Winter Programme Update
14th Fairway
The fairway has been processing well recently due to the drier and milder spring like weather we experienced a few weeks ago, however all change again with the return of the dreaded white stuff and plummeting temperatures as winter returns.
To date we have installed approx 550m of pipe drainage to section 14'a' (first 50 yds of the fairway) of which is showing encouraging signs of improvement, by the way of surface water removal.
Contractors have indicated they will be on site to begin sand-banding this part of the fairway on W/C 25/03/13 weather permitting, now that we have completed the main and lateral drainage. Following sand-banding we will begin hollowcoring and topdressing around mid April as part of the thatch control process.
Recent soil sample testing have identified nutrition and biological deficiencies within the soil profile. Application of P.H. adjusting and soil improvement products will be applied throughout the growing season as and when soil temperatures increase to approx 7-8°C. Mechanical methods of thatch control will also be carried out such as hollowcoring, scarifing and vertidraining early in the morning to minimise disruption to members.
Drainage tenders have now been submitted and reviewed recently by committee with contractor 'Souters Sports Turff Ltd' being the preferred contractor to carry out phase 1 of a possible 3 long term drainage plan.
The first part of phase 1 will be to install 120m of main drain pipe to the left hand side of the 14th, (14'b' on plan) commencing on the 29/04/13 weather permitting for approx 1 week. Contractors will then return on 01/07/13 to continue part 2 of phase 1 (14'b' on plan) to install 800m of lateral drainage which will connect to the main drain already installed earlier in April. In addition 14'c' and the 16th fairways will be included in this phase. Our competition schedule has dictated the break in the contractors schedule to minimise the inconvenience to members as the months of May and June are extremely hectic with competitions. Hopefully the weather will be extremely kind to us during drainage work to allow the contractors to be off site as soon as possible. During installation your co-operation is vital and appreciated in maximising contractor productivity and safety.
Boundary/Perimeter Ditch at 3rd, 4th, 7th Holes
Recent negotiations with our neighbouring farmer (Willie Lawson) has kindly offered and has now cleaned out the boundary ditch which flows from the r/h/s of the 7th down towards the rear of the 3rd green. This is one of seven outlets throughout the course which we rely on to remove surface water from the course. I recently obtained a quotation from a local contractor for this work which totalled £3500 plus vat. This has now been saved and put towards our forthcoming drainage projects, thanks goes to Willie Lawson for his assistance and generosity.
Fairway Vertidraining
W/C 04/03/13 saw contractor 'Souters Sports Turff' returning to begin deep vertidraining of all the fairways and additional wetter areas throughout the course. Normally this is carried out on a yearly basis due to financial restrictions, however, i felt it necessary to repeat this type of aereation work in anticipation that we experience a similar 'summer' as in 2012.
10th Drainage R/H/S of Medal Tee
Ground conditions in front of medal tee have deteriorated gradually over the past year. After discussions again with Willie Lawson (farmer) he kindly gave his permission to gain access into his field to allow our machinery in to install a 50m drain adjacent to our boundary fence within his field to hopefully stop the flow of water entering in and around the front of the tee. This has now been installed and early signs of improvement are beginning to show, however, if the problem continues then additional trench drainage will be required.
6th Medal Tee
Unfortunately due to pest infestation and limited sunlight the surface of this tee has deteriorated dramatically throughout the winter period. As we are fast approaching the 2013 competition season it was decided to re-turf 50% of the infected tee allowing the front half playable until the new turf has established. Once established the remaining front half will also be re-turfed using a new shade tolerant cultivar turf which was brought to my attention when attending the B.T.M.E show in Harrogate earlier this year.
125th Anniversary Flags
Our past captain society have kindly donated our new flags for the 2013 season in honour of the clubs 125th anniversary. These will be installed on the first official club medal competition on the 06/04/2013. A sample of the flag has been installed in the trophy cabinet for your viewing.
Our Work Schedule for W/C 25/03/2013
- To re-turf drainage lines at landing areas only. Outwith landing areas will be re-seeded.
- Re-turf 6th medal tee.
- Excavate, route zone and re-turf water damaged areas on selected fairways - 3, 17, 18.
Some stats for your information
Quantity of drainage installed by our greens staff;
Hole 1 - 121m
Hole 7/13 - 365m
Hole 12 - 90m
Hole 14'a' - 550m
Hole 16 - 213m
Hole 17 - 50m
Total - 1389m of which approx 280m was rock removal.
Quantity of Material Use to Date
- 6mm washed grit - 106 ton
- 20mm washed gravel - 185 ton
- Medium/Coarse route zone - 167 ton
Thank you for your attention,
Douglas McIntosh.
Additional Blog Information by Gordan Sangster
New for 2013 Season!
Forget sat nav's, g.p.s, skycaddy's and laser's we now have new improved distance post markers handcrafted by my very own hands. These are as follows;
100 yds - Red
150 yds - Yellow
All yardage measured to the centre of the green.
They have all been installed at the edge of the trees and gorse bushes. This isn't giving you the green light to hit your ball into the trees or the gorse bushes, nor is it to get up close to our new distance markers so that relief can be obtained to get you out of a tricky situation. Hopefully these will be of assistance in reducing your handicap.
Thank you,
Gordon.
