In my 27 years of working in Golf Course Management, every year has always seen at least 3 dry months. August was our first dry month in 2024 with 23.5 mm falling. September did look it was going to be a second dry month until the last week, which saw significant precipitation. In the end it became another one of the wettest.
Hopefully this means we are still due a couple of dry months, however we know too well that historical weather is never a good judge of the future. An example of this has been with temperatures this year. Although recent years have shown a trend of increasing temperatures, this year so far has been very cold in comparison. Average temperatures through the summer this year have been in the low teens, with only 2 days seeing temperatures get above 24 degrees.
Looking Back
The season has certainly been slightly disappointing due to the wet and cold theme, but there has been plenty to enjoy still with the course playing consistently well through the year despite the challenges.
From our perspective, it’s actually been an excellent year when you think of the various challenges thrown our way. We’ve gone an entire summer with one member of staff short and the team have done an amazing job of maintaining standards despite this. Putting in extra hours, sacrificing weekends off and going the extra mile pretty much every day. I can’t thank them enough, but I imagine everyone is extremely grateful for us having such a devoted team of Greenkeepers here at Hunley.
Looking for improvement we hope to up mowing frequency next year. This will see even higher quality playing surfaces as the turf becomes more refined this way.
Frining rough has got better and better each year and over the summer, even with lower staff numbers, it rarely has got away from us.
We hope the farmer can help with the out of play areas again for further improvement, however time is running out and he is currently playing catch up himself from the wet summer.
WINTER WORK PROGRAM
With many significant changes made to the facilities over the last twelve years, this winters plans are much more modest on the golf course.
We’re mostly looking to consolidate after a challenging year, although there are still improvements that can be made.
Our biggest asset is our staff and developing the current team is a big part of our plans this winter.
Staff
We now have that missing team member secured, with James Hannah starting with us in November which is excellent news. James has spent the last 2 years working on the grounds at Mount Grace Priory and has gained an NVQ in grounds maintenance.
There is also going to be a focus on training, which has already begun. The team will all be learning more and more about the intricacies of the job as well as developing their practical skills.
With these additions we aim to be in a strong position to take the course up a notch next season, which is particularly exciting.
What’s most important though is that we retain the services of Gavin, Callum, Jonathan and Paul, who have been incredibly committed and proven themselves to be a very capable and dependable team. This has been the foundation to our improved level of consistency in recent years and is of vital importance.
Catersty
The ditch down the right of the hole here has always caused a problem from a playing point of view.
It is a crucial drainage channel that takes overflow from the pond near the tee away from the course. However, with it being an impossible area to maintain, many balls are lost here with it being so close to the fairway.
Funding has been secured for more pond construction with the Tees Valley Wildlife Trust and one of those will be created near the existing ponds by the tee on Catersty. The soil removed for the pond will be used to level off the ditch, which will be replaced by a culvert that will take the overflow water away underground. The below picture shows where the new pond will be located and the red line shows where pipework will be installed, then covered with soil.
The willow tree on the right will also be removed and this means shots hit slightly to the right will be much more easily located. This will slightly reduce the difficulty of the hole and speed up play.
Up at the green, there is always a problem in the winter where traffic flows from the green to the next tee. Both bunkers are also not great visually and both have matting in their base which is protruding at the surface. We hope to shape the approach to push water away instead of collecting, with both bunkers hopefully being altered in a more practical and aesthetic manner.
Walker’s Gully
As many have already asked, we will be constructing a new tee for this hole. The white and yellow tee will be combined into a larger area away from their current location. This will create a better view of the fairway and give us a larger, drier teeing area.
We are aware that this hole is the most troublesome on the course and is the basis for most feedback. There are other ideas to reduce the many issues with it, but for now it is unlikely we will do more than build the new tee.
New Ponds
As well as the new water body planned for Catersty, the Wildlife Trust have also provided funding to create another on the course.
This will be situated away to the right of Pennington’s green. This won’t affect play but will connect other water bodies in close proximities, which have all been successful in providing habitat for Great Crested Newts. This success has led to further funding as Natural England look to further protect the species.
There will be added benefit for golf too, as all ponds have added aesthetic value to areas which previously lacked feature. They also help to hold water in areas away from playing zones, making for drier turf year round.
Drainage
There are a few issues brought about by the prolonged wet period this year. Most of them are small and the team will look to pick them off one at a time. Jaws, Pennington’s and Warsett appear to have blocked drains so these will need to be explored and rectified.
Construction of ponds in recent years has helped to move water away from playing areas and with two more planned for this winter, a further benefit to drainage will result.
Irrigation
Although we had planned to continue with another concerted effort of upgrading the system, drainage issues have become a problem needing more attention in the short term.
That said after Christmas we will be taking care of a few important upgrades still. For example, a pressure regulator needs to be installed in the mainline to protect the older valves under the bridge. We will still be looking to upgrade some more valves and sprinklers too, if time and budgets allow.
General Maintenance
More typical routine work will still be undertaken, such as:
- Aeration of playing surfaces
- Damaged turf repair
- Machinery maintenance
- Bunker repairs
We also aim to spend a good portion of time improving our workshop. This will involve installing new storage facilities, shelving and altering the layout to improve overall efficiency.
We are also making plans to alter our equipment set up next year as we look to improve our operating efficiency. This will mean looking to sell a couple of pieces of machinery to fund others. Having given plenty of thought to it and with new machinery being developed, we believe there could be some opportunities from taking a slightly different approach.
October
Work will begin with the changes on Catersty. As this project develops we will begin to remove turf where the new tee will be positioned on Walker’s Gully. The turf will then be used to cover over the filled ditch on Catersty, solving two issues at the same time.
The new tee will then be constructed, new soil added before being levelled ready for turfing.
After that we will move onto the Pond on the side of Pennington’s. If the weather is ok and things go well, these are the projects we hope to complete in October.
With growth still an issue, mowing is still required so some the rest of our time will be focused on normal routine maintenance.
Many thanks for reading and I look forward to providing you with further updates as we make progress.
Please direct any questions to my email and I will be more than happy to help.
Greg Fitzmaurice