Work on the field in October:
October 2-6:
This week, fairways and semiroughs will be top-dressed and aerated. Expect major disruption to the course and hole closures where work is being done.
October 13-15:
This week, work is being done on the foregreens. Aeration, reseeding and topdressing are being done. Expect disruption to these playing surfaces.
October 23-25: Work will be carried out on tees. Aeration, reseeding and top dressing will be carried out. Expect minor disruption.
What a summer!
The course has been so green and with tight fairways and not least semi-rough for once. We are not used to that.
It’s been a while since I’ve written a course update. The last time was before the summer holidays. We had a drought then. A wet winter had gone straight into a very dry April, May and June. Such a start brought back memories of the summer of 2018. “Is this how the weather will be now and in the future?” All childcare was about managing drought stress. Witch rings were spilling out on the foregreens, selected fairways were being watered and an old irrigation system, no matter how well we looked after it, showed with all its might where the sprinklers didn’t reach.
When you members asked me if the pitch would ever be green again, I replied that the summer would be so wet and boring that we would all rather be abroad. I couldn't imagine that we would get a green pitch before sometime in October. That wasn't the case. July got wet and the pitch rebounded after 2-3 weeks. August continued the style and it fit so perfectly with the match and activity program for the club. All of August and all of September has been a long cutting and presentation routine for the parade of events we have had: division weekend, Anniversary week, Company Days. Club championships, Danish championship final for teams and now finally the Royal Trophy.
The course has been in good condition throughout the period and we greenkeepers have received lots of praise for our work. Thank you very much for the praise. We treasure them. Our approach to the work is the same whether it is summer or winter, drought or flood, but it is much easier to present a beautiful golf course when it is green and well-defined. It is good for the eye.
Machines and greenkeepers are now tired of “just” cutting grass. Now comes the time of year when the focus is on long-term maintenance such as aeration, reseeding and top dressing, winterization and prevention against fungal attacks and deer trampling. All so that we all have a slightly better golf course for next season.
Enjoy a hopefully long and wonderful autumn season.
Martin Nilsson, Chief Greenkeeper