CHAINSAW TRAINING COURSE

 4 members of staff including myself have just completed a 2 day chainsaw course. The course covered health and safety, saw maintenance, cross cutting and felling and was undertaken within the grounds of Rossie school.

 Saw maintenance with Brian the instructor.

 Liam cross cutting.

 Steve cross cutting.

 Paul and the instructor felling a tree. 

 Paul cross cutting.

 Steve under instruction.

undertaking a bit of branch  removal myself.

For Steve and Liam this was the first time that they had been on a chainsaw course while Paul and myself were undertaking a refresher course having previously carried out assessments.

 Although at Montrose we mainly use the chainsaw for gorse removal the cutting principles and safety procedures are the same as for cutting trees. It also gives the staff a bit more confidence using what can be a dangerous piece of equipment.

Les Rae,

First Assistant,

Montrose Golf Links Limited.

MONTROSE LINKS GOLF TRAIL

Today I had the pleasure of helping deliver the first Montrose Links Golf Trail to primary 4 children from Southesk School. This new initiative has been developed by Jason Boyd ( Montrose Golf Professional ), Links Park Community Trust and Montrose Primary School Teaching Cluster together with the support of Montrose Golf Links.

Jason carrying out the introductions to the class.

 Part of the Golf Trail is to teach children the appropriate behaviour that should be shown on the golf course, and how this is very closely linked to the behaviours expected in class.
 This morning the children were split into 3 groups and took part in 3 fun yet challenging workshops.  After lunch they all had the chance to create and play their own golf course. The 3 morning workshops were golf coaching led by Jason, golf etiquette delivered by Douglas Wood and golf course design which was delivered by Peter Davidson and myself.
 The golf course design workshop started with a brief description of the main features on a golf hole. This was followed by the children watching a video of golf holes and writing down in their booklet any hazards that they could see. We then went out on the Broomfield course and walked the 9th and 10th holes where the children had the chance to point out and name all of the features that they had just seen on the video. Once back in the clubhouse all of the children then designed and drew a golf hole of their own.

 One group and myself prior to their course walk.

Explaining the layout of the 10th hole.

 Question and answer time.

Some of the group designing their own golf hole.

After lunch the children went out onto the East Links where they recreated the holes that they had earlier designed. Once all of the holes were laid out everyone had a chance to play the newly named Southesk golf course.

creating one of the golf holes.

Peter doing the safety talk prior to golf commencing on the newly formed

 Southesk golf course.

It certainly looked like the children all enjoyed themselves, I know I did,and their good behaviour added to my enjoyment. The children learned lots of new concepts and skills and hopefully some of them will want to try golf again and become the golfers of future.

Les Rae,

First Assistant,

Montrose Golf Links Limited.

A WALK ON THE WILD SIDE - THE CURLIE SWANS

It is great to see that the pair of Mute Swans at the Curlie pond have nested this year. It is the first time in the last 3 - 4 years that Swans have reared young on the pond. The nest itself was in the middle of the reed bed, well out of view. The photos below show the 3 cygnets, which are only a few days old, together with their parents.

Les Rae,

First Assistant, 

Montrose Golf Links Limited.

STRI - ANNUAL VISIT

Today we had our annual visit from the Sports Turf Research Institute. Agronomists Richard Windows and Ian Craig arrived in the morning to carry out a number of performance tests on our greens. The tests carried out were to measure speed, trueness, smoothness, firmness, moisture levels and soil analysis. All of the data collected is saved onto a computer programme and can be analysed and compared with previous years. STRI have target ranges for each test and the aim is to be within the desired target or to be improving towards it year on year. 

Trueness meter

The trueness meter has a small wheel attached to the bottom which replicates a rolling golf ball. This measures both trueness and smoothness by detecting any horizontal and vertical movement.

 Stimpmeter

This piece of equipment measures the speed of the greens. There are industry recognized figures for green speeds ranging from slow to fast and for general play through to tournament play.

 Clegg hammer

The yellow piece of equipment is called a Clegg hammer and this records the firmness of the greens. The firmness is important as it directly affects the way a golf ball reacts on impact to the green.

Moisture meter

Alongside the Clegg hammer, a moisture meter is used. The weather plays big part in day to day moisture readings however the soil itself has a major influence on water retension and drainage properties. With this in mind, soil samples are also taken and sent away to a lab to be analysed. Thatch (dead organic matter ) levels are also measured as part of the soil sample. Any build up of thatch would compromise the playing qualities and the health of the greens.

  After the test were completed we carried out a course walk looking at the condition of the course in general.

A full STRI report of the visit including all of the performance testing data will be sent to Montrose Golf Links in due course and will be made available to all season ticket holders.

Les Rae,

First Assistant,

Montrose Golf Links Limited.

THE GOLDEN LINKS

At this time of year the golf courses are awash with the bright gold of gorse and broom. Although there will always be some bushes in flower it is through May that its at its best.

   A view  over the links from the 10th Medal tee.

Looking over the 4th Medal green towards the 5th.

The 10th Medal green with the steeple in the background.

The 14th Medal green.

Les Rae,

First Assistant,

Montrose Golf Links Limited.

COURSE MANAGEMENT

A view of the Links from the 6th Medal hole.

On the whole April has been a very dry month with many warm sunny days. Grass growth is still slow and patchy but in the coming weeks this should improve. 

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 A few of the tasks that have been carried out this month together with some other pieces of information can be viewed below.

Because of a lack of growth we have only been cutting and rolling the greens when deemed necessary. Greens can be a bit uneven at this time of year due to the variable growth between the different grass species. The use of the greens iron at this time helps to smooth out the putting surface. On days when cutting and rolling hasn't been carried out any due is removed from the greens with the use of a switch.

Liam cutting the 11th Medal green.

Paul rolling the 6th Medal green.

Gary removing the dew from the 9th Medal green.

In addition to the ride on mowers, hand held machines have also been out. We have pedestrian rotary mowers for maintaining mounds and use a strimmer for around tee stones, fences and along the bottom of the burn.

Liam using the strimmer in the burn.

The fairways have recently been treated with an organic fertiliser. Hopefully this will encourage growth and help divot damage that occurred during the winter months to grow in and recover.

Fertilising the 5th Medal fairway.

Rabbits continue to be a problem out on the courses. Shooting is carried out weekly to try and keep numbers down, while staff have spent a lot of time patching the worst of the holes and scrapes.

Ricky patching rabbit holes. 

We have also been carrying out remedial work to our wash bay and associated reed bed.  We have now relocated the pump inside the old shed and are in the process of burying the pipework that carries the waste water to the reed beds.

Jamie carrying out work at the new pipework between the wash bay and reed bed.

The  fence that protects the house at the 13th Medal hole has also been replaced. The old fence was badly damaged during high winds however the new fence was constructed and erected in time for the start of the season.

The new fence at the 13th Medal hole.

Coastal erosion over the winter months has been quite minimal with little ground lost to the sea. Angus council together with their contractors have recently reinstated the fence along the bottom of the dunes at the 2nd and 3rd holes. It is hoped that sand will build up behind this fence and vegetation will get a hold which in turn will help to stabilise the dune edge.

 New posts in place .

 Fencing in place ready to be erected.

 The finished fence.

Finally I would like to remind anyone playing the Broomfield course that as from today ( Friday 24th April ) the new hole configuration is in operation. We have fenced off old routes and white lined areas so as to avoid any confusion. The changes were made to allow the the 9th green and 10th tee to be located close to the clubhouses. This will allow 9 holes competitions to be played over the Course in the future.

The route to the new 4th tee.

Les Rae,

First Assistant, 

Montrose Golf Links Limited.

A WALK ON THE WILD SIDE - MARCH

A frequent sight during the month of March was the striking colour of the early morning sun as it broke out over the horizon. This photo was taken from the 18th Medal tee as the sun climbed above the gorse bushes. 

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The last few weeks have still been quite cold with strong winds not helping. However on days when the wind has died down and the sun has been shining there is a definite warmth in the air. With the lengthening daylight the first signs of Spring are slowly appearing.

 Snowdrops.

One of the first flowers to emerge.This clump was found in the shelter of the gully at the 3rd hole on the Medal course.

Crocus.

This small clump of Crocus could be seen to the left of the 17th Broomfield fairway.

 Daffodils.

There are a few clumps of these well known flowers around the 2 courses. They only started to come into full flower towards the end of the month.

Goat Willow.

The catkins on the willow trees are only now starting to show. We have a few Willow trees around the Links, the largest grouping being to the right of the 14th Medal green, where this photo was taken.

Common Toads.

March is mating season for both Toads and Frogs, these 2 toads were seen close to the 15th Medal tees. There are good populations of both species on the links and good places to spot them are around the Curlie pond and the burn that crosses the Broomfield course.

Frog spawn.

A few clumps of frog spawn can be seen in the burn, where this photo was taken. As in the photo, frog spawn is found in clumps while Toad spawn is laid in long single lines. I have not seen any Toad spawn either in the burn or the Curlie this year yet.. 

Carrion Crow.

A carrion crow has been guarding this nest site for a couple of months now. Probably because of a lack of trees on the links the crow has decided to get in early and lay claim to last years nest.  This nest can be seen to the right of the 15th Medal fairway and a pair of Carrion Crows have nested here for as long as I can remember.

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I have taken a few other photographs this month which for different reasons are quite interesting.

 Roe Deer.

Roe Deer can still be seen almost on a daily basis on the courses. As you can see in the photo above this one has started to grow a set of antlers. Male Roe deer normally start to grow antlers around November, shedding the velvet from them in Spring. You can quite clearly see the velvet on this set.

Magpie.

This is a first for me. In the 25 years that I have lived in Montrose this is the first time that I have seen Magpies around the vicinity of the town, let alone the golf course. I first spotted a pair a few months ago near the 13th hole on the Medal course. Since then I have occasionally seen them in the same area and eventually managed to get a photo of one. I have yet to see any others close to Montrose and I'm not sure if they are here to stay..

 Dead Blackbird.

Not nice to see but part of the cycle of life and death on the links. We picked up this Blackbird on the Broomfield course on the 5th March. The interesting thing is the ring on it's leg.

Bird ring.

This ring has the Museum of London stamped on it and has an unique identification number. I sent the details away to EURING who hold all the details regarding ringed birds. Their records showed that it was a juvenile male bird and it was ringed 248 days beforehand on the 30th June 2014. It was ringed by a member of the Tay ringing group in Wellington Park, Montrose. 

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I have now written a monthly 'A WALK ON THE WILD SIDE' report for a full year now and feel its a good time to stop, otherwise I would probably start repeating myself. I will continue to post anything of interest that I come across, under the same title, as and when I see it.

  I hope those of you who have taken the time to read my wildlife blog have enjoyed it, and it gives you an insight into to just how good a wildlife haven a golf course can be, and just how lucky we are to have such an abundance of wildlife on our Links Courses at Montrose.

Les Rae,

First Assistant,

Montrose Golf Links Limited.