There are many members who ask me and my colleagues every day: "when will the putting green open again?"
It will be very soon, specifically in the days immediately after Midsummer. At the time of writing, a final date has not been set, but it will be a fun day with competitions and prizes, drinks and a barbecue. So keep an eye out for announcements in the clubhouse and on Facebook for more information.
The new putting green will also be worth celebrating. It is more than twice the size of the old one, so it will be much more able to withstand the pressure of practice. There will be a total of 18 holes with beautiful wooden bars across the slightly undulating green. And then it will open as a chip and putting green. That's new! It will be allowed to practice chips on it, but not pitch. There is a big difference between the two types of shots because the pitch shot leaves impact marks in the green.
We have previously allowed chipping to the old green, but unfortunately there were members who had forgotten what Klas and Marc had taught them about the difference between the two strokes. Signs are being put up to help with memory, but were still about the new option.
Will the green be like the rest of the course's greens from the start? No, it won't. There is a tight program for the ingrowth and care of the green in the coming weeks. Today, the cutting height has been reduced to 7mm and the playing height on the course is currently 4.2mm. Top dressing is done every week to get it as even as possible. These are the almost invisible unevennesses that now appear to players as mowers, now that the cutting height is so low and these are the unevennesses that the sand should erase.
The fence around the green is being taken down this week (and moved to our repair green at the 14th green). This means that text messages are being sent around the deer community to come down to eat and play on the new green. It is usually a tough game so please show consideration and moderation before you start putting and playing on the green even though it is not open yet.
Continued good sunshine hours with lots of golf on the course.