OCTOBER COURSE MAINTENANCE UPDATE

Belleisle Park

Belleisle

After our Maintenance Week in August, the putting surfaces are nearly fully recovered and the benefits of undertaking the coring work earlier than normal are already showing with an excellent germination of the bent and fescue seed as well as freely draining surfaces as a result of the coring and sanding activities.
We are continuing with our application of liquid feed to the greens to ensure they remain strong and healthy and will be continuing this throughout the winter. This is the first season we have used liquid fertilisers throughout the year and whilst we experienced some difficulties as a result of the spring and summer weather, we are pleased with how they have recovered.

You may have seen the tractor has been out on the course, cutting back large areas of the unmanaged rough. This is the first stage of a renovation project to thin the sward and reintroduce golfer friendly grasses. Eventually this will result in a better playing experience for all our golfers and maybe even fewer lost balls!
We have also carried out a little cosmetic work to the ‘dead’ elm tree on the 16th Hole, some of you more eagle eyed golfers may already have spotted this.

Seafield

The rough on Seafield too is being cut back, again to renovate the rough areas to encourage more fescues to come through. We estimate that over the next few years, conditions will be much better and a lot less labour intensive to manage.

We have also undertaken some minor woodland management on the 17th Hole improving playability from the medal tee.
Storm Ali thankfully didn’t do too much damage across either course and although we were closed for a few hours during the storm, we were back open the next day once the greenkeepers had done a fantastic job of clearing up the debris.

We have also cleared the banking on the 18th Hole so visibility from the Medal tee is vastly improved.

Troon Links

We have started to renovate some of the areas worst affected by the scorching heat this summer and to renovate some of the badly affected tees across all 3 courses. Some of the Par 3 tee may need a little rest and recuperation over the winter, otherwise we are preparing the courses for a busy winter period.
Vertidraining the fairways ahead of winter will commence later this month, which will ensure the fairways remain free draining in the wetter weather.

Dalmilling

The team have recently finished the hollow coring and filling of the holes with sand to improve thatch levels and ensure they drain better throughout the winter.

We had a contractor in at the end of August to remove silt from the burn between the 12th and 9th holes and early signs are that this has vastly improved the existing drainage on these holes and we are hopeful that the course will play better in the coming months.

Girvan

After a hugely successful Girvan Classic event, the team have only just commenced their programme of hollow coring and sanding, the greens here will also be overseeded with fescue to improve thatch levels and help maintain better putting surfaces throughout the playing season.

Maybole

Coring works have also commenced at Maybole to reduce organic matter and improve playing surfaces here.

We are currently working on our Winter Renovation Programme and will be putting up details of our planned works here shortly.