It’s great to have all the holes back in play and also to have seen so many people out playing in January!
This does unfortunately have a downside though as damage being caused unnecessarily is having a detrimental impact on both playing surfaces and some of the recent work we have carried out.
PITCHMARKS
This has become a real issue over the last few months and there’s no sign of any improvement. Last week 3 of the team spent a full day repairing ball marks with up to 50 being found on each green. There really is no excuse for missing them as they have been so obvious and if you want the greens to remian smooth then please spend the 5 seconds that it takes to repair them. Doing so results in better conditions for everyone.
UNECESSARY DAMAGE
When playing the course in the winter, a little thought will make a huge difference in course condition both immediately and in the future.
Practicing on the course is not permitted at any time. If you are playing alone then you may play up to 2 balls but anymore is causing more damage to the course. Anyone seen doing this should expect to be reprimanded.
We have limited resources to maintain the course and therefore all our efforts need to be successful in order to get the maximum from what we have.
This photo shows an area recently returfed. When you can see that work has recently been carried out, please do your best to avoid it as getting this area right took time, effort and money. At times going on such areas is unavoidable, however this was not the case here and these actions mean that work will have to be redone. It goes without saying how frustrating this is for everyone who wants to see the course improve.
OTHER INFO
Just a couple of pieces of information now to finish this weeks update.
The air compressor is soon to be repaired and we appreciate this isn’t ideal at this time of year. Unfortunately the way the compressor is used leads to multiple problems and often results in it breaking down. It’s always been this way and we have yet to find a practical solution. I will be chasing up the engineer this week and hope to see it done asap.
As many of you will be aware, hazard marker stakes on the course have always been an issue as people remove them and don’t put them back. This then makes it difficult to identify the hazard and also define its edge.
To remedy this issue we have begun concreting in marker posts to prevent this happening. They are now classed as immoveable obstructions, although if you are in the hazard then taking relief comes under penalty.
Obviously this is again not ideal, however it is certainly the better of the 2 options available to us.
Thanks for reading.
Greg