Nouvelles des cours 7 avril
Travail sur le terrain cette semaine
Very little to report this week, largely due to even more rain.
Rain in Feb was 72.5 mm; March 98.5 mm, and April to-date (Sunday 7th) 35 mm. We are averaging close on 4” per month since last October, double the local historic average. It’s worth repeating: the course drainage, particularly the banding, serves to clear water off the surface i.e. local ‘casual water’ soon disappears, but that leaves our thin layer of topsoil saturated and dependant on evaporation to dry out. There is nothing we can do to accelerate that - it’s in the nature of our ground. Other local courses are in the same boat. Storm Kathleen brought strong and dry winds, but the heavy overnight rain that followed set us straight back.
On the course it was a short week. The lads have spent time restoring washed-in bunkers, more than once. Gavin is pleased to note that any short-term flooding soon clears, thanks to last year’s work clearing out their drains. When the brook behind the first is overflowing the water backs up the drain into the RH green side bunker because the base is so low, but as soon as the level drops (courtesy of the second, lower, culvert we installed under Guy Lane) it clears.
Hedges on 3 and 7 have been cut by hand. We’ve also pruned round the back of the black tees to let the mowers get round them. Gavin and Callum have also been installing a rather smarter perimeter fence on the patio extension: it just needs some fittings to hold the rope.
Course Committee
7 April
Rain in Feb was 72.5 mm; March 98.5 mm, and April to-date (Sunday 7th) 35 mm. We are averaging close on 4” per month since last October, double the local historic average. It’s worth repeating: the course drainage, particularly the banding, serves to clear water off the surface i.e. local ‘casual water’ soon disappears, but that leaves our thin layer of topsoil saturated and dependant on evaporation to dry out. There is nothing we can do to accelerate that - it’s in the nature of our ground. Other local courses are in the same boat. Storm Kathleen brought strong and dry winds, but the heavy overnight rain that followed set us straight back.
On the course it was a short week. The lads have spent time restoring washed-in bunkers, more than once. Gavin is pleased to note that any short-term flooding soon clears, thanks to last year’s work clearing out their drains. When the brook behind the first is overflowing the water backs up the drain into the RH green side bunker because the base is so low, but as soon as the level drops (courtesy of the second, lower, culvert we installed under Guy Lane) it clears.
Hedges on 3 and 7 have been cut by hand. We’ve also pruned round the back of the black tees to let the mowers get round them. Gavin and Callum have also been installing a rather smarter perimeter fence on the patio extension: it just needs some fittings to hold the rope.
Course Committee
7 April