Merry christmas and a happy new year!

Well who would have the job of a weather forcaster?! The last one was slightly wrong to say the least! We have certainly expirienced a lot more rainfall than was forecast.With very high winds out there on the course it certainly makes playing a challange,however the change in the weather has what apparently is promised to be a break in the high winds and rain,....for Boxing day only, so if you were thinking of working the christmas dinner off then there's the perfect opportunity in the Swayne Cup.
Its often a sign of it being a bit too windy to play when all of your divots are ending up behind you as i found out on the practice ground the other day!
Even in the indifferent weather the guys on the Links Team have been working very hard with most of the work being a continuation of the walkways with them being turfed and matted following removal of worn turf/shell etc.
Incredibly with the mild temperatures we are still cutting regularly with the fescue seed from October's overseeding still growing fantastically,always great to see.

Below is a picture of the old walkway from the 5th green to the 6th tee after a busy seasons traffic.

Here is the result of the area having been stripped,levelled and this area will be matted as well. The intention for this year was just to go to the bridge but with the worry of the shell carrying onto the paths on the other side it was decided to level and returf the whole complex around the 6th tee and towards the fairway,it was a big job but well worth doing.

It was also an idea of the Links Team to integrate the bin into the sleepers around the bridge so they are a bit more natural and not quite so obvious to the eye.



Tidy and natural looking bin blending into the sleeper theme and history of the Golf Club.

The heavily worn and trafficed area around the 5th tee complex.

The area below having been stripped,re levelled, turfed and matted

The turfing and matting which will keep our paths tidy,hopefully for years to come!

The area surrounding the 15th tee steps was heavily worn and with golfers not utilising the steps provided, it was decided by the Links Team to change the angle of the steps whilst returfing and matting the area to the tee,the area below the tee, and the area where the golfer will head off,hopefully for the fairway!
Whilst this work was being carried out we also removed the scrub area that was overgrown with bramble,this was  stripped to bare sand and planted with some marram grass and with some heather transplanted on the edge of the steps and surrounding area.


The much improved steps leading to one of the finest and most challanging holes on the course.

We will be aiming for some 8mm solid tining in January and another application of seaweed and iron,lets hope the water table doesnt get too high and we can enjoy the fantastic links of Royal St David's Golf Club.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all.

Royal St David's Links Team.

Lucky, lucky!

What a fantastic spell of weather we are still currently enjoying and looking at the long term forecast this morning shows with just a few showers possibly on Friday a wonderful dry period right up to christmas,my money is certainly not on it being a white christmas!
The course is still playing fantastically ,greens are nice and dry,firm,smooth and fast.
As i mentioned in my last blog we vertidrained the greens,this is a time consuming operation but with a great team effort all greens were completed in 2 days and with double and some triple rolling during the week putting surfaces and smoothness were restored with minimum disruption for the golfers.
The greens were also sprayed with seaweed and iron. Seaweed will enhance root growth,root mass and turf establishment as well as aiding the young seed establishment by boosting early growth whilst also being beneficial to soil microbes therefore improving root health.Seaweed also helps maintain plant clorophyll levels for optimium growth and health. Iron is required by the plant to produce chlorophyll which gives plants their green colour as well as playing an important role in reactions including photosynthesis whilst also hardening  the turf making it less susceptible to disease.
It is certainly very pleasing for the team to be ahead of the game with the major work having been carried out already on the greens for the winter period.

The walkway from the 5th green to the 6th tee is progressing well, we have faced a few challanges including a rail from the old railway track that used to run down to the army camp beyond the 7th tee!! I can assure you that the ground was slighly stoney to say the least!The walkway will be levelled out and turfed and matted.

The picture below of the new walkway from the 2nd green to the 3rd tee shows how effective the matting is to manage wear and it will look better and better the more the grass grows through the matt.

 Many of you may also of spotted some of our new signs on the course giving directions to tees etc,we feel the sleepers are very natural and look much better, and these have been made by us! We have some very good carvers and artists in our team!

 The ecological work has been completed behind the 9th green,the scrub,trees etc were removed and the area stripped to bare sand,this area will be left to regenerate on it's own as agreed by Natural Resources Wales.

Alongside the work going on with many new walkways being turfed and matted ,as you can appreciate its impossible to complete all the walkways in one year, but we are still carrying out a general tidying of existing walkways with the emphasis on clean and tidy presentation being paramount with path edges trimmed and shell paths topped up where shell has been carried with foot traffic etc. Many of the other grass walkways have been vertidrained to relieve the compaction from this years traffic.

Last week also saw the old grass bunker short left of the 2nd green lifted ,re shaped and returfed, this area will now form an extension of the approach and makes the hollow much more playable and offers more links style variation of shots from this area.

 Well, that's all folks for another blog,there will b another one shortly to keep you all up to date, Im looking forward to getting the clubs out there on the links whilst we are still lucky with the weather. Enjoy!

Royal St David's Links Team.



Changes!

Since last weeks post of short sleeved shirts things certainly have changed,this morning's shotgun start delayed by a very sharp frost is testament to that. The winds have certainly changed to a much more constant northerly direction with the temperature dropping to around 6oC winter certainly appears to be on the way. We are still currently enjoying a fantastic spell of dry weather,it's certainly been a bonus being able to work in dry conditions which has enabled us to carry on with our winter work programme. The links is still playing fantastically with the greens nice and firm and rolling well.
We do have to start on vertidraining the greens this next week with the seed having germinated fantastically it's time now to carry out one of the most important tasks that causes minimum surface opening with maximum sub-surface cultivation and heaving the soil after the seasons compaction as well as playing a vital role in improving drainage,therefore preventing flooding after heavy rain and keeping the environment dry that will favour the finer grasses of fescues and bents.

The walkway from the 3 rd green to the 4th tee is now complete, this included removal of the astroturf matt and the shell path towards the 4th tee replaced by turf and rubber matting.

The picture below shows the removal of the astroturf matt,the new turf and matt and the removal of the trees and bramble replaced by heather and marram on the sandy bank.

Also on the rear of the 3rd green was the change from the thick rough which has been replaced by lifting the enriched hollow and replacing it with a closely mown hollow which will now form part of the approach making this area much fairer and more playable whilst giving the golfer many shot options.

There is another busy week ahead of the links team this week with the replacement of the 4"pipe to a more effective 6" pipe that carries out the water from the drainage ditches on the 10th hole,we are hoping that we can complete this work whilst the weather is still favourable.

After the completion of the 3rd walkway our next project in the winter work programme is to renovate the walkway from the 5th green to the 6th tee,we have started on the side nearest the 6th tee already but with the 10th drainage taking priority it is hoped to get back to continue the project as soon as possible.

There is a lot of tree and scrub management to be carried out this winter with the aim of reducing the amount of trees in the dunes and bramble etc around the golf course. This work shows the commitment of Royal St Davids to enhance the golfing environment alongside Natural Resources Wales's help in carrying out these works.Below is a picture of the rear of the 9th green in which all the bramble,buckthorn etc was removed and the bank replanted with maram. The piece on the right will be scraped and cleaned out this winter which will return the dunes to their natural state.

 There are many signs giving valueable ecological information on the flora and fauna  on the site. Being a SSSI (Site of special scientific interest) also means we have great responsibility as custodians of the land to look after and enhance the environment.

On Friday saw the retirement of Head Greenkeeper Roger Kerry and his twin brother and Deputy Head John Kerry. There was a fabulous party on the friday night to celebrate their dedicated 35 years of service in which there were many excellent speeches outlining the outstanding work that they both have done for the club. True gentlemen and greenkeeping legends,it has been an honour and a privellage to work alongside you both and everyone wishes you both a very happy retirement.

Left to right ,Llion Kerry,(First assistant),Gareth Evans,(Assistant greenkeeper), Rhys Butler,(Links Manager),Owain Aeron,(Deputy Links Manager),John Kerry,(Retired Deputy Head Greenkeeper)

,Roger Kerry,(Retired Head Greenkeeper),Emyr Price,(Assistant Greenkeeper).

Time to get the winter mittens and bobble hat on to get golfing!

Regards,

Royal St Davids Links Team.

November?!

Yes amazingly the mild weather is still here and I heard most were in short sleeved t-shirts playing golf on Sunday in what was a glorious day,followed by a horrid day of rain for most of the day on Monday when we got a bit wet working would be an understatement!It was however a glorious day today with lots of golfers out in force enjoying the fine conditions and with a dry forecast now for a while which is most welcome for all.
The links is currently playing fantastic with the greens nice and firm and many comments of how quick they are!
We are seeing great results after the overseeding with the fescue seedlings germinating perfectly.An organic seaweed and a little potash was applied last week to aid this germination.

Last week saw the completion of the remodelling of the 17th hole.It was a tremendous effort by all the team in where we had rain preety much every single day whilst working on the project.It was a big area and a big project to undertake,(around 900 sq m ) to strip the turf, store the turf to be relaid,remove all the excess soil and shape and recontour the area,returf and complete the bunker renovations.

As you can see from these three pictures the hole itself for the average golfer was almost impossible with no possibility of making the green with the very penal cross bunker and was unfair and even for the better golfer with the severe contouring off the bank of the bunkers with any ball pitching on the downslopes facing a fierce kick to the back of the green or even beyond into the thick rough.

 The very penal cross bunker.

The recontoured and re modelled area before turfing.

Hey Presto! The lines on the picture below now show the gap which has also been contoured to slingshot any running balls to gather towards and even onto the green making the hole much more playable and fairer for all. The banks that were on the back of the old cross bunker were also lowered and re contoured resulting in a fairer result for any ball pitching in this area.
You may also notice the new bunker which is of more of a naturalised style. With the front sand face and sides compacted the ball will return to the centre of the bunker resulting in much fairer bunker playability.You will certainly see the bunker from the fairway as the main thought is that they are much more visually appealing.

This picture above is what we have moved onto in our next piece of winter work, this is the removal of the astroturf path and renovation of the worn traffic areas surrounding the path. This path will be turfed and matted from the 3 rd green to most of the way to the 4th tee.

There are many other little subtle changes happening around the course from signage to tee markers,let's see who has a keen eye to spot these and please give us your opinion. Please also feel free to ask any questions,the blog has had 1,090 views so somebody must have a question.

Get golfing whilst the weather's good!

Regards,

Royal St David's Links Team.

Four seasons in one day!

What a mixed bag of weather were having at the moment, today we encountered strong winds, heavy rain,glorious sunshine and a minute later hailstones!
The wet weather has certainly returned with 75 mm of rain falling in less than a week and on a site where the water table is high at the best of times this has caused a bit of water to remain in a few of the bunkers but the rest of the course is draining well, but we cannot beat mother nature and im sure that the extensive drainage system the Roger and his team have installed that these will cope with the majority of what falls on the playing areas.
The wet and mild weather has been of great assistance in helping all the greens that were overseeded with fescue last week in germinating,hopefully we will see the germination towards the end of the week.The seed will then be helped with a organic seaweed (high salt index fertilizers and iron are detremental to seed) to help germination also.Interstingly for you to know I asked Johnsons who supply the fescue seed to add a Myccorhizea coating to the seed which does this-

:Mycorrhizal fungi are a remarkable group of organisms that have been benefiting plants for at least 500 million years.

At the dawn of time when plants were just beginning to colonise our planet mycorrhizal fungi were there living in a symbiotic relationship with plants enabling them to extract nutrients and hold onto water in very difficult soil conditions.

In effect, the fungus provides a secondary root system, a system that is considerably more efficient and extensive than the plants own root system.

These fungi are living organisms and will live with the plant, sourcing a continued nutrient supply for its entire lifetime – a truly sustainable plant nutrition solution. In exchange the plant provides carbon and sugars to the fungi. Not unsurprisingly, 90% of all land plants employ this relationship to enhance their own root system’s capacity to deliver nutrients.

A very interesting fact and im sure that we will see the added benefits of the Myccorhizal coating,science and nature working together!Marvellous!

The overseeding was carried out with a 13mm solid tine going down to a depth of 9mm then the braodcasted seed was brushed into the holes, the holes in the picture below are packed with fescues!As you can see in the following picture we topresessed to fill in the remainder of the holes and to provide a growing medium for the seed to germinate in and to level off the surfaces.
The greens are currently looking very healthy with both the bents and fescues looking very happy,the fescues have certainly perked up a little in the last week or so and we will b looking to give them some seaweed and  iron going into the winter.



As you can see here in this picture we have also started the major winter work programme on the changes to the 17th hole,this will take a while.We have made a temporary green just short of the cross bunker for play during the week so that we can carry on with work so that disruption to play will be minimal and of course the safety of the staff whilst working on the reconstruction.It's still a tough hole ! We will because of the recent favourable weather to overseed be putting the vertidraining of the greens on hold for the time being as not to disturb the seed,after all it is an investment in the greens.We will however be commencing vertidraining of approaches and pencil tining of the tees this week.Get that air in there for a nice healthy plant.

There is plenty of other work going on on the links with blocking/turfing ongoing on heavy wear areas, rabbit holes etc and divoting etc which all makes such a difference to the links presentation.

Agian, many thanks to all the staff for all their hard work.

Happy golfing,

Royal St David's Links team.

Big week ahead!

Hi all,Well its a bit of a change since the last post of unusually warm weather with the temperature dipping and cold northerly winds upon us,however the winds are switching back to the south giving us a slightly warmer front for a bit.Lets hope the long range forecast of one of the harshest winters in decades from November onwards is wrong!

The links team are cerainly hoping for a warm spell to stay so that after the Welsh Professional Championship should enable us to overseed whilst we still have warm soil temperatures for good germination of our fine fescues.The warm soils will also aid the turfing which already a lot has been carried out all over the links of repairing and turfing rabbit holes and heavily worn traffic areas to root strongly and be strong going into the winter.

• Visit of Alistair Beggs STRI consultant agronomist.

Last week saw the visit of Alistair Beggs from STRI to give his expert view over the links.Alistair is the head of Agronomy at STRI and is a world renowned agronomist and also looks after all The Open Championship venues.

• He once again was impressed with the putting surfaces especially, and congratulated Roger ,John and the team in what was Roger's final meeting with Alistair before retiring in what they have achieved in the last 35 years in converting 95% meadow grass greens to 95% fescue bent greens,an astonishing achievement, which no doubt caused a lot of sleepless nights for them but resluting in sustainable fine grass greens that the club can be exeptionally proud of,some of the very best in the country!



• The returfing work that has been carried out extensively on the links,please look after these areas!If you need to move the traffic management measures during play then please replace and keep trolleys off these areas then these areas will be strong and ready for next seasons play and looking great.
  

•  The walk off area from the 2nd green to 3rd tee is progressing well with the before and after pictures here showing the progress we have made to be almost ready for the area to be turfed.The addition of the path to the back tee and widening of the walkway to tee and fairway will result in less damage and better condition of the winter tee and a general tidying of the area using natural linksy materials to give a classic linksy feel.





As i mentioned before the Welsh Professional championship is being held this week on the classic links and we are currently prepping and fine tuning the playing surfaces,let's hope the weather plays ball for the players.There are many top players competing including the likes of Europen Tour player Garry Houston,Ryder Cup hero in 2002 Phillip Price,who can forget his incredible singles victory over Phil Mickelson to capture the Ryder Cup for team Europe and many more.

Forthcoming course maintenance.

After the Welsh Professional Champiuonship,the Winter work programme will commence with the main work that has been delayed for the tournament resuming,this will consist mainly of

• Vertidraining of greens /approaches etc
• Changes to the 17th hole
• Overseeding of greens/approaches
• Topdressing
• Iron/Seaweed on playing surfaces
• Continuation of patching/returfing
• Returfing/matting of walkways.
• Scrub/tree management

Hope to see you on the links soon,P.s Please remember to repair your pitchmarks,replace your divots and take care with the newly laid turf and look after our fantastic links,

Regards

Royal St David Links Team.

Two sides of the coin

The recent warm weather has had both plus and minus points to it, it unfortunately produces huge disease pressure with such a warm and wet environment with heavy dew's for the disease to thrive in and this is a countrywide problem at the moment and even Royal St David's normally dry environment with good aeration practices isn't enough to keep the disease at bay.It has hit the bent grasses quite hard and preventative measures were taken but there is a little disease fusarium scarring on a few small areas at the moment however on the plus side the warm weather has allowed us to get in immediately and overseed and then topdress for maximum seed and soil contact for excellent germination,the areas where we have lost a little grass cover should make a full recovery and go strong into the winter period.This mild weather has also enabled us to overseed more fairways nd walkways which have had a lot of wear during the year and should recover with good coverage of fescue grasses.

The seeded areas packed with fescue seed and then topdressed for maximum chance for succesful germination, this will be followed up in around 10 days with an organic seaweed feed to further aid germination. 



The walkways and fairways which have also been overseeded with the disc seeder.

The course is in excellent condition and after final preperations on Friday for Presidents weekend the hard work of the greenkeeping team should be applauded.

Happy golfing!:)

Regards

Royal St Davids Links Team.

Course update.

Its that time of year again when the planned winter work schedule compiled by the club and with NRW (Natural resources Wales) consent is upon us,we are currently having to delay the major work such as the slight alterantions to the 17th and vertidraining etc by a couple of weeks as Royal St Davids are proud hosts to the Welsh Professional Championship which im sure there will be some fine golf played over the great links.

However we have been able to start some of the winter work.There has been a section of gorse/bramble removed alongside the exit from 2nd green to the 3rd tee.This will therefore enable us to double the size of the grass pathway which will be installed and manage the wear and traffic more effectively.



Some aeration has also been carried out on the greens,this has been in the form of a solid 8mm pencil tine to a depth of around 4".As we all know,aeration is one of the most important operations on the golf course as the roots of the finer fescue/bent grasses will exploit these air spaces encouraging deeper rooting resulting in healthy turf.Aeration also enables efficient drainage to keep the greens as dry and firm as possible which again favours the fescue and bent grasses.

 The TORO Procore machine used for aeration operations,this machine is exeptionally efficient and produces minimum disturbance for the golfer,you can hardly tell the greens have been aerated,brilliant!

Unfortunately the chafer grubs are back again,the badgers are ripping up some turf in search of these grubs,with the areas having been treated with insecticide there is very little we can do apart from tidying up the areas and reseeding the areas.

There has also been lots going on in keeping up the high presentation standard of the golf  course with some

• Sprinkler head trimming

• Patching of rabbit holes and heavily worn traffic areas with good quality soil and a good depth of quality turf all from our in house turf nursery making this a sustainable operation.

Strimming/flymo around tees /markers.

Regards,
Royal St Davids Links Team.

R&A comes to Royal St Davids

The very best upcoming stars of Gb&I boys played against the very best of the European boys for the Jaques Leglise trophy last week.The tournament was a resounding success all round with GB&I coming out victorious.