conditions the water drained away well, and up to now we haven’t had any day’s
closure so far this winter. Overall not a bad year with 14 days closed to date,
most of those came in January through to March due to snow. The course has been
playing well of late, the weather playing a big part; however, the work that
was done earlier on in the year (if a little more disruptive) has certainly
made the greens more playable at this time of the year. I hope members do
appreciate the work put into the greens to make them better for the future.
Obviously solid and hollow tining plus sanding injection is scheduled again for
August 2019, giving us good greens come the end of the year.
On the course
the drier weather has allowed us to remain on the summer grass tees for much
longer without causing too much damage. Until this last weekend we had only 5
winter tees in play. Soil temperatures
were still good until recently giving some recovery. However, when the grass
stops growing, and the surface conditions begin to deteriorate, as now is the
case. Especially when frosty, the winter tees are used to ensure there is good
grass cover on the summer tees when we get to spring.
Leaf
collection has been our priority for the last 3 months; gladly it is ending
with one final round up all that is needed before the leaf collector comes off.
All hedges have been cut by the hedge contractor, leaving very little mess. Hand
cutting of the remaining thorn hedges is all that is left to finish and will be
done before the end of December
The ditches
have all been cleaned out, this is an important job to get done before the
weather turns wetter. The ditches provide an important outlet for water coming
off the course.
Machinery
servicing is now ongoing; we are working through the 40+ units, which all need
grinding, cleaning and setting up ready for the new season. All the vehicles
also need servicing, cleaning and repairing where necessary.
Towards the end of this month
the greens will be slit tined followed by a light roll. The approaches will be
aerated, along with some of the poor areas on the fairways. An application of 2-0-10 fertiliser plus slow
release iron was applied to greens and surrounds. During the cold conditions
and with play on the frozen surfaces they lose colour and the iron content
helps them look greener and will also help keep the plants stronger and able to
withstand disease much better. Another preventative application of fungicide has
been applied to the greens, another will be sprayed before Christmas.
We have tried a new product on the tees and some of the surrounds that
irritates worms, its been tested on small areas with good success so we have
tried on other areas on the course to see if it is as successful.
Several young trees will be planted towards the end of the range and
around the 20th tee to finalise the existing plans we have in that
area. All the trees we are planting have been grown for free on the course. The
woodland management plan is to start in January. The plans for tree thinning
are to be put up in the clubhouse for all members to see. It explains the
reasons for the need for tree thinning on the plans, any further questions
please contact me on the email blow. This winter we will be concentrating on
the 4th, 5th, 6th and 12th holes.
The cost of the tree work will be very minimal as nearly all will be done by
the greens team.
Preferred
lies will continue until spring. Ropes and hoops are now out across the course
to direct traffic away from wet and highly worn areas please ensure they are
abided by. Please ensure all pitch marks are also repaired, now there is no
recovery on the greens any unrepaired pitch marks will be visible until spring.
When restrictions on the course are in play, please could all golfers check in
the professional’s shop before starting. All buggy users must ask what current
restrictions are in place before going onto the course for safety and the risk
of causing damage. Also, can I ask all buggy users to please stick to the
semi rough areas and use the driest routes possible as they can cause long term
damage to the course. Thank you
Please can I remind all
members to take care when playing around the course in extremely cold weather,
as pathways and winter mats can become extremely slippery, the worst areas are
salted however this only has a limited effect
I hope all
whom play Malton and Norton Golf Club have enjoyed their golfing year. Merry
Christmas from all the greenstaff
2017 2018
January - 23mm January
- 58mm
February - 52mm February
- 30mm
March - 41mm March
- 75mm
April - 18mm April
- 40mm
May - 41mm May
- 26mm
June - 66mm June
- 6mm
July - 112mm July
- 38mm
August - 82mm August - 24mm
September - 68mm September
- 64mm
October - 55mm October
- 58mm
November- 52mm November
- 23mm
December- 45mm December-
2017 Rainfall - 655mm 2018
Rainfall – 442mm
Average annual rainfall- 620mm
Richard Jacques
Head
Greenkeeper
