Since the start of the lockdown the greenstaff has been reduced to one and a bit. While this was fairly straightforward to begin with demand for man hours has increased steadily. The dry conditions have made this worse with a lot of time spent handwatering greens. To give an example of this it took one man 11 hours to thoroughly soak just 15 greens by hose.
The greens continued to be handmown in order to conserve diesel however this has now become impossible with other demands on time.
With no golf and dry conditions we took the opportunity to apply another topdressing. Completed in one day the heavy sand dressing has almost completely amalgamated into the sward already. The dry weather has meant no sand is being picked up by the mower so no time has to be spent regrinding blades!
We currently have just one pump working which has meant manual hand watering only this far but a required part has arrived and will soon be fitted.
We’re in the process of fixing a main line leak and when both are complete we hope use of the computer system can resume and take some of the watering strain. More likely the rain will arrive at the same time however and use of the irrigation will cease!
We were fortunate that the Spring starter fertiliser was not applied and to date the greens have been receiving small nutritional inputs via the sprayer (when it’s not overly windy!!)
Fairways are being cut as required and we’ve taken the chance to adjust mowing lines and fairway shapes to allow worn areas to grow but also include thicker areas at a lower cutting height.
Mowing heights have increased on greens, approaches, tees and fairways to allow for reduced frequency of cutting given our staff numbers. The rough is being mown as required.
Some welcome rain today but it did little more than dampen down the dust!
More updates will be added as we progress.
Scotscraig Golf Club Course Blog 