Middle of May???

As we approach the middle of May I m still moaning about the weather, Again!!! 

The weather is still not where it should be, we are getting little growth due to the cold nights and we even had another frost. For a good spring we require some wet warm conditions but these are not quite hand in hand yet. This means greenkeepers and gardeners all over are trying to force Mother Nature a little bit at the moment trying to get the growth started. 

This week we applied a high nitrogen fertiliser to the greens to give them a little kick in the right direction. We also managed to get a light top dressing on the greens before the heavy rain on Wednesday night. 

In other areas we hollow tined some of the bare areas on the course and then added soil and seed to try and get these areas recovered. These areas are particularly noticeable at the ends of pathways and bridges. 

A lot of weeding around the clubhouse got done this week also.

Another area you may have noticed getting our attention at the moment is the bottom of the 6th fairway. This area suffers from water running down the slope from the fairway and sitting against the old tee back. This area will need to be drained later in the year but just putting soil and seed into this area won't help as every time it rains these hollows fill up again. We decided to raise the hollows and shape the banks either side just enough to allow the water to shed away. This should improve the drainage issues and allow us to grow grass there! 

I have also noticed the first signs of grass in the areas where we over seeded a couple of weeks ago and now coming through. This is great news and we will add fertilisers to try and improve the sward thickness in the coming weeks.

On reflection of the last week I would say its been another busy one, this includes trying to finish areas off plus trying to get the course cut and the greens to grow. 

I would also like to welcome our summer casual to the team. His name is Norbert. He started on the Monday and will help the team with carry out the detail work around the course. 

If you have any questions please feel free to ask me when you see me.

Many thanks

Matt