What an incredible spell of stormy weather the country has faced,flooding,high winds have combined to cause an incredible amount of damage to property, roads and land.
We have been incredibly lucky with the course being unaffected apart from the normal high water table resulting in a few wet bunkers but playing surfaces amazingly dry for this time of year.
As you can see we have been very lucky compared to other courses.
The damage at Royal Porthcawl Golf Club.
Just before the christmas period saw the completion of the renewal of the pump and pipework which carries the water away from around the 10 th hole,this has proved very succesful and with a greater flow rate and carrying capacity should keep the surrounding area much more playable during the wetter periods.
With the wet spell we have been busy on the links checking and renewing any drainage pipework around the course that carries water away from the playing areas,essential to keeping the course as dry as possible.
This week we have been re contouring the hollow left of the 6th green, before there was quite a sharp drop off resulting in an area which was very difficult to mow and didnt provide many shot options. This area now has been re shaped and re turfed making this now a hollow which will provide much more linksy shot options.
You may well of also noticed the work being carried out in the dunes with the removal of the trees,its a big task and will take a while as i estimate there must be 200+ trees in there!
We welcome to our Links team Gwion Roberts, Gwion is from Harlech and has settled in well and is learning with a mixture of on the job training as well as starting college studying NVQ level 2 in Sportsturf Maintenance.Gwion already has countryside management qualifications and will be a great asset to the team.
An interesting point is that Royal St Davids Golf Club is i believe the only private club in Wales that has met the criteria to gain the 'Investors in people' badge. This shows the club's commitment to looking after its staff and we are all very proud to be part of the club.
This week has also seen lots of other essential work happening on the links. There has been a continuation of repairing the paths and worn traffic areas from the long seasons play.We have also 8mm solid tined the greens to a depth of 5 inches,but with a couple of passes with the roller you could hardly tell the greens had been aerated. Next week will see the approaches verti drained and the tees being aerated as well,the fairways will be verti drained at the nearest possible opportunity also.
The greens are still dry and firm for the time of year and are rolling well.Yesterday we applied seaweed which aids plant health during periods of drought,frost or heavy use ,as well as encouraging strong rooting and iron which hardens turf against disease with a little potash mixed in as well which stimulates soil biology activity by adding carbon to the soil and boosting soil bacteria for optimum turf health. The tees and approaches also recieved a seaweed and iron application today.
As you can see it's been a very busy week this week and we have accomplished a lot so many thanks to all the team for their hard work.
Happy new year to everyone
Blwyddyn newydd dda i pawb
Royal St David's Links Team.
