The weather recently has been very dry in the main and so the golf course has benefited with the team trying to keep presentation levels as high as possible. However it doesn't take much rain to change things around and in the last week or so we had had plenty. As I write this the course is shut as it has been flooded by another 10mm of rain, which just raises the water table even more, having had 30mm over the last week or so.
We are trying to take advantage of any dry periods to carry out important drainage tasks around the golf course. We have already started work on several holes, including 1st, 10th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 17th and 18th holes.
We have installed extra drainage on the right hand side of the 1st and 14th holes. On the 1st we discovered a very deep culvert up near the pond area that was blocked completely with tree roots. Having located the large pipe which runs from the pond to the ditch, we have installed drainage and stone from the culvert to the large pipe.
On the 14th we have dug trenches through the worst of the wet area on the right hand side. This has been added to the existing drainage. On the left hand side of the 14th the ditch has been dug out deeper and wider to take an extra volume of water away.
Areas of the ditches on the 10th, 13th and 18th have been dug out so that a greater water flow can take place. We have cleared away blockages in culverts we have found which will help to free water movement on the course. On the 13th we have also trimmed the trees and bushes on the left of the ditch right away so that ball retrieval will be much easier for the golfers.
An area of much comment and discussion was the bomb hole on the 15th. This area used to be cut regularly with the rough mower but over the last 18 months or so it has become increasingly more difficult to maintain the area. It became wetter and wetter and eventually we were unable to do anything with it as it filled up with water.
The decision was made to dig in the area to inspect what the issue was and develop a plan to move forward. The bottom of the pit had a very poor sward after remaining wet for so long and therefore we decided to strip off this area. When we started to remove it we uncovered a deep culvert which started to take all the water away. Moving forward this will be inspected further to make sure it is constantly flowing correctly. If we feel extra drainage is needed then this will be added. Then the area will be made good again with fresh soil and turf.
As you can see we are keeping busy with projects as well as trying to keep the course as tidy as possible. Further updates will follow when more works are completed. Please look on the club's twitter feed for pictures of the above work.
