Eaton Golf Club

’Summer’ has definitely come early this year.  The greens are performing as if it were late July/August, because of the prolonged warm and dry spell - which looks like it will last for a few more days, thunderstorms excepted.  This Friday's reading was 9’ 11”, despite the greens only being rolled in the morning, not cut as well as would normally be the case.  They had been cut and rolled on Thursday for the Pro-Am.  Reports from the pro-Am were full of praise for the course.  The lowest pro score was 68, by the way, despite the par 5’s being reached by some with just a drive and short/medium iron.

The heat and lack of rain have as usual reduced grass growth, with the fairways only needing to be cut once rather than twice in the week.  Conversely, the greens moisture readings are lower than desired so overnight watering has been increased.

The chart shows stimp readings for this year set against the average of the past 13 years.  The current weather is a major reason for the contrast between this year and history, and we might also be seeing the benefit of the growth regulator suppressing meadow grass seeding.  The chart also shows our agronomist consultants opinion of ‘fast’ (8’ 6”) for club golf.  We aim for 9’ average across the season, 10’ for major events.

Course committee

11th June 2023