Eaton
Gavin has had two men off this week: Callum on holiday, Eli on paternity leave. His family is thriving.
We have had just 5 mm of rain this week, not a lot but more than sufficient to maintain high humidities. In winter, once the gravel banding has cleared surface water the course largely relies on evaporative drying, and in current conditions (> 90% humidity) there is very little of that. We need cold air and wind, neither of which is forecast. We can just about get machinery on the course but are not able to move loaded trailers around. The heavy rains have confirmed the next 2 fairways to be rebanded are 16 and 18, which conveniently are close to the sheds, which minimises trailer movement. The greens were cut twice during the week, yielding a good quantity of cuttings - they couldn’t be cut more frequently because the surrounds were too soft to cope with the mowers turning off after each pass.
Vertidraining the greens worked as expected - despite some torrential rain none of them flooded. But - and there is always a but - the volume of water passing through the greens has stripped any nutrition from the root zone. In consequence Gavin can see slight yellowing of the grass and has lightly fertilised them (4.0.9 for those with an agricultural awareness) to help them recover.
Gavin has started work on the planned irrigation in front of 12 and 15. When last seen he was in a 3 foot deep hole on 12, teeing in to the course system before trenching in the sprinkler heads. The irrigation system has been drained down for the winter.
Course Committee
29 October 2023