Sand!

We are now starting to see a lot more sand around the course trying to capture the linksy feel of the environment and whilst getting pictures for the  blog i was reminded that sand and cameras really don't go well together with the zoom on my camera now disappeared and the camera is not looking like it's going to last much longer!Lesson learnt! Sand 1 Camera 0.

A lot of the winter programme has come to an end and many thanks go to all of the team for all of their hard work in all weather. We only have the 13th Sandy waste area to the left of the fairway around the sharp rush to finish, the removal of the top soil and enriched sand within the area leaving only bare sand to colonise naturally, this bare sand will benefit plant and invertebrate species which specialise in open sand habitats within the dune system as well as making this area much more playable as previously it was very thick grassland and finding your ball was almost impossible but now a much more open area is a benefit to all.

Here is a picture of the area to the right of the 2nd green which has been completed using rough turf and heather, a vast improvement from the trees and bramble which dominated the right hand side of the green previously.

The left hand side of the 2nd has also been completed following the removal of the bramble that had covered the bank, this bank as you can see has now been transplanted with marram and looks far better and more like the environment we are striving for.

2nd bank from the 3rd tee side with some rustic sleeper detailing to complete the job.

The 15 the tee has also been completed with marram added in between the heather to blend into the beautiful natural landscape.

This area is now much improved and will now withstand the wear and tear of golfers far better.

From this.

To this!

 The 16 th tee has also been completed with the  5 foot high bramble bush that surrounded the tee having been stripped and reduced to bare sand and now having been finished by being planted with marram this tee now looks fantastic sitting there perched upon the dune.What a fabulous teeing natural teeing ground!

The greenkeeping team over the years have stockpiled a huge quantity of old turves and topsoil which has been left to decompose naturally with all the beneficial bacteria, fungi and earth worms doing their bit in the big compost bund around the turf nursery and we have been screening this composted materials this week for use on the golf course for divotting etc. This process of recycling old materials makes the site very sustainable with our own turf nursery and our own natural soil supply and it is beautiful soil whilst saving us a fortune and not having to import any materials for turfing etc.

 The soil screener,its big!

 The result,lovely soil.

The team have also been very busy this week aerating the greens with a 8mm solid tine.

Aeration is critical to the turf health, it relives soil compaction and reduces the accumulation of thatch as well as providing oxygen to the roots of the plant as well as spaces for the deep rooting fine grasses to explore. 

The greens have been rolled to restore surface smoothness following aeration and they are quick!

The course in general is drying out nicely and with the water table getting gradually lower day by day we are hoping all the bunkers will be back in play soon.

The forecast with just the odd shower over the weekend in general is very good and preety settled with some nice sunny periods.

There is a few more maintenance practices planned on the golf course in the next week or so, we are looking to get an application of Lawn Sand on the greens and a light top dressing will follow.

The tees will have a light feed and a light sand dressing also.

The fairways have also already had an application of wetting agent which should in the long term greatly improve the condition and uniformity of the finer grasses population on the fairways.
Wetting agent will work in the soil to stabilize moisture levels  as well as balancing air to water ratios and provide better access to nutrients in the rootzone resulting in stronger turf throughout the season that will perform in all conditions as well as increase turf resilience and stress tolerance.

As always a huge thanks to all the team for their hard work,dedication, passion and enthusiasm to the club and golf course,truly fantastic to see.

Happy golfing,

Rhys Butler, Links Manager, Royal St David's Golf Club.

Where did i put them sunglasses?

Just a quick update for you all on the maintenance practices that have been happening on the links this week.

The weather plays a big part in when we carry out many of our greenkeeping tasks, for example a nice bit of rain to wash in topdressing and fertilisers etc.This week provided an ideal opportunity to carry out a lot of tasks which we wouldnt normally be able to do such as some localised overseeding work we started on Monday as with above average temperatures and looking like it will remain settled for a while every opportunity to improve the playing surfaces must be grabbed with both hands! 

As previous in overseeding we have used a solid tine to a 8-9mm depth and used a drop spreader to broadcast the seed and then brushed/matted the seed into the holes.

After this we have topdressed the overseeded areas to improve seed and soil contact and improve germination chances, we will also apply seaweed to these areas in a couple of weeks to enhance germination.

The weather being so mild and with heavy rain forecasted for Thursday,which it certainly did! was an ideal opportunity for us to start our top dressing programme which will help keep the greens firm,restore surface levels and smoothness and helps promote a good soil profile as well as improving percloation rates and controlling thatch levels as well as encouraging a healthy dense sward.

Here is a picture of our widespin dresser in action 

Even this liitle fella loved the topdressing so much he wanted to join in!

After the topdressing is broadcast it is matted in to the turf gently with some astroturf on a metal mat.

The opportunity to apply the first fertiliser feed for the year was also taken with a traditional Lawn Sand dresssing being applied which has a little bit of iron to tackle any moss in the base of the turf as well as reducing the pH to encourage the finer grasses and deter worms from casting as well as a little nitrogen to fill any bare areas left by the removal of the moss of which there is very very little but we are aimimg for the very best greens so attention to detail is paramount.

It's very important to have all these tasks done which are an important base and start for the season and is equally pleasing to be ahead of the game through good planning of the links team.

Out of interest the blog is still having many views and we are now over 3,500 views! Fantastic,like ive mentioned before if you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask.

Rhys Butler, Links Manager, Royal St Davids Golf Club.

Spring is here!

Well with the St David's meeting upon us tomorrow and a nice day forecast with light winds and slightly colder than average temperatures it looks like a good day to kick start the season. Time has flown by and although there has been no great change in the weather recently with high rainfall inflating the water table and strong Southerly winds being the norm. We survived the major storms that hit most of the country hard but with some trees coming down by the clubhouse which unfortunately proved the end for the practice net but lucky as we are to be blessed with one of the best driving ranges in the country for a limber up before tackling the links all is fine.

There has been tremendous strides made by the Links team in the continuation of the winter programme with the ecological tree and scrub management coming to a close now before the nesting birds return. Here are a few examples of the hard work carried out.

Below the left hand bank left of the 2nd green cleared of the invasive bramble, this will be planted with marram grass and  heather very soon.

The 2nd left hand back as it was covered in bramble, quite horrid!

Below the right hand side of the 2nd green where trees and bramble had again been allowed to take over the area.

 The right hand side of the 2nd green with the area stripped and returned to its natural state with rough turf,sand and heather.

 Below a picture of the 14th with the right hand bank covered in bramble and trees and thick burnet rose on the left hand bank.

Below with the banks stripped to bare sand and returned to it's natural environment as the hole was meant to be played with much better view of the wayward shot's location and improving the visual appeal of the hole.

The left hand bank on the 14th shaped and contoured as nature intended.

This picture below proves how much you can change a hole visually, the approach shot to the 17th in my opinion was ruined by the shell path from 14th tee catching the eye and taking away the natural feel of the hole.
Now with a rough turf bank introduced in front of the path the approach shot now looks far more natural with the green appearing to be in a natural amphitheatre and further highlighted of the natural environment with the sandy waste area in the backround.

The new rough bank in front of the path

The picture below shows another scrub area tackled by the team has been the 170m2 blackthorn and bramble bush on the left hand side of the 17th hole,this again has been reduced to bare sand and will be much more playable as well as being visually much more attractive.

The final piece of this year's ecological work was the removal of the bramble in front of the 16th tee,shown below, this is far better visually with the tee looking now like it's just sitting there in the dune, a fabulous natural teeing ground.

The final few changes to the 17th hole have now been completed with the last bunker on the right hand side of the fairway being filled in, the old grass bunker being lowered to make the greenside bunkers a lot more visible and the raising of the level of the ladies 17th tee. What a terrific hole it now is!

Alongside all the ecological work that has been carried out there has been lots of other maintenance happening on the links with some late turfing/patching of rabbit holes and a few areas on paths etc.
With the high rainfall of 210mm in January and a significant amount again this month we vertidrained the greens and a bit of out of the ordinary took the step to solid tine the greens again the week after as we felt the greens were still  a little wet and felt we needed to dry them out as much as we can to favour the finer grasses and to keep them as smooth and firm as possible. Some lightweight rolling soon restored surface smoothness and firmness to the greens.
The greens have also received an application of seaweed and iron and a little potassium for optimum plant health.
The tees and approaches have also received the same treatment.
The course is all ready for the St David's meeting with the course fully divotted and with presentation complete with tees, approaches etc cut and everything as tidy as possible its all ready for the golfers to get out there and enjoy the links.
I would very much like to thank all of the team for all their hard work throughout the challenging winter period, the quality of the course and changes which i hope you will all enjoy is testament to all their hard work and passion and commitment to Royal St David's Golf Club.

Rhys Butler, Links Manager, Royal St David's Golf Club.

Nature restored.

The links team have been extremely busy lately with the scrub clearance work that has been carried out recently proving to be a big visual change to the golf course alongside the sandy waste areas also being introduced to the golf course removing areas of thick grassland and scrub and introducing bare sandy areas which are much more playable as well as being visually much more attractive and more natural linksy looking as well as simply restoring what is intended to be in the environment.
Here are some pictures of the difference scrub removal in addition to sandy waste areas can makes to the visual improvement of the golf course


Here is a picture of the right hand side of the 2nd green which the trees and bramble/gorse had grown within 2 yards of the green!

With the trees removed and some heather added into the rough turf on the right hand side this area now becomes much more playable and a visual improvement from the trees that had become too dominant and unfair for the golfer in this area. This rough will not be allowed to grow excessively and become too thick,the intention is to keep it thin and wispy as it's only a couple of paces from the green.

The area in front of the 18th with thick grassland  with gorse and bramble.

The 18th hole from the winter tee,(the flag is in the middle of the picture),you cannot see the green at all.

Below a picture of the new sandy waste area on the 18th with the right hand side bank lowered and thick grasslands removed and stripped to bare sand. You can now see the green and all the bunkers surrounding the green.

Below is an example of the tree and scrub invasion in the dunes,hopefully this will be the last you will see of these trees !

There are a few other key areas which we hope to finish in the next two weeks which includes removal of scrub and a return to the more natural linksy sandy waste areas.More pictures to follow soon!

Alongside all the scrub clearance etc the team have been very busy vertidraining, everywhere that has grass is being vertidrained ! including walkways, tees, approaches, fairways. This is a very time consuming but one of the most important tasks for the year.

Vertidraining aerates the soil and helps to relieve any compaction whilst also helps promote a better soil structure, promotes quicker drying of turf and promotes desirable conditions for healthy root growth for the finer grasses we are promoting.

Having had the 5th highest rainfall on record since 1988 with 210mm of rain falling in January the course with the majority already vertidrained is coping well, the water table is high which we obviously can't control but what can control in the drainage which is regularly checked and the new pump on the 10 th is working fantastically and the course remarkably dry considering the weather we have had.

We will be aerating the greens again soon to keep the surfaces as dry , firm and smooth as possible.

Alongside this will be an application of seaweed , iron and a little potash to keep the greens healthy and strong.  

Hope the weather allows us to get out on the links golfing a bit more soon,

Royal St David's Links Team,

Rhys Butler, Links Manager.

Bit blustery!

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.

 The damage at Aberdyfi Golf Club with the huge storms  washing away part of the dune system and part of the 12th green!

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.

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.