Mowing in full swing

With Spring now upon us the mowing frequency has been stepped up. We are now mowing fairways and tees twice a week and greens nearly every day. The greens are not mown on Sundays unless there is a special event on. The groomers are being used each week now to help thin the grass and smooth the surface. This will help produce a truer roll and therefore increase the speed as the ball will not bounce around as much. Groomers are small vertical blades that slice a small amount grass and thatch from the green. These are attached to the greens mowers and are lowered when the greens are groomed.

The greens were also dusted on Monday to help smooth out some of the pitch marks and other small imperfections. This should help the smooth the surface and provide a truer roll also.

The bunkers are now being raked twice a week, at the beginning and then again at the end of the week. This has improved the quality of the bunkers over the last few weeks. There is some heavy rain forecast, so we might end up with a number of bunkers being flooded for the weekend, not great timing if it eventuates.

On bunkers, you may have noticed that many of the rake handles have a sticker on them indicating that the rake should be placed back in the flat of the bunker when you have finished raking. You are now able to rake the bunker before you play your shot as long as you don't improve your lie. This should make it easier to grab the rake and rake your footprints as to walk to your ball. The rake must be placed back in the flat of the bunker with the head facing the direction of play. Don't put them on the side of the bunker so that they trap someone's ball on the slope of the bunker.