We have carried out aeration to the Craighead tees/walkways to a depth of 125mm to relieve compaction and aid in water and air movement

minimum disturbance to the teeing surfaces 

We have applied another 0.5tons of top-dressing sand to each of the Balcomie course greens to help dilute thatch and improve the surfaces 

then gently rubbed in 

We have built another recycling bin for the 11th tee path on the Balcomie course 

Our main winter project from last winter is now completed at tees 7 on the Balcomie course, this project was put on hold due to Covid this season 

We have moved the bridge to the 2nd tee on the Balcomie course to change the wear pattern and to a slightly flatter area 

We have started to slit tine the Balcomie course fairways to relieve compaction to a depth of 125mm 

The old drainage lines on the 2nd fairway of the Craighead course have been seeded/divoted, then the whole area top-dressed to help smooth the surface, this will be ongoing 
 

This week was the start of our mid week winter course closures, so with the Craighead course closed, we heavy top-dressed the greens then rubbed in the top-dressing to help dilute the thatch level and improve the surfaces 

Then we solid tined to a depth of 125mm to help incorporate the sand into the profile and improve air & water movement 

Then greens were then rolled, hopefully the greens will be back to normal in 2 weeks 

All the fairways were slit tined again to a depth of 125mm to aid in surface drainage, air movement and reduce compaction from the summer 

Very little disturbance to the surfaces plus we have the preferred lies rule in place 

The Balcomie course greens have been sprayed with a preventative fungicide going into the winter months  

A winter project this week was to replace any old/rotten wood on the steps up to the 2nd medal tee on the Balcomie course 

All the worn area at the top of the steps was replaced and rubber matting added to help with wear and tear 

Then the steps got a good paint to help preserve the wood 

Fantastic having volunteers out helping divot the Craighead course fairways while the course was closed this week 
 

All going really well on the courses with being short staffed and the volunteers are doing a great job helping us out with bunker raking, emptying bins and collecting balls. We have applied liquid iron/fert to the Balcomie course greens after we top-dressed 

The Balcomie course greens getting another application of top-dressing sand to help improve the surfaces 

That's us starting our winter aeration plans of slit tining the fairways to a depth of 125mm to help relieve compaction and aid in surface drainage 

Fairways have all been sprayed with soluble iron for the winter months  

We have managed to get the steps/bin area at hole 8 on the Balcomie course painted 

All the Railway sleeper work at the 7th tee path is now completed 

The path is being leveled off with using hardcore then we will add grey whin dust to the surface to complete this project 

We have added a couple of drains along the side to help water move off the surface quicker 

We have rebuilt the damaged area on the large bunker in front of green 9 on the Balcomie course 

This bunker will be out of play until the start of the season 
 

With reducing cutting going into the winter, we will look at brushing our fairways to help disperse worm casts which are a real problem at this time of year for us 

With cutting reducing it will allow us to get back to the work at the 7th tee path on the Balcomie course which we could not complete in April due to Covid 

hopefully this project will be completed by end of November as we are still on reduced staffing levels 

Last week we managed to apply a ton of top-dressing sand to each green on the Craighead course then gentle rub in to help dilute thatch levels, we are hoping to apply another ton to each green next month plus solid tine the surfaces to help merge the sand into the profile 

Once the sand was washed in we then applied our winter fertiliser to the greens 

Our newly turfed 1st winter tee on the Balcomie course is coming on really well and has been rolled then had it's first cut 

We have replaced another old bin with our in-house recycling bins made from Railway sleepers at tee 8 on the Balcomie course, once we get a dry/calm day the steps etc will be painted to freshen this area up 

When we get a chance we will check the new irrigation lines on the Balcomie course if they need seeded and top-dressed to smooth them out, we were hoping to have this done earlier this year but struggled for time with the reduced staffing levels 
 

Still cutting all the main playing areas over both our courses but starting to reduce the frequency due to the growth slowing down 

We have deep solid tined the surround/fairway areas at the 18th hole on the Balcomie course to help drainage going into the winter 

This week we are catching up with applying top-dressing sand to our greens on the Balcomie course, this year we are behind on our sand targets due to Covid and reduced staffing, but are aiming to catch up in the next couple of months weather pending 

Top-dressing sand helps to dilute the thatch levels, improve the surfaces and helps improve drainage through the profile 

The sand was left to dry then we slowly brushed sand into the profile 

Then we applied a liquid fertiliser, wetting agent & seaweed to help the grass plant 

In adverse weather days we have been building Railway sleeper recycling tee bins for the Balcomie course 

We are recycling our old blades from our mowers to screw the sleepers together 

This bin was put out at tee 5, the ball washer will be added when Covid restrictions are lifted 

Another adverse weather day task was to bring in our roundabout sign and re-paint it 

We have had an oil leak from our greens mower which has damaged the rear of green 5 on the Balcomie course, this area has now been mini-cored, spiked, seeded, top-dressed and fertilised to aid in the recover, fingers crossed we get some good recovery before the winter