Hi guys,
Over the last week, we have been mowing all areas of the course despite growth beginning to slow down. This will help us for the week ahead, which will see us begin our winter program of work.
This has begun today on Toon’s Tier with the extension to both tiers to make the green become more playable. First we have taken away the turf in the areas to be extended, this will be re-used once construction work is completed.
Both sides of the green being extended are to be drained first to ensure there are no issues with flooding. Then a gravel bed is to be spread over the drainage and once complete the rootzone will then be added and graded to provide the final contouring of the green. Once this is completed the 2 areas will be ground under repair for around a week when turfing will commence and the job completed. The areas will then remain ground under repair until the spring so please do your best to keep off to prevent any disruption to the work being done.
There is a temporary hole in play while the work is being carried out but the hole will return to the green for the weekend.
Elsewhere work is being undertaken on areas of gorse with weeding and cutting back of overgrown bushes. You may have noticed small depressions on some of the greens. This is a turf disorder caused by a fungus known as Sphaerobolus stellatus or more commonly ‘Thatch Fungus’. There is little known about this disorder as it is a relatively new problem in turf but it is from the same family as fairy ring. There is no cure for it but it doesn’t kill the turf so we shall be hand top dressing the patches this week to level up the depressions. It isn’t a major concern and is more of an aesthetic problem than anything however, myself and Tom have been investigating to try to find out more about the fungus and how to manage it in the future.
Enjoy the week and as always get in touch with any questions you may have.
Greg