Thursday 27 September 2018

 All go this week as we have started out aeration work to the Balcomie course greens and tees
 First of all we deep spiked the greens & tees to a depth of 8" to improve drainage, air movement and relieve compaction from the season
 the greens were then rolled to smooth the surface off before we carried out coring

 the greens were then mini hollow cored to reduce thatch levels and make a pot for the overseeding

 we applied 28gm2 of traditional fescue/bent grass seed to help improve our surfaces, then a light drag to help get the seed into the core holes
 the greens and surrounds were top-dressed with sand to fill the core holes in and make a perfect bed for the new seed to germinate

 On certain greens we gave them extra aeration by using a 16mm hollow tine to take out more thatch, which will improve the surfaces


more sand to fill all the aeration holes

Wednesday 19 September 2018

 Our new short game area that was just built this year is coming on really well and is now open for a few weeks before we close it for the winter period to allow it to fully establish for next season
 The weather was perfect last week to get another light top-dressing on the Craighead course greens before the rain that we got to help wash the sand into the profile
 Courses getting check by a couple of passing Chinook helicopters
 With the 12 weeks of drought we had this Summer, some of our fairways have suffered grass lose, so we borrowed a fairway disc seeder from Leven Links GC to allow us to try and get new seed into these weak areas before the end of the growing season to help recovery
 While we had this machine, we trialed it on a part of our 1st green on the Balcomie course to see what the results will be compared to our seeder
 With it coming to our financial year end, we had some money left in the budget to allow us to carry on repairing the dyke along side the Greenkeeping shed and coastal walk, this will help really tidy this area up and hopefully complete this task next year
 We have been out re-shaping the sand in the Greenside bunkers
 This week we are hosting the 2018 Ladies Senior British Open Amateur Championship on the Craighead course




Monday 10 September 2018

 Getting the courses set up for play
 Applying a little liquid feed to the Balcomie course greens & surrounds
 Starting to get the darker damper mornings now

 The old drain line at the 15th hole on the Balcomie course has been re-turfed as the seed never really had a chance with the 12 weeks of drought this Summer
 With holding the British Ladies Senior Championship next week on the Craighead course, we have had to build an overflow car park to accommodate the extra vehicles as the Pro shop car park will be fully closed for the R&A
 Getting all the areas at the roundabout edged/weeded and tidied up

 We have put in power to our car park at the Pro shop for when the R&A come for their portakabins etc and a Ballard to protect the electrical box from vehicles parking next to it