September 2015

30 years service!
Not many golf clubs can boast that they have had a loyal member of staff for 30 years, but we can! Chris Locke was recently presented with a limited edition ‘Arsenal Legends’ print in recognition of his achievement. Well done Chris!

We would like to say a big thankyou to Mr Alan Rowley and also Ms Anne Davies for attending our greens open event in July. They were able to ask any questions about what we do on the course, and Mr Rowley was also given a tour of the maintenance facilities, he commented that he never knew that we had so much equipment. It was a shame that more people did not attend as it would have been a great opportunity to create a better understanding of what we do and why.

You may have seen a few new mowers on the course recently, these are not ours but are demonstration machines. Our greens mowers are now in their 6^th season and are becoming uneconomical to run and maintain. We hope to purchase 2 new greens mowers and then demote the current mowers to tees and approaches, reducing their workload and prolonging their lifespan.

We have been busy tidying a few areas on the course recently. We have pruned back the hedges infront of the 5^th and 12^th tees. The hedges were getting overgrown and encroaching on tee shots.
The rear of one of the greenside bunkers on the 1^st has been reshaped to stabilise the edge, this now looks much neater and is safer to walk into.

We will be continuing to tidy areas around the course as time permits.

And it’s that time of year again where we renovate the greens…..
During the week beginning Monday the 21^st September we will be carrying out our autumn renovations. This includes hollow coring, scarifying, over seeding, topdressing and feeding the greens, tees, and aprons.
These operations are very disruptive but are essential in any good greens maintenance regime,  so please keep an eye out for us and give way where possible.
The hollow coring and scarifying remove soil and thatch and aid gaseous exchanges within the soil profile, whilst relieving compaction, aiding drainage, and (with the addition of sand top dressing) improving the soil structure and texture.
Overseeding will help improve sward composition and encourage the desired ‘finer’ grasses ‘festuca’ and ‘agrostis.’
Topdressing helps to alleviate the humps and bumps created during the coring process, whilst filling the core holes and keeping them open to aid drainage. It also creates an ideal seedbed for the seed to establish.
Fertiliser is then applied to encourage vigorous growth and aid recovery to provide good putting surfaces as soon as possible after renovations.

We will also be using our new Amazone machine to scarify the fairways throughout September and October, this will remove thatch to promote a healthier, firmer surface for play.

We are still looking for volunteers to help trim hedges and prune and raise the canopies on our trees, there is a notice on the greens notice board so please put your name down. We need to get as many names as possible so that we can give everyone a health and safety briefing all at once, this will save time and also ensure we comply with legislation regarding voluntary work.

Thankyou for reading.