The passing of member Brian Wilson this week was a very sad event for a man who was a great supporter of the ground staff and always had a cheerful and encouraging word to say to us.  Brian had been a member for 45 years and it got me thinking of some of the changes and course conditions he would have endured and enjoyed during that time.  So I thought I would indulge a little with a retrospective look at some of the highs and lows over the years prior to my arrival in 1999.

9R green with old workshed on right in background.

Burnouts 8R green just prior to my arrival.

Storms.

1W tee with old Pro Shop open in background.

Looking back from behind RHS 6R green.

Floods.  17W tee before boundary fence.

12R green struggling looking down the fairway.

Vale Brian.

Back to current times and the wind has certainly continued to create a challenge with debris all over the place and plant protectant spraying programs interrupted.  We got a good run at the courses on Friday with the rain scattering the players so were able to get some serious clean up happening.  The West greens were sanded on Thursday which was the final piece in what is their renovation.  A product was also applied for the control of foreign couchgrass in the West greens which as I have mentioned here previously works very spasmodically but is the only potential solution.

The burst of summer weather early in the week required a growth regulating product be applied to the River greens as they basked in the warming conditions and the fairways on both courses were also treated with the growth regulator at a low rate which helps eliminate the grass seedhead.  If only the "worm farmers" circa 1998/99 had some growth regulator, conditions like those below may have been avoided!!

9R fairway.