Greenkeeping

October 2021

The start of October saw myself and Conor completing our tree felling qualification. This was a must have for us due to all the tree work we do over the winter months, it means we will be able to complete more jobs in the time we have. During the month on the course we doubled dyna cored the tees and surrounds. This is a great job to get done as it removes organic matter and allows air pockets for the grass to grow and strengthen. We also saw a number of mushrooms appear all over the course, mushrooms have a symbiotic relationship with grass, they help each other absorb nutrients and moisture from the soil, creating healthier plants. All of this is done in the soil and the mushrooms we see are just the flowering part of the fungi.

November & December 2021

The 11th hole was the main focus of November and December. We started back in the woods by the 11th green, where a number of trees needed to be removed as they were either dead/dying or just simply too close to other trees meaning they were fighting for the light all the time and producing very little canopies. Log piles were created in this area for the bugs and when the weather changes in April we will seed the area so that it’s all grass there. I also have a few bulbs donated by our member Sine Shaw which will be added to the area for colour. Once the wooded area was completed we moved down to the tee area where a few bushes had to started to grow back, this was all hedge cut down and cleared and will be killed off during the summer months. We also managed to clear the gap between the two areas to open the view right up. It makes such a difference to the hole.

January 2022

We had a few projects on the go in January, the hedge at the 5th being one of them. This was a great job to get done. It looks great, it will improve the health of the hedge in the long run, it was full of ivy so it reduces the chance of the hedge blowing over in strong winds and it also allows sunlight to a wet green all day in the winter months which will greatly help the 5th green. Levelling a few of our worst tees was another project for this month, we stripped the turf off the medal 14th, 12th medal and the lower tee of the 1st and levelled them up and then put the turf back down. This was a much needed job and a job we will continue every year to improve our teeing grounds. The area behind the back of the 15th green was another area we cleared, this was done so that we can plant an oak tree for the queen’s jubilee and lots of gorse bushes in the area.

Due to honey sells I was able to buy some hedge row plants and wildflower seeds. I brought 200 hedge plants, 100 hawthorns and 100 blackthorns. These were planted to the right of the 11th and in the gaps in the hedge behind the 5th green. A wildflower area will be created to the left of the 14th hole with the seed I purchased, It should look stunning in the summer months.

Melissa Winkworth

There’s been a fair bit more activity with the bees this month. We managed to split our hive so that now we have two hives, we are just waiting to see if this has been successful or not. One of the hives has a egg laying queen in it which is what we need and we are just waiting to see if the other queen will start laying. We have seen a lot a wildlife this month and our member Simon Booker has taken some great pictures around the course. The highlight this month was finding a tree creeper that was nesting just behind the 11th green, this was spotted by another member Paul Rainsden. I also managed to capture a tawny owl on one of my cameras in the 18th woods. The wild rough around the course is now looking great, it adds so much definition between holes but also really helps the wildlife. We manage the wild rough that is in play any unsightly or wild flowers that will hurt like thistles or stinging nettles are killed off in playing areas, however these are left in areas that are out of play are they are great for the wildlife.

This month has seen a lot of rain, this has meant that the course is very green at the moment especially for July. It has been a challenge some weeks to get a dry cut on surfaces, however we always find a way to get the work done.

The new 4th tee had its first cut at the start of the month, this was done with a rotary hand mower. We cut the tee with this mower for most of the month and now we have just started to use a cylinder hand mower to get the height of cut down and closer to the tee height of cut we have. It still needs time for the grass to fill in and for the roots to develop further but it is progressing well. 

Melissa Winkworth 

Assistant greenkeeper 

It has been a very busy month for the greenkeeping staff. A busy month in which we saw very high amounts of rainfall throughout with less than a handful of days having no precipitation. This has made it difficult to find opportunities at times to cut certain areas, but we have managed this well. The cutting frequencies have now picked up with the soil temperatures rising. Spraying applications have taken place on all fairways, tees, greens, around the greens and surrounds. We managed to get our maintenance in earlier in the month, with a verti-drain, top dress and a scarify taking place.  This all goes a long way to improving our playing surfaces.

The course has really taken shape now as we moved into the latter stages of the month of May.  We also spent the last week of the month preparing for the BB&0 Championships.  The team worked tirelessly throughout to ensure that the course was in the best condition possible for the event.

As the weather hopefully turns now , let’s all enjoy much warmer days and playing golf out in the sunshine.

Conor Huntley – Assistant Greenkeeper

We have had 3 ducks making the course their home, two male mallards and one female. They are great to watch and pop up all over the place, with the 14th pond seeming to be their favourite spot. There’s been a fair amount of activity worth the bees as well this month, we had a swarm appear on Sunday 16th which was collected and placed into a new hive on 3a. Two days later we had another swarm but this one disappeared before we got round to collecting it. The bad weather has been affecting the bees, they are a bit behind due to the low growth rates this spring but hopefully a change of in weather is coming soon. A slight disappointment occurred a few weeks back, it looked promising that some red kites were nesting at the 10th in the large beech in the pit, but this seems to have failed which is a shame as it would have been nice to see them raise young in sight.  It’s great to see some wildflowers appearing around the course, adding a nice amount of colour around the course. I also spotted a couple of hares which are always nice to see on the 10th hole one morning. 

Melissa Winkworth – Assistant Greenkeeper 

April has seen a lot of frosty mornings which has meant the grass growth is very low for this time of year. However the course is starting to take shape with the fairways starting to show and rough being cut. You may have notice the changes to these areas, fairways have been made wider to make them fairer and the first cut of rough now has been striped because the fairways are now being cut half and half for the more traditional look. The new shapes of the approaches are also now standing out and looking great. We are really trying to improve these surfaces with more verti cutting, aeration and top dressing throughout the year. You may have also noticed the ball washers, these are actually our original ball washers which Steve has refurbished. I think you’ll agree they look great. 

The bees are doing really well, we managed at the last look to find our queen and get her marked and her wings clipped to help stop them swarming. We are going to this year get another hive up and running and the honey produced by our two hives will go on sale to members hopefully at the end of the year. Any money made from the selling of the honey will all be used for environmental projects on the course the following year. 

Melissa Winkworth 

Assistant green keeper 

The latest lockdown period has been an extremely busy one for us greenkeepers. We have managed to get a lot of work done and progressed to woodland areas that were planned for next winter. The last month has seen us getting ready for the return of golf, which we have been looking forward too as much as you. We have been busy marking out the fine turf with the fairways getting new shapes as well as around the greens extending in places and lowering the height of cut in this area to give a new challenge. All bunkers have been edged, weeded and sand topped up, all course furniture has been cleaned and repainted to give it all a freshen up, all paths have had a new layer of red gravel and been edged and the rubber ones have been cleaned. 

On another note two members of the green keeping staff have completed their college courses, first was Conor who completed his level 3 in greenkeeping and second is Josh who completed his level 2 to become a qualified green keeper which is fantastic. I have also started my level 3 and I am really looking forward to gaining more knowledge.

The course is starting to get there and for March is looking great, let’s hope for no more lockdowns and a full year of golf. 

Melissa Winkworth 

Assistant greenkeeper