It has been a good couple of weeks for mowing and the course is starting to look a bit more defined now. We have taken the opportunity to get plenty of mowing done to up the presentation for the main playing surfaces; greens, tees, approaches, surrounds, fairways.
Growth is still patchy at the moment - cold mornings, dry weather, the odd slight frost (Saturday 14th believe it or not!!!) and very changeable temperatures are all contributing to seasonal fluctuations.
Even the leaves on the poplar trees are only just appearing whilst the elderflowers are not yet fully in flower yet. It's fair to say that the weather in December was more consistent & warm than what we have now in May!!
The aeration holes from hollow coring are just about filled in. The greens are lovely and firm now. The better greens are only showing minor pitch mark indents and that demonstrates that they are spot on for surface firmness.
You may have noticed that some core holes still seem to be open. This is classic leatherjacket damage. The grubs burrow up through the tine holes and feed on the base of the grass plant just above the crown.
Unfortunately, the insecticide that we used to spray to control leatherjacket grubs was withdrawn from amenity use last year. It was labelled as carcinogenic by the EU and consequently is no longer available. We are looking at different options currently to see if there are any viable, proven alternatives on the market that meet our budget.
The rough mower is temporarily down at the moment so that some roller bearings can be replaced. All the rough has been mown constantly over the last week and as soon as the repairs are done, the mower will be back out there. In the meantime, try to hit the fairways!!
Congratulations to Ryan Leicester who has just accepted a Greenkeeper position at Dunham Forest Golf Club. Ryan has done fantastically well to earn this opportunity and I hope all members can join with me in wishing him a great future when he leaves in early June. It is the next step in his career and it shows great progression for him!
The fairways and approaches now look excellent now that we have tightened them up. They now give golfers the chance to get plenty of control and backspin off these lies and, of course, they look awesome. Feedback from members and guests has been very positive recently and the course is gearing up nicely for summer!
Enjoy your golf!
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