Your Greens need you.....

As greenkeepers our job is to prepare and present the golf course in it's best possible condition whilst striving to make improvements that will enhance and preserve the golfing experience at Muswell Hill. Sometimes though we need the assistance of the members & visitors who play the course.
In this instance I'm referring to pitchmarks on the greens.
The picture below is taken from the front of the 11th green last Monday, 11th July.
Each ball represents an unrepaired pitchmark.

In total there were more than 25 pitchmarks, I actually ran out of balls to put in all the marks.

Why is this so important?

We are constantly trying to achieve smooth & true putting surfaces at Muswell Hill. 

Most of the maintenance works we carry out are aimed at producing good putting surfaces, aeration, top dressing, monitoring heights of cut, balanced nutrient input all help us produce true putting surfaces.

An unrepaired or badly repaired pitchmark leads to bumpy, untrue surfaces and is also more likely to encourage weed or disease invasion of the putting surface.

If everyone could repair their own pitchmark, the problem would be solved and the putting surfaces will benefit. The condition of the course will therefore benefit. Its a win-win.

A closer look at Attention to detail....

As the golfing season is now in full 'swing' I'd like to go through some of the other tasks we carry out on the golf course that help us keep the course looking tidy and improve the overall appearance of the golf course.
Apart from cutting grass & preparing the surfaces for play a great deal of the greenstaff time is spent carrying out attention to detail tasks.
The list is numerous and ever growing. The range of tasks are wide & varied and range from emptying bins, painting ball washers, painting distance yardage markers, topping up paths, strimming ditches to cutting hedges, flower planting around the clubhouse and cleaning up benches around the course.
They way we try to manage these tasks is to firstly set the golf course up for the day with the various maintenance practices carried out and then set about completing some of the other attention to detail tasks. This allows us to be generally clear of the golfers playing on the course yet still working to improve the quality and feel of golf at Muswell Hill.

Some interesting thoughts.....

I came across this article and thought it would make interesting read.
http://www.usga.org/course-care/forethegolfer/why-can-t-green-speeds-remain-constant-.html