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 
 

Still some cracking days going into October

We are starting to reduce cutting and turf ironing instead to help reduce stress the the greens and will be looking at putting our cutting heights up slightly going into October 

This week we have applied 0.5 tons of top-dressing sand to the Balcomie course greens to help smooth the surfaces off and reduce thatch levels, this process will be repeated in a couple of weeks time again 

Rubbing in of the top-dressing and changing the holes before play 

We have carried out more essential work to green 3 on the Balcomie course by mini-coring, clearing up, cutting then over seeding, brushing/switching in seed then 2 tons of top-dressing sand to help improve the surface

The holes are ideal for the new seed and sand 

All the seed was brushed/switched into the holes to try to get the best germination 

After the 2 tons of sand the green was brushed several ways to work the sand into the surface before irrigating to wash and fill all the holes above the seed 

The Balcomie course greens being sprayed with Seaweed 

The Craighead course greens have had their Autumn fertiliser applied to help strengthen them up going into the winter months 

In the Afternoons when it's dry we have made a start to cutting and collecting certain deep rough areas on the Craighead course to help thin the roughs out and make them more playable for the next season, this will be ongoing when weather and staffing permits 

Fairways 2 & 12 on the Balcomie course have had an application of liquid fertiliser to help them recover from the drought 

We are now re-instating our 1st winter tee on the Balcomie course where we had a temporary Portakabin for more office space 

Ready for final level checks before turfing 

Final rake then turfing started 

We have applied an Autumn feed to all our tees over both courses this week 
 

We have sprayed the Craighead course greens & PG's with a liquid fertiliser, wetting agent, Seaweed & iron to help perk them up going into the Autumn 

The old Boathouse at green 1 of the Balcomie course 

We are still cutting most playing areas as much as we can with our reduced staffing levels

All the Balcomie course tees have been sprayed with a liquid fertiliser & wetting agent to help the new seed germinate that was seeded a couple of weeks ago 

We have applied a granular fertiliser on the Craighead course tees to help aid recovery from the drought plus help the new seed germinate 

Tees 13 being cut then fertilised 

We have started to replace our old bay dividers on the driving range with dividers made out of Railway sleepers, this carries on the theme of Railway sleepers being used over both courses 

These dividers should last much longer in our windy climate 

We have continued to spike, over seed and heavy top-dress certain greens on the Balcomie course to improve the surfaces, this will be ongoing for the next 2/3 weeks before temperatures start to drop