Happy new year.

Happy new year to you all although golf  has been impossible on the Links so far this year due to the incredibly high volumes of rainfall we have encountered going back to November really, we had 245 mm of rain then and a record breaking (by over a 100mm) 367mm in December.

All the drainage is working well,and we are pumping wherever there is no drainage to the nearest ditches, the problem we face is simply the high water table and unfortunately this will only lower when the rain subsides and a prolonged dry spell arrives, which apparently is promised!!

This is the picture from Boxing day and Friday again was very close to this.

 Pre all the rain the Links Team have been busy carrying on with the winter work programme as outlined in the previous blog with scrub work, matting on pathways and the revamping of the entrance and also building a whole new short game practice area,unfortunately i have computer issues and although i have about 10 pictures, none will download to here, anyway for many that will of seen it I am delighted with it and it will prove to be a great asset to the golfing facilities as well as improving the entrance and first impression even more, and here is the new entrance!

During the period of most of the golf course being unplayable the team have still been working hard on keeping the playing surfaces as dry as possible by carrying out 8mm aeration to all the greens that we are able to do.

The incredibly mild weather until now has seen very good fescue development with the higher height of cut,less traffic and mild weather having all helped in improving the development and maturity of the fescue.

Apologies for not being able to give you some more pictures etc due to my computer playing up but i hope to give you better news soon and an update on the winter programme etc.

Regards

Rhys Butler, Links Manager.

Course Maintenance.

What an incredible spell of weather we have had recently, it has been truly glorious!

We have started on the Autumn renovations a touch earlier than normal this year to gain better soil temperatures and recovery from aeration and oversseding carried out, the two machines we have used create very minimal disturbance and the results are fantastic.

We recently had the Air2G2 aeration machine in recently to help with essential aeration on the greens and approaches, the machine injects compressed air at a 12" depth to shatter any compacted rootzone with no surface disruption, the lowering of compaction will increase porosity, improve root growth through good micro biotic activity,better drainage and aeration provides a more efficient take up of nutrients that will have long term beneficial effects to the soil structure and health of the grass.

During the same couple of days as the Air2G2 was on hire we also hired a Vredo disc seeder in which the seed is placed in a V shaped slit,directly in contact with soil for maximum for maximum germination rate, this is also a very non disruptive operation and has proved to be a great success.

We used bar fescue seed for this operation which is a mix of Chewings and Slender fescues as they have excellent drought tolerance, the fescue grasses with it's erect shoot growth ,narrow leaves,low levels on Nitrogen inputs required is truly a sustainable grass and provide fast, true and smooth golf greens hence our continual quest to improve the compositition to get as much fescue grass in the sward as possible.

Following the double pass overseed

We have been busy overseeding all of the walkways and other weak areas,the seed we are using germinates at slightly lower temperatures and we are already seeing some germination. Just a note that many of these walkways will be roped off to protect our investment in overseeding these areas, we will try and minimise any disruption to playing lines.

Please be patient with our protection of these areas as this will benefit the golf course massively in the long run.

 

The switch to a straight sand dressing which has enabled us to apply more dressings when conditions and the golfing calendar allows and  has made a big difference.This is one change im very exited about for the future  one i believe is and will even further make an enormous difference to the greens as we will accelerate organic matter reduction at the base of the turf which is one of our key objectives whilst creating a drier environment for the fescue to thrive whilst from a playing perspective has given a much firmer, smoother and faster greens!

The sand dressings and the new roller has enabled us to keep the height of cut at a much healthier height which has resulted in much healthier greens but whilst also improving the speed, firmness smoothness and trueness.

The winter work programme this year will include a mixture of 

-Replacement of shell pathways with matt and turf

-Scrub management

-Bunker revovations

-Tree removal

-Rabbit hole patching

-Rough management

There is also a very exiting project in the pipeline! More details to follow soon!

Regards

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

Links Update

Just a brief update on the Links and as you can imagine with so many competitions we have had the past couple of months with Open week, The Gold Cross Welsh Order of Merit event and the Ladies and Mens week it's been a busy period for the team in setting up and presenting the golf course to the very highest standards possible on a daily basis.

The summer blog's aren't quite as interesting as the winter work where more construction and changes for the upcoming season will take place,we are very much more into refining the playing surfaces through the summer months with some topdressing,brushing and rolling which ensures smooth putting surfaces at the height of the season.

There is still a massive amount of work to do through the summer with fairways,semi roughs, bunkers,tees, approaches etc to manage and keep healthy it's a great effort by the team to keep producing the high standards that we all expect.

The 18th green looking very healthy and the sandy areas at the rear of the green have settled beautifully and have proved to be a real visual plus for the hole.

The much improved walkway on the 4th and the new sandy area at the rear of the green giving a great linksy feel to the hole.

 The new bunkers have also settled very nicely,some of the rougher edges will soften naturally over time,these bunkers now have made a big difference to the visual appeal of the hole

The 6th fairway with Snowdon in the background looking very healthy.

Much work has been done already this year on overseeding and this autumn will see a lot more work again going into overseeding of tees,fairways,approaches,walkways etc.
Personally i am thrilled with the progress we have made in many key areas this year especially the greens and walkways, the greens have certainly improved a lot with much more fescue becoming dominant in the sward and with the combination of more sand dressings and rolling we have certainly seen an increase in the smoothness,firmness and trueness of the putting surfaces and I really do believe they will only get better with more overseeding, topdressing etc.
Many of the walkways are now much improved with much more grass coverage on these areas, again this autumn many of these will have a lot of overseeding, vertidraining etc to improve them even further.

It's been a very good summer in terms of the improvement in the golf course,the weather hasn't exactly been great but its been very good to hear the positive comments about the golf course and further overseeding, aeration, topdressing etc will only improve the golf course even further.

Further works also on managing and thinning the roughs will happen this winter and will result in a fairer golf course,the rough in the summer when it gets thick after all this rain is certainly very tough, myself and the committee are very aware of this and will be looking for improvement in these areas.

There are also lots of exciting plans in this years winter work programme which is to be finalised soon then there will be a lot of pictures!

Please come out again soon sun!

Regards

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

The ever changing Links

If I had written this a little over month ago we would of been saying how dry and hot it was, that didn't last for long!The temperatures still haven't reached the levels we would normally expect for this time of year but now the trees have turned colour and the roughs are certainly starting to grow and the definition is really looking good now.

The hot days earlier last month still did not equate to much growth as the low and sometimes frosty night temperatures put a handbrake on any growth.

It is very important for us to keep adequate moisture in the turf to keep the grasses healthy and to keep the fairy ring activity at bay.We use a moisture meter to guide us when irrigation is needed to maintain turf health.

We recently had the Air2G2 aeration machine in recently to help with essential aeration on the greens and approaches, the machine injects compressed air at a 12" depth to shatter any compacted rootzone with no surface disruption, the lowering of compaction will increase porosity, improve root growth through good micro biotic activity,better drainage and aeration provides a more efficient take up of nutrients that will have long term beneficial effects to the soil structure and health of the grass.

During the same couple of days as the Air2G2 was on hire we also hired a Vredo disc seeder in which the seed is placed in a V shaped slit,directly in contact with soil for maximum for maximum germination rate, this is also a very non disruptive operation and has proved to be a great success.

We used bar fescue seed for this operation which is a mix of Chewings and Slender fescues as they have excellent drought tolerance, the fescue grasses with it's erect shoot growth ,narrow leaves,low levels on Nitrogen inputs required is truly a sustainable grass and provide fast, true and smooth golf greens hence our continual quest to improve the compositition to get as much fescue grass in the sward as possible.

Following the double pass overseed

If you look closely you can just about see the lines, ground level is very impressive germination!

There is a big difference in the condition of the walkways , the overseeding programme is certainly playing dividends and these walkways and walk off areas are certainly seeing improved grass coverage,we still have a few roped off at the moment to protect the seed and germination, we will monitor this and the roped will be removed when the cover is adequate and we are happy we can maintain the condition of theses areas.

Owain Aeron Deputy Links Manager and myself had a visit to Wentworth recently as part of the Golf Environment Award Winners delegates which promotes the award and with increased publicity for Royal St David's Golf Club is a great opportunity for all involved, we had a guided tour alongside Kenny Mckay Course Manager along with the other award winners, judges and sponsors.

During our visit we also visited Sunningdale Golf Club the best inland Golf Course in GB&I which is quite linksy in a way as it lies on the Surrey sandbelt and is a simply stunning golf course, it's always great to visit sites like this for ideas and to see 'best practice' on other top golf courses as well.

Some of Sunningdale's stunning bunkers!

 Superb definition on Sunningdale's fairways and semi roughs

It was very interseting to see Sunningdale also developing sandy waste areas,visually stunning and a great habitat for the mining bees.

Having just returned from a few days away with the family in Pembrokeshire over the half term there is another busy period in front of the Links Team with the Club Championship this weekend and then Open week coming up soon after that which will be soon followed by the St David's Gold Cross along with all the other golf which we always aim to present the golf course to the best standards possible.

I'm delighted with the condition of the golf course at the moment , all the hard work that was done by the Links Team over the winter is paying dividends, the improved presentation with many new walkways and turfing carried out through the winter has really made a difference, the greens are currently looking very healthy with very good coverage and performing well with very good speed, trueness and smoothness. The tees, fairways and approaches are also in fine shape after plenty of aeration through the winter.

We are now into more of the routine summer maintenance with regular aeration,brushing and refining of playing surfaces,wetting agent,soil conditioners and fertilisers when required etc and cutting and rolling to provide great playing surfaces.

Im going to spoil you now with some of my holiday snaps!

Taught the boy well!

 Cameron and I played the other St David's in Pembrokeshire,a lovely 9 hole golf course with magnificent views!

There possibly seems to be some nice hot sunny weather coming from mid week onwards, fingers crossed!

Hope to see you on the Links,

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

Easter chocolate!

After a successful St David's meeting , Easter meeting is rapidly approaching and the golf course is already in top condition with just a final bit of divotting and cutting to finish and lets hope the weather will be better than what is currently forecast.

Since the St David's meeting the Links team have been busy finishing off the winter work and sneaking in a few unplanned projects that became possible with less growth than anticipated and the opportunity and time to carry out these extra projects.

We are still hanging onto this colder weather and with no real change in the next couple of weeks at least it could be a long golf course during Easter, growth wise we are currently about 4 weeks behind compared to last year in growth.

We have been busy overseeding all of the walkways and other weak areas,the seeed we are using germinates at slightly lower temperatures and we are already seeing some germination. Just a note that many of these walkways will be roped off even during Easter competitions to protect our investment in overseeding these areas, we will try and minimise any disruption to playing lines.

Please be patient with our protection of these areas as this will benefit the golf course massively in the long run.

The decision was made to reshape the 7th fairway bunker, this had become very very small and bordering on unplayable,now as you can see it's visually much better and it's playability is much better.

Part of the winter work was to remove the scrub area below the 16th ladies tee and reduce to bare sand and plant with marram, this is a massive improvement and this also enabled us to widen the access to the ladies tee to allow us to get machinery up there safer and also the tee was made bigger and rustic sleeper styling to the tee surrounds, happy ladies!

It was long felt that the shell path on the 5th carry ruined the natural look of the hole with it's new sandy waste area and newly shaped bunkers,it was therefore decided to remove the shell and this path has been constructed slightly differently in that it has been seeded and rubber matting  placed on top, it should very quickly have full grass cover and will blend in beautifully to the landscape. The old rotten sleepers were also removed and new ones inserted with a more rustic natural feel.

Following a bit of a light bulb moment as i was driving past this bank one day thinking 'wow that would be a great bank to build a bunker into' it was passed by committee and gained approval by NRW to close the very first bunker on this line of play and open a bunker in this bank,this bunker is around 100 yards further up than the old first bunker and now fits in perfectly with today's modern technology and is in a much better position in relation to the two left hand bunkers and very importantly is far better visually.

Some more aeration work,sand dressings and rolling has been carried out on the greens after St David's meeting and we will be doing the same again after Easter meeting .

We have been able to continue with hand mowing which has placed far less stress on the greens and especially the green perimeters and morning's like this have been a joy to work in.

Hope you all enjoy the Easter meeting,I'm  certainly looking forward to getting out on the course to play after a busy few months.

The Links team have been extremely busy this winter having made many key changes to the golf course alongside the committee and management and i hope that you like the changes, we believe that we will see a big difference in the overall condition of golf course this year and our aim is always to produce the very best that we can on a daily basis.
Please look after your golf course by replacing divots, repairing pitchmarks and raking bunkers. Thankyou.

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

Winter work and St David's meeting

We are rapidly approaching the end of the winter work programme and we have made tremendous strides in the conditioning of the golf course, from scrub clearance being transformed to sandy waste areas  to turfing and matting pathways and walkways to some drainage work to reduce surface moisture and of course the continuous improvent in the putting surfaces and other fine turf areas.

The sandy waste area we created last year on the 18th replacing the thick scrub has settled nicely and has added great visual interest to the hole.

The new sandy waste area in front of the 5th tee.

The new 2nd bunker blending into the sandy waste area which replaced the trees and brambles.

The new sandy waste areas behind the 18th green,they might look fierce but they have replaced the very thick almost unplayable rough and you could actually putt out of these areas!

The 18th green looking great,greens are running beautifully and are firm,true and fast!

The new turf and matt pathway on the 18th,a great improvement whilst retaining the natural topography.

A few pictures of the greens below,hand mowing and sand dressings and rolling have improved the greens and they were stimping at 11 last week on 6mm!

We will soon be applying our first application of lawn sand followed through the year by use of amonia,urea,dried blood hoof and horn and biostimulants as and when required alongside our wetting agent and aeration programme.

This weekend sees the first meeting of the year with the St David's meeting,the course is looking fantasic with the course fully divotted,all areas cut and the links playing beautifully.

We also have re 'chunked ' the 17th fairway bunker following damage by badgers and rabbits

The overgrown bramble to the right of the 6th tee has been removed and has been replaced with turf from the rear of the 4th greens new sandy waste areas and some heather,a vast improvement!

Work has also been carried out to enlarge and reshape the ladies 16th tee and widening the pathway to improve access for machinery to make tee maintenance easier.

As you can see there has been lots of great work carried out on the Links.

Have a great weekend's golfing.

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

P.s apologies for random pictures etc,still having computer gremlins!:(