As winter approaches it's all about the paths.  Lots of extensions, changes and new paths being built over the last and indeed next months.  These have been put in round the course to improve access throughout the winter months.  As we have found in previous years, each small path improvement has meant a better course in early season.  Alongside this we are upgrading mats, mainly on the Old course initially but with some new mats on the London.  Before we move onto plastic by early December, we are changing the mats on 3rd and 11th Old, with the 9th Tee Old recieving a larger mat on the back tee which struggles to be any good through the season

3rd London

New path and mat.  3rd Tee Upper

New mat 14th London

Path 14th Old

Seeding from earlier in the season has produced great results on greens, tees and approaches and all surfaces are moving toward winter in good condition.

 

Dry, dry, dry is the order of the day.  Course looking and playing really well.  Surfaces in a good place for June with our focus just on further refinement and improvement as we move into the summer months

Looking good

The rough after its usual mad growth of the last month is settling down.  Some areas of uncut are still too thick so we will address these as the plant begins to dry out.

Rough clean

Our biggest achievement in the last number of years is improving irrigation pressure and consistency.  We are now able to tailor greens much more easily, meaning we can lower greens height and push them that little bit more than in the past.  This extra time gained by greens efficiency's mean we can now move to watering and divoting tees on a regular basis through the season.

Good coverage

Now we have broken the back of the mowing in spring those jobs left over from early season can be finished.  The 3rd Tee is ready for its final soil topping and level and we may turf as early as next week.  Also we are turfing the 13th Old at the same time.  After a few covid affected years we will be restarting bunker improvements on the course in July.

As to be expected this time of year we are waiting for the weather to break.  Surfaces are in the main in good condition, greens are just in need of refinement.  Some dressings and light tining will be undertaken in the next 2 weeks.  By then we should have had rain and greens will come alive.  We have fitted a new valve assembly to the 17th London, which has fixed an annoying leak but will also improve pressure to the green.

17th London

The new 3rd Tee London is taking shape and I would expect to see this turfed in the next few weeks.  This will obviously impact on yardage but we are planning to move the centre of the fairway left to gain a few yards and make the shot a little more interesting.

3rd London

All the tree work we have undertaken in the last few months is coming to an end.  The final few areas of bramble at the tree edges is been finished and that will be it till next winter.  Woodland edges are already looking better, more bluebells poking up but also less potential from falling bits as we've cleaned most of the weak, problem areas

Bramble clearance

As the weather has improved, so the list of jobs has changed tack.  Greens have had a 10mm solid tine down to 100 mm.  Each green has also received half a ton of sand.  This along with a heavier than normal application of fertiliser has helped push them along.  Still a fair bit of scaring but overall, looking and putting well.  Cutting has begun on most surfaces and course is starting to improve across all areas.

This false spring will soon give way to more typical weather which will help us get back on course with other work.  Still to complete new ladies Tee on the 1st Old course and maybe 13th Old along with the back Tee on 13th old.  Also yet to start but a high priority is the new Tee on the 3rd London.

The 1st Tee Old has had a little tidy up, we have added a terraced bed behind the Tee and will bark and plant it this week.

1st Old

Ready for plants

We have also rebuilt a new mat at the front of this Tee ready for the new winter season.  A good deal of the mats are in poor shape across the courses so addressing these will be an aim before next winter.  We also have a number of improvements and additions to make on our pathways before the next winter season.

New Mat

 

 Its all about the trees at the moment.  After some incredibly windy days, clearing of damage has been an ongoing job in the last week.  A number have fallen, plus a few branches have snapped of in problem areas but mainly its just the volume of bits littered everywhere around greens and tees.

17th Fairway Old course

Endless tree work

Through the last 5 weeks and probably onto the next 4, we are concentrating on woodland management.

We had planned to start last winter but for obvious reasons are starting a little later.  Dead, diseased and dying trees, plus any poor specimens and rubbish growing out into the fairway line have been removed.  In most places we have gained between 5 and 8 metres on each side of the fairway.  This improves light and air movement to both the rough and the tree canopy.  We are hoping to finish at least 6 holes this winter and continue rolling on in the next 4-5 years before we start it all again.

The first batch of turfing has been finished with 3 bunkers on the Old removed and turfed plus lots of other little areas tidied with the turf.

14th London

7th Old turf

 

Course slowly starting to dry out so we can continue with more jobs around the course.  Long overdue and much needed, mats are now being power-washed with our new petrol machine.  We can also now clean various other items of furniture around the course and will not wait until winter in the future to clean mats.

Mat cleaning

We are continuing with changes to bunkers on the Old course.  The 7th has had left and back left bunkers filled in.  Left, will be a smooth roll of making the tee shot harder and more fun.  The right bunker will become a grass style bunker but will make a get out for a shot pushed that way making this a little easier from the tee.  For now the front bunker has been tidied with new sand but will be redesigned later this year.

Left 7th Old

 

Nearly finished

As we continue with tree work the 7th Old was tackled.  Mass tree removal, a new ditch added and this area is looking much better and should attract lots of errant shots this year. More light and better airflow will have a massive impact on this and all tree clearance areas

7th Green complex old

In the coming weeks all areas half finished will have turfed, more paths are being added across the courses and and woodland work is planned to continue.

The course was looking pretty good through till late December but as always the weather has it's own agenda.  With 1 more poor day to go the next 2 weeks looks much drier and brighter.  To stay of the course as much as possible we are undertaking reinstatement to woodland edges.  Pushing the tree line back to enable a wider golf hole with improved airflow.  The 12th and 14th London are finished with the 13th being next on the list.  We are using some of the arising to block up the perimeter around 2 and 3 which will help keep people off the course.

14th London

                                                                                    

With the course being wet, getting to surfaces is very difficult.  Disease patches have spread slowly in the last 3 weeks creating small poor areas on most greens.  Although not ideal we are not to concerned as the amounts are small and once weather improves we can begin to repair these areas.

 

Microdocium patch

New 1st Tee on the London has been measured up ready for building.  This will be a high quality mat and is long overdue in replacing one of the worst tees on the course.  This should be finished within the week.

1st Tee

Although we have put bunker rebuilding on the back burner temporarily this greenside on 13th Old has been filled in, with rarely a customer it will be better served as a grassy swale once complete.

13th Old

Ditch clearence has been an ongoing feature in the last 6 weeks with most now complete.  This will help move water off the golf course and also identify any pipework that has been lost with the passage of time. 

4th Tee London