Greg’s Greenkeeping Blog September 2026

Greg’s Greenkeeping Blog – September 2026

By Greg Fitzmaurice, Course Manager  ·  September 2026

September marks the point in the year when our focus begins to shift from the demands of the season towards planning and preparing for what comes next. Importantly though, the course remains in peak condition throughout the month — the standards members have enjoyed through the summer do not drop away as we turn attention to the winter programme. Maintaining playing quality right through to the end of the season is as much a priority as anything else, and the two things run alongside each other rather than one giving way to the other.

This winter’s programme is more modest in scale than some previous years, but it contains some significant improvements that will continue the steady progression we have maintained now for well over a decade. Most members will agree that the benefits of that sustained approach are visible on a daily basis, and the work planned for the coming months will build on that further.

We are pleased to confirm that two new wetland ponds have been agreed in partnership with the Wildlife Trust. One will be located on Trillo’s Torment and the other to the left of the Short’s Elbow fairway. This continues the long-standing relationship between Hunley and the Wildlife Trust and builds further on the ecological work that has been carried out across the course over many years.

Wetland habitats are among the most biodiverse environments in the British landscape, supporting a wide range of insects, amphibians, birds and plant species that would not otherwise be present. On a golf course, well-positioned ponds also add visual interest, create natural definition between playing areas and can become genuine features of the holes they sit alongside. Both locations have been chosen carefully to maximise their ecological value while complementing the character of the holes they adjoin. An added benefit is that the soil excavated from both ponds does not go to waste — it will be put to good use elsewhere on the course, as the next section explains.

The excavated soil from the new pond on Trillo’s Torment will not go to waste. It will be used to carry out improvement works to the right hand side of the hole, which has presented a challenge for golfers for some time. Currently, the right side of Trillo’s Torment is obscured from the tee, making it difficult to judge where balls have come to rest. Gorse bushes along that side compound the problem, with balls frequently becoming lost or very difficult to locate.

The plan is to use the excavated soil to create mounding along the right hand side of the hole, removing the gorse bushes in the process. The mounding will serve several purposes — it will hold balls up on that side rather than allowing them to run away and become obscured, it will provide a clearer visual boundary from the tee, and it will prevent balls from drifting too far right and coming into play on the neighbouring hole, Metcalfs. The result should be a fairer, cleaner and more enjoyable hole to play, with fewer lost balls and a clearer picture from the tee.

Importantly, the mounding will not remove the penalty for missing the fairway — it will simply make it a more playable and less frustrating one. Uneven ground, awkward lies and difficult stances will still reward a shot that finds the fairway while keeping a meaningful challenge for those that don’t. That balance is important — the aim is to improve the experience of playing the hole, not to make it easier.

The soil excavated from the new pond at Short’s Elbow will be used for an equally significant project — the partial infill of the existing pond in front of Cook’s Green. This is a change that will make a meaningful difference to how the hole plays.

At present, the pond sits directly in front of the green with very little room to work with on the approach. This leaves the golfer with limited options — effectively forced into a layup regardless of where the tee shot has finished, as the risk of attempting to reach the green in two is too great for most. The result is a hole that does not offer the variety of play that a good par five should.

By partially filling in the pond, we will create a wider and longer approach to Cook’s Green, opening up the possibility of going for the green in two shots for those who have hit a good tee shot. This transforms the hole into a genuine risk-reward proposition — lay up and play a comfortable third, or take on the carry and the green in two if the tee shot warrants it. That kind of decision-making is what makes a par five interesting, and it is a change we think members will appreciate once they experience it.

Alongside the larger projects, the winter programme will include a thorough round of repairs across the course — tees, surrounds, walkways and other areas that accumulate wear through the season. This kind of work is less visible than the headline projects but is essential to keeping the course in good order. Tee surfaces in particular benefit from winter attention, with any worn or damaged areas given the time and conditions needed to recover before the following season begins.

The last major infrastructure item on the winter list is completing the connection of the new irrigation storage tank. The structure itself has been in place for some time, but connecting the electricity supply, water feed and pumps has been held back during the peak season to avoid disruption. That work will now be completed over the winter, and once done the tank will be fully operational ahead of next season. This has been a long time coming and will make a significant difference to how we manage water across the course from next spring onwards.

Towards the end of September, Terrance began the annual cut and bail of the rough grassland areas. The bailing will continue into October as work progresses across the course.

This is one of the most important elements of our long-term rough management programme. By cutting and removing the material entirely rather than leaving it on the surface, we avoid returning nutrients back into the soil. Over time this gradually reduces the fertility of the ground, which weakens the more aggressive, fast-growing grass species and encourages finer, less vigorous plants to establish in their place. The result is a rough that is easier to manage, more diverse in character and better suited to the kind of playing environment we are trying to create — providing a genuine penalty for wayward shots while remaining manageable enough to keep play moving.

This work has been carried out predominantly in autumn for many years, with occasional additional cuts mid-season where conditions allow. The cumulative effect of that sustained approach is visible in the quality of the fringing areas through the summer months, and Terrance’s contribution to that programme over the years has been invaluable.

Alongside the visible work on the course, a significant portion of the team’s time during the quieter months goes into things that members rarely see but that are essential to keeping everything running smoothly. Machinery servicing is one of the largest of these — mowers, aerators, sprayers and other equipment all require thorough inspection, repair and preparation over the winter to ensure they are ready for the demands of the season ahead. A mechanical failure at the wrong moment during a busy summer period can have a real impact on course presentation, so the time invested now pays dividends later.

Staff development, administration, planning and record keeping also take up a larger share of time than most people might expect — from agronomic records and treatment logs to budgeting, ordering and compliance. None of it is particularly exciting, but it underpins everything else that the team does. It is worth acknowledging that a significant amount of what goes into managing a course well happens well away from the turf itself.

It is a focused rather than a large-scale winter programme, but the improvements it contains are meaningful and will keep the course moving in the right direction. The ecological work, the course changes and the infrastructure completion all add to what has been a consistent and sustained period of progress spanning well over a decade. We will keep members updated as the work develops over the coming months.

Thank you for your support throughout what has been a demanding but rewarding season.