Finally there has been some rain and we are due more on and off this week. It’s not a great thing to be wanting rain but the course has been in need for some time with areas of the turf showing severe signs of stress. There are a few things to update you on this week so here we go.
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Wear from traffic
With the current conditions in mind, we are going to be introducing some traffic management regarding trolleys and buggies.
Areas in close proximity to the green always suffer from wear, as everyone takes the shortest route when moving around the course. Obviously no one wants to walk further than necessary, however the wear is becoming too much and turf by the sides of the greens is looking very poor indeed.
In the winter we use ropes for the same reason but as the grass is growing during the main golfing season the grass is able to cope better, however we are going to implement a similar system going forwards to save losing grass in important areas of the course. The photograph here gives an example of the problem and also why we need to take steps to prevent this deteriorating around all of the greens.
We aren’t going to be putting up ropes like in the winter, but instead we shall be using white paint to direct players using trolleys and buggies to the next tee. This will be supported with signs so please observe the signage and do not cross the white lines that are marked. As the white line fades we will mark out a new dotted line in a new location to allow the grass to recover from the recent amount of wear that it has suffered. This will help us to spread out the wear and avoid poor turf quality and bad lies in the future.
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Greens
This week we are going to be top dressing the greens with sand. This is long overdue but we have been holding off due to the drought conditions to avoid excessive stress being placed on the turf. Now rain has come the turf should be much better able to take the sand dressing and grow through giving reasonably quick recovery.
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Clover
Clover is increasing all the time and we are still wanting to treat this problem in the near future. Once we have the greens in a much happier state then we will be able to focus more of our resources on reducing the weeds and in particular the clover.
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Irrigation
Last week we managed to carry out all the required repairs to the irrigation system and it is now up and running. As the system is old it always causes some teething issues at the start of summer with various leaks, electrical faults and sprinkler failures. That said, it’s all we have and it does the job required and that’s the main thing!
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Overall
Apart from the issues discussed the course is actually pretty good and on the whole is playing very well. The course is obviously very dry but this is where golf is at it’s best, with real thought and skill required to work the ball around the course. It is during times like this when we can really apreciate what we have at Hunley and how it stands out from more one dimensional target golf courses.
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Course walk next month
We are going to host a course walk at the beginning of June but this time with a difference. Whilst I will still take you around the course looking at currently relevant issues, we will have some of the equipment out for you to see in action. This will give a further insight into what we do and why and I believe you will find it even more interesting than previous walks held at Hunley.
Bye for now,
Greg