Dear Members,
Winter work is continuing at pace in preparation for the new season. March will be a busy month on the course with a number of projects begun and some to start shortly.
Aeration
Our greens aeration project has been completed and we and our agronomist are very happy with the results. Recovery is progressing well and on target. No more hollow-coring until 2017!
Out of Play Areas
Areas of rough on the left of the 1st, left of the 4th, between the 4th and 6th fairways and in the general area around the 4th, 5th and 6th tee have been prepared for an upcoming seeding of fescue grass. This grass will offer some visual contrast and definition for these areas.
Fairway Verti-Draining and Topdressing
Verti-draining will begin on the fairways next week with our now annual sand top-dressing happening the week after. We generally put over 300 tons of sand on the fairways and while they will be sandy at first it will only be a week or so for it to integrate into the soil.
Tree Management
Over the coming weeks and months we will be felling some trees in particular areas of the course:
| 1st - 5 trees on the right hand side of fairrway | - | To minimise linear planting and improve driving line |
| 11th - 3 Cypress trees at the 11th tee. | - | To improve light ans air penetration to the tee. |
| 8th - 5 Ash trees and stumps at 8th green. | - | To improve general appearance and remove dangerous, over-mature / diseased trees. This area will be then cleaned up and seeded. |
| 18th (Ladies) - 5 Cypress tree at 18th tee | - | To improve driving line. |
Later in the year we will be planting new trees in some of those areas and others such as left of the 8th fairway near the 7th tee. While felling trees can elicit some strong views it should be viewed as a necessary part of effective tree management.
Bunker Programme
The new bunkers on the 4th and 9th have been a huge success. From March 14th this programme will continue with the improvement of the green-side bunker on the 3rd. The before and after picture below give some idea as to the scope of the work. As one can see, the bunker is hardly visible from either the 3rd fairway or tees. This work will dramatically improve both the visual and playability of this hole. The work will take about a week (weather permitting) and we will provide a temporary green during that time. Once completed the area will be GUR for a further 4 weeks while the sod knits and a dropping zone will be provided.
Finally, congratulations to Michael Browne on his elevation to Course Superintendent.
Best,
Graham Molloy
Course Convenor
