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.