The rain returned with a vengeance this week after a month of relatively dry weather since mid May.  It was forecast and the amounts have been fairly accurate thus far which doesn't bode well for Saturday with a 100% chance of 25 -40mm predicted.  Since Tuesday this week we have received 102mm as at 9am Friday morning.  Although it reduces player numbers the bonus is that it gives the courses a much needed break from play.  Morning temperatures have been hovering around 18 degrees which although that won't promote any great growth it is much better than single digit numbers.  Another 15mm during Friday has our total at 117mm at 5pm and it doesn't look likely for carts on the weekend and tomorrows Medal round has already been deferred.

We took advantage of the lack of play and were able to do five kilometres of root pruning across both courses which is just about all we can do without hitting too many shallow services (pipes) that are scattered across the courses.  The machine cuts to a depth of around 250mm and has six blades so each root is cut in six places and we have had some outstanding success in the past by removing competition for water and nutrients from trees in the main playing areas.  It is a very slow operation and is difficult to keep moving in amongst play so the lack of play was a great advantage. The video below is from this week and shows just how slowly the blades rotate and the photo below shows 18R tee from a few years ago post root prune with the arrow indicating the cut line. 

In action LHS 18W.

RHS 18R tee from a few years ago.

We were also able to get the River greens sanded on Tuesday with low player numbers and although the rain is good to wash it in we have now probably had too much!!  Low Vets numbers on Thursday also gave us the opportunity to get the West greens de-thatched.  We also got some fertiliser onto the tees on both courses in the hope that we may get some response. 

And an organisation in the USA called ''National Golf Foundation'' who collect data on golf and distribute it to the golf industry to improve the business of golf sent the following out in their weekly newsletter.  It really is amazing to think how far we have come in such a short time. 

When the iOS App store opened in 2008 – less than a month after Tiger’s dramatic U.S. Open playoff win at Torrey Pines – 500 applications were available for Apple Users to download. Today, they have their pick of about 2 million apps, while Android users have 2.8MM available through the Google Play store.
 
Consumer spending in mobile apps hit a record $64.9B during the first half of 2021 – a 25% YoY increase – based on preliminary data from app store intelligence firm Sensor Tower. While there’s no doubt the pandemic contributed to this growth, it’s clear that companies are investing more and more in apps. Most are a business in themselves, but they can also be a vital connector for those looking to enhance their brand value, improve the customer experience and drive sales.
 
Lest you think the golf industry isn’t along for the ride, take a look at not only the hundreds of golf-centric apps now available, but the way they’re being embraced. More than three quarters (78%) of Core golfers now indicate they have at least one golf-specific app on their phone, up from 37% a decade ago and 56% in 2018. These aren’t just the young person’s domain either, with almost two-thirds of Core golfers age 65-and-older using them today. 
 
Among golfers who have golf apps, the average count is 3.5 (I can tell that you one golf nut here at NGF has more than 25!), and the use cases vary, from reserving tee times, tracking scores and round statistics, playing virtual golf, reading news about the game, or chasing improvement through instruction and swing analysis.