We will continue with the dry and beautiful spring weather into May. We don't know when the rain will finally come, but maybe in week 19 it will change.
Here, March had otherwise been a month like April usually is: dry, sunny and cold. But with many good working days. April should then be like May usually is: A little wet at the beginning and then warm at the end. Just the right weather to start the course off really nicely, especially on the fairways.
It didn't work out that way. We have to wait for May to bring the rain. Nothing serious will happen on our fairways before then. They have come through the winter well, but growth and density will only come when there is moisture in the ground again. When the moisture comes, we are ready to continue our maintenance plan to lift our fairways.
We have two new employees in the greenkeeper's yard: Lasse and Sebastian. Both are seasonal employees and will work at the club until the end of September. Lasse and Sebastian have no experience working on a golf course, but are quick to learn. It is going well to get them into the many different tasks, but now that the season is really picking up and there are many players on the course, it is important to be extra careful. So therefore: Be extra considerate of your greenkeepers and give clear signs and most importantly: wait for signs from the greenkeeper. Then no accidents will happen.
The large teeing ground on the range is open again. Enjoy the fresh grass and the even surface. The range is popular and the teeing ground has a hard life. You can help extend the life and quality if you place your next ball right behind the divot you have made. This way, the area that needs to be repaired is significantly reduced and the quality of the teeing ground can be maintained longer for the benefit of all of us. An instruction is posted on the ball machine and a video with Oskar showing how to do it is running on the screen in the hall.
Many members have noticed that we mow our greens with single mowers now. The finish is high and the ball rolls better. The mowing frequency has been adjusted to the conditions, so we mow once or twice a week right now. On the days we don't mow, we then tumble or skip completely to protect our greens. This means that we may find that the greens are a little uneven even though they are fast. It is not ideal, but the evenness will come when we get more uniform growth.
Due to the drought, there is currently no major track work planned beyond daily maintenance. That will change when the moisture arrives. Fingers crossed.
Enjoy!
Martin Nilsson, Chief Greenkeeper
