Greens aeration

The Balcomie course greens have been mini-cored in 2 ways to take out thatch 

Then the greens were blown/cleared up then verti-cutting and cut 

We then started to sand inject the greens to inject more sand into the profile 

Then the greens were spiked and seeded to make extra holes for the seed 

Profile of the sand injected 

surface spiked and seeded 

Seed rubbed into the holes before the sand top-dressing 

Greens being top-dressed with sand to backfill the holes and cover the seed 

Sand and seed dragged into the profile 

After the rubbing in etc we gave the greens a very slow roll 

Greens were watered in to wash the sand into the surface 

Fairways have been sprayed with iron over both courses to aid recovery and add colour 

We are trialling prisms on certain holes on our flags on the Craighead course 

We are starting to repair worn areas on tee walkways etc on the Balcomie course 

re-turfing and matting worn areas onto certain tees 

We have made a start to our winter work programs with rebuilding the 11th greenside bunker (RHS) on the Balcomie course 

Tee paths being edged & weeded 

11th greenside bunker (LHS) on the Balcomie 

 

 

All go on the courses

Full cutting in front of play 

With the dry spell we have upped our spiking of the greens over both courses to every 2 weeks to help water and air into the profile with minimal disturbance to the surfaces 

We have started to top-up the Craighead course bunkers with fresh sand 

Great to see so many members/volunteers help the Green staff with the annual Balcomie course beach clean 

The amount of rubbish from the beach clean 

Our recycling wash pad getting a full drain down and clean 

Replacing any worn sprinklers on the Craighead course to give us better water coverage 

We have now started to cut down our deep roughs over both our courses to help thin the roughs out going forward 

Once the roughs were all cut down we then cut and collected the grass from these areas to help starve the areas 

We have sprayed a low rate of selective herbicide on our greens to control the weed called Pearlwort, once this is controlled we will spike/seed/sand areas if required  

Greens being cut then sprayed with the monthly application of fert/wetting agent and seaweed 

We have had the 3 major machinery companies in to demo their all electric greens mowers 

the last 2 weeks we have been demoing a robotic mower and a robotic ball collector on our driving range 

The robot can collect up to 300 balls per time before heading to drop the balls off in our new ball ditch system which washes and fills the dispenser ready for the golfer 

The recently landscaped areas at the new Performance hub on our driving range are knitting in well since being seeded a few weeks ago 

The tees on the Craighead course & driving range have been deep scarified to ripe out thatch 

The amount of thatch ripped out the 13th tee, then the surfaces were cleaned up/ verti-cut and cut ready for play 

 

 

A short video of the staff setting up the Balcomie course

July Greenkeeping update

Greens over both courses being spiked monthly to reduce compaction, opening up the surface to allow irrigation water into the profile 

Greens being cut then turf ironed and surrounds cut in front of play 

With the very dry weather we are now starting to reduce our cutting of fairways, semi-roughs & 3.5" roughs as growth has reduced in these areas 

Our drier/weaker fairways on the Balcomie course are now being watered once a week with our rain train to help save losing grass in the very dry and hot weather this month 

Certain tees & high spots on greens are now being hand watered over both courses 

Callum from Applied irrigation was in to carry out some sprinkler training for the staff 

With cutting being reduced, that has allowed staff to carry out much needed seeding and divoting to our fairways over both our courses 

All the landscaping and seeding works are coming on well round the new performance hub building on the driving range which is now open for play 

We have made our own in-house rubber tee holders for each hitting bay 

All the new signage is now in place for the new building 

Surrounding areas ready to be landscaped and seeded out 

Another great asset for the club going forward 

We have had a hydraulic hose burst on one of our fairways mowers, theses areas are being hand watered and fert/wetting agent added to aid in recovery 

We have now completed adding gabion baskets along the 15th tee path on the Balcomie course to add more protection 

Our Corn bunting area on the driving range is coming on well, this will give the birds more food source in the winter months to come

Skylark eggs in our deep rough areas, this proves cutting and collecting our deep roughs each year is helping thin the areas out and allowing nesting 

The recovery of the sand dunes along our 2nd coastline on the Balcomie courses are recovering very well and merging into the new fencing and helping stabilising the dunes 

Deer playing in our roughs 

Greens being turf ironed after cutting to help with smooth/trueness and increasing surface pace 

Staff setting up the course for play - holes being changed/pin sheets, greens and surrounds being cut 

Courses really drying out quick in the dry and very warm conditions 

Greens being sprayed with wetting agent/Seaweed and low rate of fert to help the greens in the dry weather