Greens Gossip

May 2026

This is a reminder that we will be working on the greens next Tuesday (9th June), and hopefully have the work completed on Wednesday. This is necessary in the ongoing reduction of the thatch sub surface, which will benefit drainage over winter. We will follow the work with a light top dressing which will ‘level’ all areas of the greens. This work will necessitate that temporary greens will be in play, so bear this in mind when booking any competitions..

We are regularly cutting all areas of the course, as the weather conditions have improved.
We are pleased with the progress of the grass growth on the 16th/17th tees. There was an initial delay in laying the turf due to adverse weather, but the grass now seems to be establishing well. I hope that members will be able to play off all tees on the 17th in the near future, but for now please use the winter mat for the red and yellow tees, and you can play off the grass from the white tees.Thank you for your patience.
We would like to ask members to please replace the rakes in the bunkers, as it really delays the mowing, as the team have to stop the mower and get off to move the rakes.
We would very much appreciate if all broken tee pegs be placed in the new receptacles on the tees. We hope to have one on every tee asap.

The scarifying of the greens last month has proved very beneficial in removing a good layer of thatch sub-surface. The true benefit will be seen over winter as drainage of the greens improves. We have noted this year that the greens have recovered well after a particularly wet winter.
As conditions improve, we will be reducing the level of cut on the greens, until we reach the summer setting.
The next date for scarifying will be on June 9th. This will probably take 2 days, during which winter greens will be in play. Please consider this when planning any comps.

The present weather conditions are good in that it reduces the risk of the disease. We did have one or two small outbreaks, but this has now disappeared. The fusarium festers in the thatch layer of the greens, so our intention is to do a further 3 scarifications (incl June), which will rob the disease of its base. We hope that this, combined with the fungicide treatment, will reduce outbreaks of the disease.

My thanks as always to the volunteers who help to maintain the course. Also, thank you to the new volunteers, I hope you find the role rewarding. The work of the volunteers allows the greens staff to tackle the many other jobs around the course.
Big thanks and appreciation to my greens team, Scott, Nate,Ian and Steve.
Thank you to Darryl for his ongoing support.

NIGEL