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Seascale Golf Club . Cumbria . England
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Course Condition
Greens News Letter - Spring 2010
 

While still in the grip of the longest cold winter since I joined the club, it is at least possible to look forward to the spring and a new golf season. The bulk of the winter program has been completed with the turf relayed on tees and the bunker work finished. Some finishing off is required but the main focus now is on the aeration program, concentrating mainly on fairways and semi-rough. No major aeration of the greens is planned other than microtining at a suitable time. This should not significantly disrupt the surfaces. The front right bunker at the 5th is to be made shallower, prior to work to refill the bunkers with sand for the new season. This should make it a fairer hazard.

Moving forward, it is planned to carry out overseeding of the aprons and other worn areas to promote recovery from the considerable wear they have suffered. This is likely to cost c. £1000 and is in addition to the normal overseeding carried out in the autumn.

Managing the areas of thick rough on the 3rd/4th and 11th/12th has been under consideration for some time. After seeing how some other clubs have managed similar areas, it is planned to cut these areas in the early spring, before growth has started, removing the cuttings. A suitable machine is being hired for this purpose. This will be followed with a new chemical treatment designed to kill the Yorkshire Fog, which is a very thick, lush grass, highly undesirable on a golf course. All this is something of an experiment but the aim is to produce rough which will penalise with the loss of  a shot but not cause loss of the ball. It may prove necessary to perform this treatment annually.

The newly laid tees on the 5th and 15th and the left of the 8th are unlikely to be ready for play until the second half of the season, due to delay imposed by the weather. It remains the intention to maintain the standard scratch score at 72 for the white course but the CONGU rules will be checked to see if a temporary reduction to 71 is required while the course is shortened. The medal tee on the 10th should see more use this year, with use for the majority of Sunday competitions but not all Wednesday competitions.

As noted elsewhere, mats will cease to be necessary from Sunday 21st March, the Winter Trophy and preferred lies on the fairways will then operate until the end of April. It is intended to play the Winter Trophy as a qualifying competition off the full Yellow course which will also be used for the Captain's v Vice Captain's match on Saturday 27th March. Otherwise, the 10th green will continue to be out of play until the first event of the new season, the House Trophy on Sunday 4th April.

Brian Maguire
Chairman of Greens
 
Update - Winer Greens Programme (2009/2010)
 

Chairman of Greens
After the AGM, Alex Johnstone decided that, pressure of work preventing him from giving enough time to his role, he would resign as chairman of greens. Council and Greens Committee asked Brian Maguire to take on this role, thanking Alex for his contribution and welcoming his decision to stay on the Council and Greens Committee.

Winter Program
The Greens staff have refurbished 7 bunkers on the 4th, 5th, 10th, 12th and 13th holes. The 10th has been of concern to many. Both front bunkers but especially the left hand one were proving too severe. The right hand bunker has been enlarged, bringing it a little more in to play, whilst also making it easier to recover from. The left hand side poses a problem due to limited space between the bank and the green and the proximity of two sprinkler heads. It is undesirable to have bunker sand splashed on to the green and bunkers need to be either far enough from the green or deep enough to prevent this. The left hand bunker has been replaced by a mound and a new bunker will be constructed, nearer the front of the green. The Greens Committee wish to see how this hole plays after the changes and consider whether further changes are appropriate in the next Winter Program. Members are asked to keep an open mind but comments will be welcome.

The most obvious change to the course is the re-routing of the path to the 8th tee. This in turn allows the two existing tees to be joined, making a substantially larger tee, which should allow all year play. Other path work  is in progress. The long term aim is to move away from artificially surfaced paths to sustainable turf paths, using a hard wearing dwarf rye grass turf. This has proved a successful approach on other links courses and it should prove cheaper and look better. The path around the 9th green has been lifted with this in mind and other paths receiving attention are behind the 2nd tee, alongside toe 5th tee, the top of the 17th and from the 18th tee. Back tees at the 5th and 15th are also being relayed.

Members will have observed a number of holes have appeared in several damp areas of the course. Following a recommendation of our agronomist, an auger has been purchased, effectively a large drill which allows drilling through to the underlying sand to improve drainage in wet areas. particular attention has been given to the 10th green. This should have great benefits in the future.

The current severe weather is inevitably delaying work and it will be impossible to lay new turf until a thaw. The relayed tees may not be ready for play as soon as planned and members are asked for their patience and understanding.

B G Maguire
Chairman of Greens
 
Winer Greens Programme (2009/2010)
 

The Winter programme for 2009/10 has begun, below are captured the main areas of change that you are likely to experience as work to prepare the course for the next playing season begins. As we did last year, the course will be very well presented throughout the Winter and we will endeavor to keep as much length as possible throughout the winter season

  • As of today (22/10/2009) the Greenkeepers are starting their winter programme work starting with preparing some of the bunkers for revetting. At the moment all of the bunkers on the 12th are undergoing this, so they will be out of use and under GUR. At the moment all bunkers GUR are (through the green) so you can have a free drop outside the bunker.

  • In common with recent years, the 10th green will be rested to ensure we protect this hole through the winter months, this is in line with the recommendations made within the STRI report. Unlike other years, instead of playing to a shorter temporary green, we intend to take play off the 10th entirely and move to a temporary position to the left of the 11th fairway. Work has already started to prepare for this move in the near future. Below you will see an approximate illustration of how the 10th and 11th will play throughout the Winter months, the 10th will be 145 yards and the 11th will be 330 yards..
Seascale Golf Club, The Banks, Seascale, Cumbria. CA20 1QL - Tel: +4419467 28202