A summer of four heatwaves – The UK has just sizzled through one of its hottest summers on record, following one of the driest springs in more than 50 years. Here in the South West, we experienced above-average temperatures and below-average rainfall. For the golf course to come through that with minimal damage and scarring is extremely pleasing.

Hand watering of greens and tees was carried out daily, as there was no rain forecast for weeks. All other areas of the course lay dormant in terms of growth due to the dry, warm conditions, so mowing was kept to a minimum.

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Golf Week

Considering the weather, the team produced a very playable course. Yes, it was firm, but the greens were receptive and putted true. We received some very positive feedback from visiting golfers – and even from a few of our harder-to-please members. Great effort, boys!

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When rain finally arrived, it was torrential. Combined with the rock-hard surfaces and slopes on the course, more than half of the bunkers were completely washed out and unplayable. Shovelling all the sand back would have taken the team several days of back-breaking work, so we hired a mini-digger. This allowed me to complete the task in two days, along with some additional remedial work across the course.
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Greens Renovation

Between Golf Week and the bunker repairs, we also carried out our twice-yearly greens renovation. This was much needed after a long, hard summer with heavy play. Renovation relieves compaction, removes thatch, and allows gaseous exchange to promote healthier growth.

We had hoped for a dry week, but unfortunately it rained. As the specialist coring machines are booked months in advance, we pressed on and worked through the rainfall on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

The Baroness core collector, which acts like a road sweeper to pick up the spent cores, saved a great deal of time compared with hand-sweeping and shovelling. In total, the team removed around 20 tonnes of thatch and replaced it with 35 tonnes of fresh sand – a comparatively large single application.

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As we continue our mission to remove as much thatch as possible, this vigorous approach to improving the greens profile is essential to keeping them playable for as long as possible heading into the winter months. We are all very aware of the challenges winter brings, but please rest assured the team is working hard to improve conditions over time.

We ask for your patience and understanding – the weather is out of our control, but we are doing all we can to adapt to these ever-changing and often harsh conditions. Let’s hope for a cold, dry winter.

Matt Lock
Head Greenkeeper