Course News 21st April
New mower and other course news
Is the weather starting to normalise? We’ve had just under 5 mm of rain this week but there has also been a brisk drying wind which has helped to let trolleys back on the course, although members will have noticed just how soft much of the course is. Gavin has focused on getting as much of the course cut as possible, including the cut rough but the scars from the mower show how vulnerable parts of the course still are. They will need attention when things settle down, either by rolling or infilling with top soil. There are areas which are still too soft to tackle, including the copses. Even though the cut heights are currently set higher than summer levels, the length and quantity of cuttings is very apparent. It will take 2 or 3 more mowings to mulch them down and normalise grass heights but hopefully we are on our way.
The fairways have been cut with the semi-rough mower, at 19 mm - that’s winter height: standard for normal play is 14 mm. Towards the end of the week the lads were able to get the older fairways mower into action but they left the new mower in the sheds until the worm casts diminish, in order to protect the pristine new cutter blades.
The two fairway bunkers on 7 are very quick to fill with water. The drains must be blocked and will need digging out and clearing when time is available - which it is not at the moment: there isn’t enough time in the day for the team at the moment, playing catch-up.
Gavin has not been able to locate the 12” pipe drain coming from the 9th and beyond but he has explored the field and found a manhole which accesses the drain. He’s been able to establish that it fills up very quickly when there is heavy rain, indicating that it is taking water off impermeable surfaces; ground drainage doesn’t react so quickly, so it must be water from the houses in Waverton. It’s unwise to interfere with that, so the plan now is to try and pick up some of the surface water off the field and divert that into the course drainage.
The story of the week is the Board’s decision to provide immediate funding for a new type of machine, a Ventrac - illustrated. This is outside of our normal capital spend cycle and not as simple as it might sound, so many thanks to them. The Ventrac is a power unit on wheels, to which can be fitted any one of up to 30 attachments. These include various mower decks, brush cutters, stump grinders and a blower unit to clear fallen leaves. Its immediate USP (unique selling point) is that it runs on super-soft tyres (6 and 8 p.s.i.) which allow it to operate over very soft ground. That means we will be able to cut almost all of the course right through the winter - fairways and rough. Shorter grass means quicker drying ground; it could be a game-changer. We hope to have it around the end of the month. It’s so versatile we will be able to use it in the summer to supplement other machinery and thus speed up routine tasks.
Course Committee
21 April
The fairways have been cut with the semi-rough mower, at 19 mm - that’s winter height: standard for normal play is 14 mm. Towards the end of the week the lads were able to get the older fairways mower into action but they left the new mower in the sheds until the worm casts diminish, in order to protect the pristine new cutter blades.
The two fairway bunkers on 7 are very quick to fill with water. The drains must be blocked and will need digging out and clearing when time is available - which it is not at the moment: there isn’t enough time in the day for the team at the moment, playing catch-up.
Gavin has not been able to locate the 12” pipe drain coming from the 9th and beyond but he has explored the field and found a manhole which accesses the drain. He’s been able to establish that it fills up very quickly when there is heavy rain, indicating that it is taking water off impermeable surfaces; ground drainage doesn’t react so quickly, so it must be water from the houses in Waverton. It’s unwise to interfere with that, so the plan now is to try and pick up some of the surface water off the field and divert that into the course drainage.
The story of the week is the Board’s decision to provide immediate funding for a new type of machine, a Ventrac - illustrated. This is outside of our normal capital spend cycle and not as simple as it might sound, so many thanks to them. The Ventrac is a power unit on wheels, to which can be fitted any one of up to 30 attachments. These include various mower decks, brush cutters, stump grinders and a blower unit to clear fallen leaves. Its immediate USP (unique selling point) is that it runs on super-soft tyres (6 and 8 p.s.i.) which allow it to operate over very soft ground. That means we will be able to cut almost all of the course right through the winter - fairways and rough. Shorter grass means quicker drying ground; it could be a game-changer. We hope to have it around the end of the month. It’s so versatile we will be able to use it in the summer to supplement other machinery and thus speed up routine tasks.
Course Committee
21 April