Weather is a little more wintry the last few weeks.  A mixed bag of rain and colder weather although spring is edging nearer.  Now is the time to finish winter work.  Road planings have now been used (all 180 tons in the last 4 months).  With 17th ditch and the 6th path last to be completed.  We have started edging bunkers on the Abbotts and we may finish next week.  The following week we will begin solid-tine and heavy dressing of Priors greens.  This will take us into March where we will tine and dress the Abbotts and spring will finally begin.

It is also here where I will finish this blog.  As most of you know February will be my last at the club, on to pastures new.  I hope you have been informed and maybe even amused by the blog in the last 3 years.  Goodbye.

17th path

6th path

Bunker edging

The team!!!

Lots going on at the moment helped by frozen surfaces.

11th path on the Abbotts is now finished.

10th fairway bunker on the Priors has been reduced, complete with new sand and drainage.

The 10th green now has a mound around the green with the bunkers having been filled in.

7th path on the Priors moved and rebuilt to the left of the tee.

Stumps and prickly trees dug out on the 4th fairway Abbotts.

Middle car park cleared of soil, new mound created, seeded and ready for use.

Boys working hard

New 10th fairway bunker

Behind the 10th Priors

11th path now finished

7th path Priors

4th Fairway during

After

                            

Middle car park

                                   

Both courses are moving into the winter smoothly helped in no small part by dry weather.  Worm activity is at a minimum. Tees and greens are being regularly brushed to help clear casting and stand the plant up for mowing.  Leaves are now thankfully down with only a few small pockets to be blown.

Paths are being topped up on the Abbotts including so far the 13th/14th and the 5th Tee path.

13th

5th Tee

We have also started path extensions.  The 10th which is always wet off the tee has been piped and drained.  The path is being extended over the drain and wet spot in order to carry you over the worst of the winter weather.

New drain

Path cut out, fill starting

Projects currently running on the Priors include:

15th fairway bunkers filled in and seeded.  Now finished.

15th

3rd Greenside filled, seeded now Finished.

3rd Greenside

Ready for seed

3 bunkers to be filled by double green.  Bunkers filled ready for topsoil.

3 bunkers to be filled

Ready for topsoil

10th fairway bunker now filled with soil, drainage fixed ready for excavation work.

bunker marked out

Next  project work on the Priors includes:

New path to new 7th bridge.

New path around the 11th green.

New path from 12th green to new 13th tee.

This work is taking place on top of all the usual cultural practices an both courses so we are currently very busy whilst the weather is dry.

Things are moving at apace on the Priors.  Picture below shows seeder starting on the far portion around 6 and 12, followed by a pre-seed fertiliser.  This has now been finished and is awaiting some rain.  Whilst we have  plant on site we have begun filling in bunkers around the course.  2 on the 3rd and 15th as well as 3 on the 9th/17th.  This will allow us to focus more attention on the remaining bunkers and still keep the integrity of the course.

Seeding

15th Fairway bunkers

New 11th T position

After what should have been an excellent drop of rain over the weekend (only 3mm) and an incredibly dry 3 month period greens are still dry.

They have struggled in the last 2 weeks so a slight height increase and a little fertilizer mixed with iron, calcium and magnesium (ideal to strengthen the plant ready for winter) is helping greens fill back in.  Through the autumn we will be slitting and brushing greens on a regular basis. This will help in the first instance keep the surface open and therefore drier.  The brushing will stand up the sward and keep the surface clean of organic matter, protecting from disease during the winter period.

14th Green

The picture above is a core taken out of the 14th green today.  This area has no moisture at all. Completely hydrophobia, with good root penetration but grass on the surface has gone dormant and until we attack it with wetting agents and once the weather turns it will stay in this dormant state. About 4-5 greens have sections with dry dormant areas, with the rest of the green lovely and green.

2nd Green P

Priors course is looking good with the land fill areas receiving topsoil and the surfaces all clean and tidy.  Greens are getting a heavy dressing and deep tining this week.  1 ton of sand per green and tines penetrating 9" into the soil.  We will repeat on the Abbotts in a few week time.

Moving into Autumn soon the course is currently very dry awaiting some much needed precipitation.

Priors greens have been hollow-tined and are recovering nicely helped in no small part by the warm weather.  The height has been lowered on the Priors and these greens will be verti-cut next week.  Top soil is being added back to the mounding between 6 and 12 with the final shape now coming through. Soil importation is almost finished with the new 13th and 11th tees receiving a final grade in the next few weeks.

12th green Priors

Greens on the Abbotts have received an early attack of Fusarium but warm weather and strong growth will see this disappear in the coming weeks.  Fungicide will be sprayed early next week as a preventative for the usual autumn attacks.  We are trying not to water to much on greens as the summer comes to a close, hoping to go into the winter months with firm, dry greens.


Area of rough have now all been cut, once we receive some rainfall some of these areas will be sprayed with a product to kill the courser grasses in the sward.  This will leave thin, poor and unsightly roughs throughout the course over the winter.  With good spring growth these areas will fill in with finer grass species leaving rough in better condition than previous years.  As you can see below tree bases are surrounded by bramble so this will be another job for the winter months.

9th Abbotts

13th T Abbotts