WINTER WORK - UPDATE 2

The second winter work report showing some of the work carried out over the final few months of the winter.

Paths

Paths at the 7th and 8th Medal tees were levelled, edged and astro-turf laid down. The finish looks a lot better than the previous quarry dust material.  A number of astro-turf rolls were given to us by Montrose Youth fc and it is planned to complete more paths over the next few years.

7th tee looking forward towards the fairway.

Looking back towards the 7th main tee.

Preparing the path from the 8th medal tee.

Edging the path prior to fitting the astro-turf.

Turfing along the sides of the astro-turf.

PRACTICE AREA

After discussions with our golf professionals work was carried out to increase the size and include varying heights to the face to one of the practice bunkers. This will help when they are delivering lessons to the different standard and ages of golfers. At the same time we built a teeing area to accommodate tee mats and can be used for general practice and when the professionals are using their TrackMan teaching aid.

Cutting and edging the turf.

Stripping the turf.

New bunker built and preparing the adjacent ground.

Astro-turf laid down on the new practice tee.

The completed are with the new practice tee to the left.

GORSE MANAGEMENT

Gorse work continued throughout the winter months. Gorse around all tees were checked and either trimmed back or removed to stop encroachment and improve the sight lines. In the past we have transported all the gorse back to an area behind the 4th Medal hole, this was very time consuming. This year we borrowed a chipper from Carnoustie Links and we considerably reduced the number of trips back and forward.

The chipper in use.

 Gorse clearance was also undertaken using chainsaws between the 8th Medal tee and the fairway and also in front of the ladies 10th tee, this should result in much better visibility to the fairways and also help speed up play.

The view from the 8th Medal tee prior to gorse clearance.

The much improved view of the 8th hole.

Gorse impacting the playability of hole from the 10th ladies tee.

The 10th hole after gorse clearance work.

Gorse trimmed back in front of the 18th ladies tee.

A contractor was also hired to clear a number of areas. On the Medal gorse was cleared from the left of the 1st, left of the 6th and also to the front of the 9th tees which often causes a problem for the shorter hitters or when a strong wind blows from the south.  Gorse removal to the right of the 9th on the Broomfield was also undertaken.

Starting clearance work to the left of the 1st Medal hole.

Large area cleared at the 1st.

Working at the 9th Medal.

NEW 3RD TEE

The new tees at the 3rd, which was one of our major projects this winter, has been completed. A separate blog regarding this work will be posted very soon.

The new 3rd tee complex.

GENERAL WORK

Along with the normal day to day work such as raking bunkers, divotting tees and removing dew from the greens, a few of the other tasks that have been carried out are highlighted below.

Vertidrain - All the greens were vertidrained in March, this will help minimise the flooding that we experienced last summer. The increased rolling that now takes place has certainly had an impact on surface compaction and we may have to relieve the surface using our Aercore and micro tines as we see fit throughout the season. 

Topdressing - The greens and a number of fairways were topdressed during the back end of the winter, this will continue throughout the coming season.

4th tee retaining posts - A number of the post that were rotten have been replaced and the whole length stained.

The retaining posts at the 4th Medal tee.

Fencing along the 2nd Medal hole - The safety fencing along the length of the hole has been removed, it was well past its best and took away from the look of the hole. Although the dune face is far less steep than it used to be we also erected warning signs that the Council paid for.

Course furniture -  Tee markers, benches and out of bounds posts have all been painted. The shelters and fences will be done in due course.

Rabbits - Continue to be a major issue on the links. George our seasonal labourer was appointed a month earlier than planned with his sole duties for that month being that of patching rabbit holes. Shooting also takes place to try and keep numbers down.

MACHINERY

Our course mechanic has been servicing our large fleet of machinery as well as repairing any day to day faults. We have recently purchased 2 brush attachments for our ride on greens machines. These will help lift the grass prior to cutting and will result in a better finish.

One of the many cutting units in the process of being stripped down.

One of our new brushes attached to the front of our greens mower.

Repairs have taken place to various faults relating to our irrigation system. Due to faulty aging pumps we were unable to irrigate at all, which has been a problem as the end of March and into April has been exceptionally dry. The new pumps have now been fitted and we are in a position that we can water if its required.

The newly fitted pumps.

I hope that this together with my previous winter work update gives you an idea of some of the work etc that has taken place throughout the winter.

Les Rae,

First Assistant,

Montrose Golf Links Limited.