Eaton
Gavin, Callum and Craig went to the Open on Friday, thanks to courtesy tickets from our main equipment supplier - talk about a busman’s holiday…! Hopefully the free admission took some of the sting out of beer at £7.50 a pint.
Our greens were stimped on Thursday, coming in at 9’ 3”. Hoylake reportedly was running at 10’ 6” on Thursday. We’ve had 45 mm of rain since last Monday, of which 37 mm fell over the weekend. Growth across the course has picked up with the extra precipitation, which is forecast to continue this week.
Greens were sarel rolled on Monday: a sarel roller is one fitted with 1-5-2” steel pins which aerates the upper layer and helps breaks down dead organic material (cuttings, dead roots). They were also sprayed with a light solution of iron, nitrogen and growth regulator - just regular summer maintenance.
Other than routine tasks the team have been clearing away rough growth in the new DEFRA tree plantations, which were in danger of being choked by lush growth. In some areas the tree spacing allows access for a deck mower but elsewhere we will need to use a hand-operated flail mower (the same technology as is used to cut field hedges) and then spray with weedkiller. We need to get the plantation boundaries clearly defined before the hedge cutter comes in.
Course Committee
24 July 2023