Course Update May 2018

The new soak-away area in the rough off to the right of the 16th on No1 course was primarily made to drain surface water away from the approach/walkway to the green, the rain water that built up in this area was due to the rock table being close to the surface.  When tackling this we also looked to see if we could do anything else in this area which could attract certain plant, reptile, insect or bird life. We looked at the wetlands down in the nature reserve, and a soak away area at the 9th hole on North Berwick West course. These two areas generally lay dry during the growing seasons and can start to fill up with water during the non-growing seasons. Out of the way projects like this always look unnatural initially, but when the natural grasses on the banking’s and in the base start to grow it will soon blend in better, and in time become almost unnoticeable.

Pitchmarks

I urge you all to please repair your pitch marks, and to repair them properly so golfers behind you can enjoy smoother putting surfaces. Please visit Gullane Greens WordPress blog to see a YouTube video on how to repair pitch marks properly if you do not know how to? Click here to go to the blog

Additional staff

We welcomed a few new members of staff to the team in March this year. Fraser Murray replaced Jamie Aitken on the No1 team.  Ben Cockburn joined the No2 team and Cameron Smith joined the No3 team, both as apprentices. All three are settling in well and getting used to their new jobs.

Irrigation use

The recent cold drying winds on sunny days have led to some areas on greens to start drying out so we have been out hand watering these areas to ensure we do not lose any grass cover this early on in the season.

We have been mowing the greens every 2nd day and turf ironing in between to keep the greens putting as smoothly as they can at this time of year.

As we are now into May and it looks like things should start warming up a little, we should see a little more growth on the greens, this will help the greens thicken up and putt smoother as we go through this month.

You may have noticed that some areas of rough have been cut back more over the last week or two. These areas will be used for either car parking or for siting marquees for The Scottish Open. Once these areas have been cut down we will maintain them at around a 3-inch height of cut until we welcome The European Tour here again in July.

As part of our machinery renewal plan we replaced our 5-gang fairway mower on the No2 course with a bigger 7 gang version. This will help us to get the fairways on No2 course cut, washed and set in one day, hopefully in front of play. We struggled to complete that task, in that time frame with the smaller mower.

We also replaced our old turf iron on the No1 course with a bigger version. This newer, bigger model will hopefully allow us to a) complete the task of rolling the greens quicker and b) we may have the time to roll the aprons as well, whist rolling the greens.

New path to the 3rd tees on No1

The new hybrid turf which was laid out on the pathway from the 2nd fairway to the 3rd tees on no1 is holding up well. This turf is made up of 5% synthetic grass, 40mm of sand and the rest is a blend of rye grass seed. This turf has been used in professional football goal mouths areas and professional rugby pitches. Here’s hoping it can withstand the Gullane wear and tear!

Members’ Course Walk

We are proposing to hold a course walk on No1 on Tuesday 22nd May, 6.30pm – 8.30pm. The Head Greenkeeper on No1, Paul Hay and myself will take a wander around a few holes and talk about some of the maintenance and preparation work on the courses. Hopefully this will give an insight into the many duties and tasks that Paul and his team on No1 tackle on daily basis. Any members who have an interest in coming along, if you could let Jane know either by popping into the office to put your name down or drop Jane an email on - jane.flockhart@gullanegolfclub.com

Many thanks for taking the time to read my latest update. Here’s looking forward to a busy but enjoyable season, I hope Mother Nature does her part by giving us a decent summer for a change!

Stewart Duff

Course Manager

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