Some warmth at last

The River greens were fertilised last week which was nicely timed with the warmer temperatures and 16 mm of rain that fell on Saturday / Sunday. The greens have now gone from being quite sparse and unthrifty to having a lot of growth which is great for the turf health but means that the greens will slow up somewhat. Two weeks ago the greens looked virtually worn out after a huge amount of constant play throughout the winter and I was indeed wondering if we would get them through, so this burst of growth is most welcome. Weather permitting, the River greens will have a light sanding to help even the surface out and to compliment the recent turf growth this week.

 

A lush looking 5th River green

The West greens are growing furiously with the weather conditions and will actually need to be slowed down to restore the putting surface fully. That’s one of the ironies of the renovation as you need to have the plant growing so fast to get back through the sand then you have to turn around and slow it down once it is.  To give you an idea of their growth, three weeks ago just prior to the renovation the grass catchers would need to be emptied twice over the mowing of 18 greens.  This morning after not being mown since Saturday, the catchers were being emptied twice per green!

Some more tree roots will be removed this week and that will be the end of that program for this year. Some dead and dangerous tree removal will also start this week with contractors on site for the bigger trees. River tees 5 and 6 will be cored and sanded this week following the positive response of the par 3 tees to this operation.