Winter maintenance has started over both our courses

We are still cutting down our deep roughs over both courses, then we will cut these areas again and lift the grass to help starve these areas to help create slightly thinner roughs 
 

Spraying greens over both courses & PG's with liquid iron & Seaweed to help the plant 

Our 2nd green tee on the Craighead course has been extended, re-levelled and ready to be turfed 

The Craighead course greens have been sand injected again to help firm the surfaces up and help dilute thatch 

Cross profile of the hole taken from our putting green, you can see all the sand injected channels going down nearly 150mm, this will also help drainage and air movement 

Sand injected profile 

We have started work on the left hand side of the 12th fairway on the Craighead course, during the winter, we will dig out the old roots and stones and shape area to be cut at 3.5" which will help show off the dyke and make this area more playable 

Our first bunker rebuild was at hole 12 on the Craighead course 

The face has been built in the same manner as a revetted face but we have used recycled astro-turf , this will reduce the amount of time the bunker faces needs to be rebuilt 

We have also started to rebuild the large greenside bunker at hole 17 on the Craighead course 

This will take a few weeks due to the size/course closures and this face is being built with astro-turf for the same reason 

This bunker should be completed by the of start of December weather permitting 

We have had contractors onsite to regrade and tar the greenkeeping shed yard and access road to the shed 

Drains have been added along the building to stop flooding into the shed in heavy rain

All the surfaces had to be graded to shed the water and and firm the base ready for the tar to be laid 

The ramps across the road were also laid with tar 

Having the new road surface will help reduce damage to our machinery and staff cars, also reduce the time in fixing water damage on the ramps and road after any rain 

All the surrounding areas will be re-graded in-house then shaped to fit in with the course then re-turfed 

the area between the road and the dykes will be gravelled to aid in drainage and tidy these areas up 

Also round the ramps too will be gravelled, hopefully all this work will be completed in a couple of weeks 

 

Greens maintenance

 

We have been out using our sand injection machine to inject 2 tons of sand into each green, we do this to help dilute thatch and improve air & water movement without too much surface disturbance, this is a very slow process so at present we are choosing certain greens so not to interfere with play, but will be looking at trying to complete all the Craighead course greens going into the winter period 

sand injected down to 125mm into the profile 

We are now starting to cut down our deep  rough areas on the Craighead course then leaving for a few days then cutting and collecting the clippings to help thin these areas out, which should help playability next season and a better environment for nesting birds 

When possible we have been brushing fairways to help disperse the dew and get a better quality cut on our fairways 

We have now completed deep scarifying our Craighead course tees to rip out thatch 

With the dry spell we are having we have needed to apply a little water at nights to help keep the moisture levels where we want them 

This week was our Balcomie course greens aeration planned works to improve the greens and relieve compaction, reduce thatch levels and aid in drainage 

All greens were micro-cored, cleaned-up, verti-cut then cut 

The amount of debris taken out from each green 

Then the greens were spiked/seeded 

The spiker makes the hole/pot for the seed to go into and the 2 brushes on the machine helps to brush more seed into the holes, with micro-coring this leaves a hole for the seed to go into also 

seed was brushed again

surface after being top-dressed and brushed 

2 tons of sand was applied to each green to fill the holes and cover the seed 

then a final drag mat to mat everything into the surface, greens will be rolled when possible going forward and hopefully in 2/3 weeks the greens will be fully recovered going into the winter 

AIG Women’s final qualifier

All going really well with the preparations for the Ladies AIG final Open qualifier over the Craighead course 

Spraying the Craighead fairways with very low rate of fertiliser & wetting agent to add a little colour and strength to the plant 

Craighead greens being cut then rolled & holes being changed on our trial run for the qualifier 

great definition on the course 

R&A in collecting data on greens speeds, profile moisture levels and surface firmness leading up to the event 

water the weaker fairways on the Balcomie course and we have sprayed them with liquid fertiliser and wetting agent 

The 8th/15th storm hut on the Craighead course has had all the outer wood replaced and painted 

Our new turf driving range tee settling in well, we are top-dressing weekly with sand to help firm the surface up 

watering our weaker fairways with our rain trains as these areas have no irrigation sprinklers 

The Balcomie course being set up for daily play and when possible we will roll greens behind the cutting and the greens are having their monthly application of fertiliser/seaweed and wetting agent applied 

Summer is here