How Well Has Your Course Recovered From The Winter ?

[DCB]

Having played every day this holiday weekend, I'm quite happy with the way my own course is slowly getting back into condition. That being say, there was a slight frost here early doors this morning and the gound temp is still quite low.

Its good to see the fairways starting to grass up properly and when cut they do look good to the eye. Another good thing has been the recent dry weather. I thought our place was drying out very nicely. It's probably as dry as it has been since this time last year. I just hope we don't get another summer like last year. The greens need just a little more warmth in the gorund and then they will come on in leaps and bounds. Greenstaff having already done their tinning and dressing etc, so here's hoping we get some good, stable weather and the course picks up nicely.

How has your course survived the winter ? Anyone had tales of woe after the deep snow or the subsequent flooding ?

 

[rgs]

No tale of woe--our course survived the winter in great nick. We played full course throughout the winter.

 

[Andy]

Course is terrible, so bad I've written a 3 page letter to captain complaining about lack of work by green staff resulting in a course I'd be ashamed to invite any of you's to play.

Andy

 

[Dodger]

My place is gearing up well for the Summer,we have had a dry spell and cool wind recently and the course is dry and the greens likewise but putt well especially when cut and a bit of divoting has been done so could do with a bit of rain and less of the drying wind but it's in great nick overall so all in all no complaints at all quite the opposite and after being down at Gosforth last weekend I count my lucky stars I play where I do.

 

[Ste_Denial]

yeah my course is looking good, i was out this morning and they were cutting the fairways and they did look good when they were finished

 

[Herbie]

Very good, though a couple of greens have a few bobbles due to using just before it all dried and hardened up, mainly due to pitch mark neglectors! But over all very good.

 

[Del]

Got to say, this is the best I have ever seen our course, both the 18 and 9 holes.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Played today and thought it would be damp after all the rain this weekend but it was dry and in really good knick. For those that came down the other week and remember it, the trees have started to come into bud and they have been out shaping the fairways. The greens are getting quicker and still putting true.

 

[mono217]

Our course is as good as new.

 

[toonarmy]

Our greens are an absolute disgrace and the worst I've ever seen them. We're all hoping that they are trying to prepare them for the big comp this Saturday, but if they are no better next week, then it's letter time for me too.

The fairways are not that much better either. As everyone has just paid for their subs and the season has officially started, you'd think a struggling industry like golf would have the smarts to make sure they had an attractive package.

 

[viscount17]

most fairways are a bit long and still a little soft in places so run is limited.
still some areas of GUR,
greens are a bit variable, some quicker than others (at least that's my excuse!)

I would like to see a 'Stimp meter' (or similar) reading posted for all the greens daily, I know they'll change as you go through the day but it does give you something to work from.

 

[Deleted member 1147]

My course looks good, fairways have plenty of grass on them and have been well shaped by the green staff. The greens are al little bobbly though due to uneven growth.
Makes those pesky 5 footers even harder then normal!

 

[SS2]

The courses at my club cawder (www.cawder.co.uk) are in fantastic nick now because:

(1) The 4 low-lying holes with lots of water hazards and flooding potential are closed for the winter months. The greenkeeper builds 4 temporary (and rather good) holes out of our large practice facilities

(2) We played off plastic matts all winter to protect the fairways

(3) Winter greens are used off season whenever there is even a hint of frost or lots of rain

(4) Some of the greens were hollow-cored and sanded again in mid March.

The above may seem draconian steps to take in the winter but the members are used to it and we are rewarded with fantastic courses from Mid-April until the end of the season.

If I had the time/money I would join a links course for winter golf. Playing the full Goswick course on real greens in February was great.

 

[Robobum]

Generally our place looks fantastic, tees & fairways are well covered with grass and being cut & shaped makes them look like carpets.

The greens suffered pretty badly when the snow lay on them for the best part of 10days!! Followed by winter maintenance, then no rain, they have been pretty bumpy lately. The warmer temps and forecast rain should sort them very quickly though.

We also had some reshaping of tees & bunkers which required turfing after, these have been slow to knit due to the lack of rain too!!

 

[thecraw]

Course is terrible, so bad I've written a 3 page letter to captain complaining about lack of work by green staff resulting in a course I'd be ashamed to invite any of you's to play.

Andy

Andy, your not alone mate. Our place is/was an absolute disgrace, so much so our greenkeeper was hauled in and told he has two weeks to save his job. I've not managed to play since then however I was at the club briefly on Monday and the place looked greener, visually the greens looked alot better so hopefully they come good as I have a tee time for Saturdays medal at 1100.

Incidently I played 11 holes at Lochwinnoch today and there greens are simply awesome, superb, smooth, good grass and a joy to putt on.

I managed 16 holes at Old Ranfurly on Monday and they were ok, not great but ok. Hope your greens recover fast.

 

[theeaglehunter]

The Greens at my place are now starting to look great, however the fairways still leave a fair bit to be desired. This is my only complaint with the whole course / club though- the fairways currently being below par. They aren't drastically bad its just compared to the usual very high standard the courses uphold they could be much better. I am sure by the time the Lagonda trophy/ regional qualifying for the open comes round they will have sorted it however and have both the courses looking spectacular once again.

 

[StuartD]

Not sure what to make of mine after Saturdays opening match.

The greens are a bit of a mixed bag, the second which is shaded by trees is terrible, think it has some drainage problems and it looks as if it has patches of mud in it. The best green is the twelfth which is also partly shaded but it was not played on all winter. Four other greens, which were not re-laid to USGA spec when the course was extended, are also pretty soft underfoot and are suffering from poor drainage. One was supposed to be replaced every two years but I suppose the current financial climate put a stop to doing one this winter

My main gripe is with the fairways. I think they are cut far too early. Viscount said his course fairways were long and I wish this was the case with ours. The ground is far too soft and wet at the moment and the mower has churned them up a bit particularly at the edges where the mower has been turned. It was the same last year as well. If you were at the edge of the fairway you had a poor muddy lie, you were much better off running into the first cut of rough.

Plenty of other work has gone into the course with new paths put down in high traffic areas between holes, so can’t complain with the amount of work that has been put in

 

[viscount17]

they've since run a cut over the fairways, not a close one though so still some body. unfortunately damp grass doesn't spread or pick up well so we've lines of cut grass to contend with but a bit of warm and wind should sort it.

there are one or two tees where if you play off a short tee you risk losing it. both of these are new high tees with no run-up for the mower so they have to handcut, which is probably why they aren't done.

 

[viscount17]

as a slight aside,
The guy I was playing the other day was telling me that part way through the mid-week medal the greenskeepers had started to cut the greens. He was mad as hell as the early starters had a much tougher set to contend with.

for some reason the seniors medal is seen as fair game to interrupt.