We have completed work to the bottom tee on hole 6 of the Balcomie course, this tee was re-levelled and re-turfed
We have been demoing fairway brushes to see if they will help with dispersing wormcasts as this is becoming a big problem with all chemical controls off the market in the last few years, not only is it a problem for golfers balls/trollies and foot wear, it causes major problems to our cutting machinery with clogging up the reels, blunting blades and making a mess etc
The greenside bunker left on hole 1 of the Balcomie course has been rebuilt
All greens & PG's over both courses have been sprayed with a liquid winter pack and fungicide to help protect the plant
We continue to replace any problematic sprinklers on the Craighead course to allow us to have better water coverage going into next season
We have rebuilt the 15th greenside bunker on the Balcomie course
We have rebuilt the 12th greenside bunker on the Craighead course
We have slabbed the area round the 13th tee bench on the Balcomie course as this area was getting worn out, this will keep this areas much tidier and no worn areas
work is well under way of raking into our cut deep rough areas over both our courses to help rip into the crown of the grass to help thin these areas out going into next season
The area at the 18th carry on the Balcomie course has had the gorse cut back, then the roots dug out, soil added then the area re-turfed, this is to help reduce the length of the carry off the tee, the area left of the path will be cut back also in the coming months
Mother nature is sure catching up with rainfall in the last few weeks from such a dry Summer, we have already had 88mm of rain in December
We have completed work to our dune system that runs along hole 2 of the Balcomie course, which consisted of soft engineering works of digging a trench to house a chestnut paling fence to help trap sand the stabilise our dunes along this area and in turn will help the Marram and Sea Lyme grasses grow down this section
fencing being installed
fencing being backfilled
Erosion works at rear of the 15th tee and 17th green on the Balcomie course is going well and on time so far, the company has to work with the tides
Gabion baskets have been installed and additional rock armour placed at the toe of the new baskets
This work is going really well to help protect our course going forward at these problem areas
Congratulations to Scottie one of our senior greenkeepers on completing his SVQ level 7 into management, this course was delivered by Rick at St Andrews Management Centre, the Club have built up a long and standing relationship with this company with other staff members from all departments gaining more qualifications over the years to help and support us carrying out our duties
The Balcomie course greens and some walkways etc have been deep solid tined to help drainage and better water and air movement through the profile and relieve compaction
a 19mm solid tine going down to a depth of 175mm
