This week we've had minimal rainfall (2 mm). The next 10-12 days are forecast dry, which bodes well for the tee levelling which will begin w/c 20 October. It will take 3 days to strip the old turf - which we will do - then the contractor will laser level the underlying root zone, ready for new turf to be laid the following week. It comes in large rolls, not individual turfs and is much quicker to lay, provided we get it right! We’ll then be on temporary tees all winter. Unfortunately we have no use for the old turf, which will have to be dumped.
The course has been mown throughout. The greens are still growing quite well and need cutting daily: they can’t be rolled because of the worm casts. They have also been sprayed with some iron and a light feed of seaweed solution. Approaches have been dressed and brushed in. Next week Gavin plans to vertidrain the greens and tees, and tine the approaches. Unfortunately this will disrupt the surface of the greens, just when they are recovering well from the scarifying, but it has to be done before the winter to relieve compaction which leads to flooding. Compaction is caused by frequent rolling, which is needed to keep the speeds up - so it’s basically all our fault…
Course committee