Dear all,
I hope you all had a great Christmas and New Year in these difficult times.
As we are now closed for the third time and hopefully the last time, we are keeping very busy. Even though we’ve had 60m of rain this month, we’ve managed to get a lot done.
As you might have seen before lockdown, we have a new slitter with very deep tines. We have completed a double pass on the greens. This needs to be done to keep breaking down the thatch and organic matter layer. The new slits allow the air to get into the roots and this will promote growth of the roots and sustain a better playing surface.
We’ve also done fairways a tees too. We are trying to release the compaction of the fairways. This is important because we want to thicken the grass sward.
Grass works the same as us, more air the better we breath.
As we are mainly fescue, this time of the year is a struggle for the plant. In order to protect itself, it turns to a shade of yellow to hold the nutrients in. That explains the colouring of the course. Fescue is very hard wearing. If you walk on bent or rye grass in the frost, you’ll notice the next day it’ll leave black marks where the cells of the plant gets damage. We don’t get that which is a bonus.
I know lots of people wonder why we do our maintenance when the golf course is in good shape, but it’s so important to do it. This is because ensuring that the grass remains stress-free, you can actually prevent a great deal of diseases and disorders.
We plan to have the golf course look it’s absolute best and we look forward for your return and welcoming you all back soon!
Kind regards
Carl Sharp
Course manager
Clandon Golf
