What condition do you expect your course to be in come March 29?

[jim8flog]

Divots! I would be really surprised to walk on to a course on 29 March and see divots dating back to December!

Walk on our course and you would probably find divots dating back to December 2019 sadly too many members see this as job for the green staff and will not use the divot bags supplied.

 

[D-S]

Divots! I would be really surprised to walk on to a course on 29 March and see divots dating back to December!

Hopefully you won’t see divots but we need some decent growing weather for any filled divots to have grown in properly. Also seeded divot mix can just be a way of feeding all the birds in the local area especially if they are up undisturbed by golfers. A couple of local courses ‘lost‘ some fairways in Lockdown 1 as birds found new undisturbed feeding areas.

 

[Crazyface]

Crazyface will be pleased

Good grief.........

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

Was up at my club today, never seen so much top dressing in my life so hopefully it should be pretty good ?

 

[BrianM]

Fortrose greens are second to none at the moment, the green keepers are doing a superb job in the current circumstances ?

 

[DeanoMK]

Honestly not expecting much as it's been so wet, saying that though, the lack of traffic will definitely have done it some good.

I know they've been doing some maintenance on the course and I'm looking forward to seeing that.

I just can't wait to be back out there and I'm counting down the days.

 

[PJ87]

In spite of no income, we have still retained the majority of our greenkeeping team during the recent period of lockdown and will be bringing back the full team from Mon 8th March ensuring that the course will be in excellent early spring condition when we re-open on the 29th of March.

I'm expecting pretty much best I've played it

 

[D-S]

In spite of no income, we have still retained the majority of our greenkeeping team during the recent period of lockdown and will be bringing back the full team from Mon 8th March ensuring that the course will be in excellent early spring condition when we re-open on the 29th of March.

I'm expecting pretty much best I've played it

Mid July conditions at the end of March? After an extremely wet winter?

 

[PJ87]

Mid July conditions at the end of March? After an extremely wet winter?

Mid July wasn't amazing for the back 9 as it had just been opened so fairways were being worked on so their better now than they were

So that's why best I would have played the entire course as it will have bedded in

Plus wet winter isn't an issue as much if nobody is walking on it

 

[Imurg]

Plus wet winter isn't an issue as much if nobody is walking on it

It can be if it's so wet you can't get relevant machinery onto the course.
It's often a problem around here when the weather warms up, the grass growing explodes but the ground is so wet ( clay) that you can't get the mowers out.
It can take ages to get it back under control.

 

[PJ87]

It can be if it's so wet you can't get relevant machinery onto the course.
It's often a problem around here when the weather warms up, the grass growing explodes but the ground is so wet ( clay) that you can't get the mowers out.
It can take ages to get it back under control.

The drainage is pretty decent and even during the depths of winter and December the course looked lush

I expect it to be pretty good, been warm here recently

 

[Golfnut1957]

I walked it yesterday and was shocked at how much water was sitting on the holes at the bottom of the course. I knew it had rained hard the day before, but I didn't realise quite how much rain we'd had. The rest of the course was very wet.

The green staff have been furloughed throughout the lockdown and still are currently. Even if they came back they would be limited in what they could do. If they took machinery on it they would just cut it up.

The only positive is that the with no machinery and no golfers, what would normally by this time of the year be a mud bath is actually rather green and pleasant. With a few dry warm weeks we should be in a better place come 29th March than we normally are.

 

[D-S]

Our course drains really well and the greens all have drainage in them, however the greens although good are not and won’t be in true summer condition (speed and roll) until mid May. You need a few weeks of growth to get the grass (greens, aprons, fairways, semi and rough) strong enough for decent definition. That‘s why all the prestigious amateur and professional events in the UK take place from May onwards. Hopefully courses will be in their best ever end of March condition which bodes well for good summer conditioning, however they’re going to take a hell of a beating from 29/3 onwards!

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Not long back from a walk round my place. It’s drying up really well - hardly any really wet bits - they’d cut the greens and they were looking brilliant - and grass looks to be growing real well all round the place. Four weeks time it should be pretty darned good for us.

 

[thebigreason]

Right I will be honest, as I don't have 'a club', my comment is based on my localish courses. Some will look pristine and will stay that way due to the extended break and the visitors they either do or do not allow on to play. There will also be the courses that look pristine but will very quickly get ruined due to them allowing literally anybody on (I dont have a problem with this but when you are paying £30 a round it can get frustrating when a couple of people are playing in jeans and a footie shirt and sharing half a bag of clubs). Then that just leaves the course that always look pants due to the way they are being kept. Whilst its not really fair for me to comment due to not having 'a club', the best chance I will get of playing will be on the latter courses I describe due to availability. But hey ho, I will still enjoy being out in the fresh air with my mates.

 

[richart]

Walked around our front nine, and nice and dry.

Only problem I could see was the badgers that have moved in on the 4th. Two years ago they ripped up 3rd fairway, and now looking to do the same with the 4th. Seeing as I never hit that fairway, shouldn't be too much of a problem for me.

 

[Pants]

Had a long walk around a local course this morning with a mate who is a member. Quite a few soggy areas still but looking really good. Greens have just been heavily sanded, hollow tined and brushed. Should be stunning when opened up again. Shame I won't be able to play there for some time as he's pretty sure that it will be members only (as it was last year when open) for a long time to come. Back to P & P again this year

 

[USER1999]

Walked round The Grove today, as I have done every day since early December. It's starting to look very tidy. They have done alot of work, and are doing more every day. The greens and tees particularly look ready to go, stripes and all. They are also doing alot of over seeding, and the iron was out.

My course? They are hollow coring the greens, and top dressing. I am fine with this, it's not about now, it's about April. They have done some drainage work, and are scarifying and reseeding some of the bare areas. It will be very playable come April. I am expecting it to be good to go, not tip top, but good.

 

[Oddsocks]

Walked my new place last week and being based on chalk it was bone dry. Greens were cored, dressed etc and most of the fairways had be scarified or spiked. Bunkers looked in a bad way as they effectively haven’t been raked in 3 months, but when speaking to the pro they have already ordered in sufficient sand to replace prior to opening.

For a course that has seen high foot traffic of walkers it’s held up awesomely, I purposely did not walk it today as I want to do so next weekend which will give me an idea of how much has been done in two weeks and what I’m likely to see when it opens

 

[IanM]

Our greenkeeper has been sending round pics on a regular basis. Place is looking good and with cut greens could play today.

Should be in better condition earlier than usual as less winter wear and tear.