Spring is here!! Well…it`s here a bit.  At least the days are getting longer now, and the average temperature has come up far enough for the grass to actually start growing.  We’re certainly enjoying the start of the new season, especially with the course looking remarkably healthy after this brutal winter – but that doesn’t mean we have time to slow down!
 
I always refer to this time of year as a transitional period, when we seem to rush around preparing the course for the season ahead while simultaneously finishing off the rough edges of our winter projects. It`s an exciting time for a greenkeeping team, as we can enjoy putting all our freshly painted furniture back out on the course and admiring the work we’ve done to improve the course over the winter.
 
All the tees we built this winter seem to have rooted really well into the rootzone we mixed up (local sand mixed 3 to 1 with good quality indigenous topsoil sourced from the quarry alongside the 10th tee), and the work we have done to the paths has dramatically improved some of the weaker and more hazardous walkways on the golf course. I`m particularly pleased with the contouring work we did to the 17th fairway as it dramatically improves the visibility of the green from the fairway, but looks entirely natural.  It leads into what I think is the best new path on the course, which directs players over Craig and Sebastian`s huge extended boardwalk. The greens look pretty strong going into the season, with some good root development and a decent coverage of healthy grass which should let us produce a good early season putting surface for you all to enjoy playing on.

Post-winter course conditions are the best they’ve been in years!
 
Why We Topdress the Greens
 
There are certain crucial applications which we make around this time of year which can make or break a season before it has even got properly started, and timing of these is always critical. Having curtailed the leatherjacket invasion last month, and timed an application of penetrating wetting agent perfectly during the first week in March, we were keen to get our first topdressing onto the greens this week (I write this on March 24th). When I say keen, I mean we were keen to do this as part of the program, not because we enjoy this job. In fact, I would go as far as to say I really don`t like topdressing at all. Not because I am shy of a bit of hard manual labour (everybody knows that`s not the case!) but because I know how much it disrupts everybody`s game. I actually had somebody ask me once in all seriousness whether we put sand on the greens just to annoy the golfers, and – to be honest, if I put myself in the position of that golfer, I can clearly see that covering a perfectly good golf green in sand might seem like a strange thing to do.
 
So why do we do it? Truth be told, because every set of greens is different, every greenkeeper has slightly different goals he wants to achieve when he goes topdressing. Our common aims, though, are to fill in surface imperfections, improve ball roll, and, most importantly of all, to keep the upper portion of our rootzones relatively dry, lean and oxygenated. If we allow debris from decaying plants and other organic matter, such as spilled clippings from grass boxes, to build up on the surface, we will very quickly come to regret it as a soft thatch layer will build up in the top 2 to 3 inches of the soil profile which will inhibit root growth, harbour disease pathogens, encourage the ingress of annual meadow grass in preference to perennial bents and fescues and produce a spongy surface which is slow and inconsistent to play on.
 
After many years of poor agronomic practice and poor advice, many courses already have greens like these, and thanks to the inactivity of their predecessors, the greenkeepers who work on these courses need to battle hard to produce even average surfaces outside of the mid-summer months. Here at Machrihanish Dunes, we are blessed with brand new, light, sandy rootzones which we have the opportunity to protect and even improve by using good quality materials and following proven methods to ensure that thatch layers are not allowed to build up and that we retain the excellent, naturally firm greens that we inherited from the construction team. This is why we endeavour to favour the growth of slow-growing perennial grasses which require minimal feeding (which links well with our overall environmentally aware mission statement), and why we regularly apply sand to the surface to dilute any thatch which does build up.  This ensures that there is sufficient oxygen in that upper profile to protect the health of beneficial bacteria which feed on any organic material which is deposited, producing humus and carbohydrates that are returned directly to the plant`s food chain. We must endeavour to do whatever we can to make sure this chain of events is not interrupted, because it is incredibly difficult to link it back together again.
 
So unfortunately – as  much as we all hate it – the topdressing of greens is a necessary evil that is here to stay as part of every greenkeeper`s maintenance regime. I hope that now you have an understanding of why it must be undertaken.
 
How We Do It
 
Step 1:
Sebastian spreads sand as evenly as he can onto the surface of the green. We must wait 10-15 minutes for this sand to dry before we can begin to brush it in. This is usually the 10-15 minutes when several 4-balls that we were not expecting arrive on the tee! We do have a custom-built spreader that we can use to apply the sand to the green, but because it is early in the season and the fully loaded machine is very heavy, we chose on this occasion to apply the sand using a more laborious and time-consuming method…completely avoiding the potential for leaving deep ruts that would be aggravating to putt over. If there`s an easy way and a right way to do a job, we will always choose the right way!

Step 2: 
The sand has dried and I have run over it in two directions with a specially designed brush which I tow behind a greens triple. Although the surface isn`t yet playable, you can see that the brush has pulled the sand into a uniform layer over the whole green.

Step 3:
After I have brushed the sand as evenly as I can over the whole green, I use a flexible switch to flick the dry sand from grass leaves into the profile below and to remove as many small stones from the greens surface as I can. Actually looks quite playable now, doesn`t it! A shower or two of rain to wash this in and you would hardly know that Sebastian and I had even been here.
 

 
Enjoy your golf in April, we look forward to seeing you out there!

Our prime objective for February this year was to retain or even improve the health of our fine turf areas, and we were definitely helped in this regard by a great couple of weeks of weather. Longer days, a bit of sunshine and a prolonged break from the relentless winter rain can cheer up golf greens, but only if they are maintained sympathetically and given the correct inputs. While temperatures remain relatively low, we must be constantly wary to avoid damaging plants that will take far longer to recover than they would if they sustained similar damage during periods of good growth. Sustained pressure from any of a number of different stress factors can easily lead to bare patches in turf that will only increase in diameter when faced with spells of wet and windy weather.

One thing that greens on the southwest coast of Scotland are prone to suffering from at this time of year is root damage from leatherjacket infestations. The larvae of the crane fly (daddy long legs) have a voracious appetite for grass roots and can cause issues for turf managers anywhere in the country during a mild winter (how many times have we seen even Premier League football groundsmen naively lose their 18 yard boxes because of this underground curse), but in this part of the country where the south-westerly winds driven in by the Gulf Stream warm the coast and temperatures remain relatively high throughout most winters, crane fly larvae are a constant threat that need to be carefully monitored.

How, though, do you monitor a pest that lives the majority of its life under the surface? While we can use our years of experience to assume that certain weather patterns can combine with the known life cycle of the pest to either maximise or minimise the potential for an outbreak, there are several visual indicators that we can also use to decide whether or not to break out the insecticide. Flocks of birds congregating in one area for long periods of time is a classic sign. I don`t know how crows and seagulls know can accurately locate infestations, but they have an undoubted intelligence that I don`t question – just learn from! Checking bunkers on a windy day is another favourite tactic of mine – any leatherjackets that are actively operating in the turf around bunker edges will eventually reach the lip and fall into the sand, then blow into a heap in the middle. I found this collection in the greenside bunker at 15 last week (circa 15th February), and went spraying the next day with great success.

The final indication that leatherjackets are present under a golf green is the sudden re-opening of aeration holes. The insects will utilise a tiny hole to clamber to the surface under cover of darkness, where they will nibble all the grass before returning to the rootzone at dawn. Although this nibbling does not do terminal damage to the grass, further erosion can occur if this damage is inflicted before periods of significantly windy weather. You can see in the image below how the hole has been re-opened by the insect. If you had thousands of leatherjackets operating in one area on a sheltered green, the cumulative effect could be at best disruptive to surface smoothness – and at worst catastrophic to the root structure. I have experienced in the past an incident where the roots of a green I was in charge of were so badly damaged by leatherjackets that a group of crows managed to peel the turf right off a large section of a green to get to the grubs below, needless to say I have been wary of these infestations ever since!

It is easy to assume during the wet winter months that no damage from pests has occurred, but when spring comes and the easterly winds bake the greens with warm sunshine the damage to root systems and the ensuing weakening of our precious plants becomes suddenly apparent, with greens becoming inexplicably patchy and very intolerant to drought stress. We will always spray our greens and tees for leatherjackets as a matter of course, but using the simple visual indicators helps us to time our applications for maximum impact. This close-up image of the 4th green, taken the day after I sprayed last week, shows how effective a single asphyxiating application of Chlorpyrifos can be if it is timed to coincide with frenzied feeding activity- imagine how many of these were actually lying on the surface of the whole green that day! There are now lots of fat crows and seagulls hopping lazily around the Dunes, I`m pretty sure some of them have eaten so much they are physically unable to fly!!

WINTER PROJECTS AT MACHRIHANISH DUNES

We have been steadily working our way through our Winter program of works, and we have turfed the tees that I posted pictures of in last month`s report. This is the newly re-modelled mens tee at the 5th hole.

Among other things, we have also been renovating some of our worst pathways. These have been levelled, re-turfed and have had rubber mats laid on them to improve their wear characteristics and safety. The path from the bridge at the Golf House to the yellow tee at the 1st has made the biggest single difference. To my eye, it is a vast improvement to the first impression. I don`t have an image of that pathway unfortunately (you`ll have to come out here to see it for yourselves!), but I did take some pictures of the pathway alongside the 11th tee.

As I write this, the golf season is fast approaching. We are looking forward to the longer evenings, a bit of sunshine, and to getting the mowers back out so we can start manicuring your golf course once again. I hope you all have your games in shape…it has been a bit quiet out here recently so we are really looking forward to seeing you all out there enjoying our course again!

From Mach Dunes Golf Club’s Head Greenskeeper, Simon Freeman:

I`ll freely admit that I spent most of 2014 telling people who complimented us on the condition of the golf course that “we had been lucky with the weather.”  I think it`s safe to say our luck ran out this past January –  strong winds and heavy rain combined with some very high tides and huge fluctuations in temperature have given our links turf a proper hammering.
 
At critical times like these, it is imperative that we keep nutrients at an optimum level to ensure that the plants don’t uptake too much sodium and the grass leaves remain structurally strong enough to withstand the battering from the windblown sand. I`ve described before in these reports how we use analysis reports to research where our rootzones’ weaknesses lie, as well as help gauge which nutrients we should consider adding to maintain optimum health.  Sometimes, though,  it can be just as useful to take a considered look at what we can see with the naked eye before making any decisions that may ultimately turn out to be counter-productive. It`s thought provoking, this greenkeeping lark!

WINTER PROGRAM IMPROVEMENTS
Thankfully the recent poor weather hasn`t hampered our efforts in working towards the completion of our winter program. We will be turfing several newly constructed tees over the next couple of weeks, and also covering the new pathways we have shaped at the 1^st and 17^th holes. We have re-shaped the bunker short of the ridge at the 8^th, and this has already been turfed. The bunker steps at the 15^th have been replaced – we did this to make the bunkers safer to access, but we have also made them more aesthetically pleasing. We will be replacing all the bunker steps before the start of the golf season.

 
A newly constructed Medal Tee at the 4^th, awaiting turf.

ABOUT OUR IRRIGATION SYSTEM
With the new season approaching rapidly, we have a checklist of things that we need to complete in order to ensure we are properly prepared. One of the things which must receive a thorough overhaul at this time is our irrigation system. It is easy to forget about the need for watering turf when we are going through a period where flooding, rather than drought, is the real concern.  But experience has taught us that weather conditions can go from one extreme to the other very quickly should we get a prolonged spell of easterly winds at the end of March.  
 
At Machrihanish Dunes, we have a very modern system which starts with a line of bore holes near the Golf House. Water is pumped from there to a pair of large tanks (total capacity is 250,000 litres) at our maintenance facility, which feeds a pump that holds water in a closed circuit at just under 10 bar of pressure. Each green and tee complex has a central control box with a hand hose connector and decoders that receive signals from a computer in our office that gives us the ability to program individual sprinklers to undertake specific programs at a pre-determined time. While it is brilliant to have such a modern system at our disposal, we are always aware that it is relatively complicated and we need to keep it in optimum condition in order to be able to rely on it.  This is why we contract the experts to come in and give our whole system a thorough check over before we need to use it each spring.  This annual service gives the contractors an opportunity to apply any available updates to improve our system still further, and also gives us the opportunity to have them set up specific programs for us that we can use to save ourselves water and electricity wherever possible.

 
A large pump draws water from a row of these well points…

…filling this massive tank at our maintenance facility, which supplies water via gravity feed for….

 
...this pump to send water around the golf course to these boxes…

…which are situated close to every green and tee complex. In the box you can see the coupling point where we can attach a hose, and wires running to electrical decoders, which operate as on/off switches for the sprinklers under command from…

 
 ….this computer in our office. Although there is a lot that can go wrong with a system like this, you can`t help but marvel at the ingenuity of it all!

Sincerely,

Simon Freeman
Head Greenkeeper

Our monthly golf course update from our Head Greenkeeper, Simon Freeman:

First off, best wishes for a happy and healthy 2015 from everyone here at Mach Dunes!This course has been getting even better with every passing year, and with the recent and current renovations, MDGC is sure to offer the best playing season yet. 

The bunkers we were re-constructing at the 8^th last month have now been completed, and we are now focusing on extending some tees. We have lowered the yellow tee at the 2^nd, creating a considerably less lethal walkway in the process, and have also worked on the tees at the 3^rd and the 5^th. We also plan to alter the playing angle of the white tee at the 4^th next, and to extend the yellow tees at the 15^th and 17^th. Hopefully, as a result of this work, we can spread the wear and tear on the tees more effectively and avoid the smaller ones from wearing out before the end of the season.

We are seeing an increase in the levels of play at Machrihanish Dunes with every passing year, and this work of extending the tees which see the most play will help to increase year-round enjoyment of everybody in the years to come. Our work with the digger hasn`t been confined solely to the tees – we have also lowered and re-contoured the ridge before the gully at the 17^th to allow for a better view of the green from the centre of the fairway. A new bridge has also been constructed across the gully, which provides a more direct and less steep access to the green than was previously afforded. The path that connects this bridge has not yet been completed, but we will be fitting rubber mats to both sides of this bridge to further aid traction and safety for foot and buggy traffic.

Course Conditions
As always, our main priority for the month of December has been to keep the greens as healthy as possible, which is not an easy task when the days are so short and sunshine is in short supply.
 
We all learned at school that plants can utilise available carbon dioxide and water via the photosynthesis process to produce natural sugars like glucose, energising themselves and emitting oxygen as a bi-product.  But to do that they must be able to convert light energy from the sun into chemical energy, and this becomes a lot more difficult to achieve when it’s light for only a few hours a day.
 
Making the most of the photosynthesis process becomes even more crucial when you are growing fine-leaved grass plants on a sandy rootzone that contains only minimal traces of the nutrients which form the building blocks of the chlorophyll molecule.
 
Compared to thicker-leaved meadow grasses and ryegrasses, the fine perennial fescues and bents that we would ideally like to have as the sole inhabitants of our greens struggle to photosynthesise simply because they have less surface area to soak in and store the light energy and smaller chloroplast sites where the photsynthesis process can take place.
 
This is why it’s essential for links greenkeepers who wish to maintain their populations of fine leaved grasses through to the spring to raise their cutting heights in the autumn and again in winter, for if leaf area is reduced still further by mechanical removal at a time when photosynthetic ability is already impaired by reduced volumes of sunlight then further decline will be inevitable and opportunistic annual meadow grass plants will take advantage of the gaps and populate the greens further.
 
Accurate soil analysis is vital in our battle to make the very most of the plants’ ability to photosynthesise during the relatively short window of opportunity afforded by the December weather, as the chlorophyll molecule is made up of several key nutrients which must all be available in suitable amounts for healthy and effective photosynthetic reactions to take place. We have found that although the free-draining, sandy Machrihanish Dunes rootzone provides an ideal platform upon which to play golf, it is also extremely deficient in magnesium – a key component of the chlorophyll molecule – so we have been regularly adding this nutrient for the last few months.  We also use a liquid product called Protesyn, which contains many of the amino acids, enzymes, vitamins and carbohydrates which are required by the plant to allow it to produce mature proteins and the sugars which energise it sufficiently to go about its daily life-preserving functions.
 
The manufacturer of Protesyn markets the product as “sunshine in a bottle.” A bit cute, perhaps, but accurate.  The product allows the plant to more easily produce its own chemical energy and subsequently retain its good cellular health despite the low levels of sunlight we have to endure during a West Coast Winter. So impressed have I been with the performance of Protesyn that I`ve occasionally pondered whether it might be a welcome tonic for a greenkeeper on a wet December morning!

This time of year is always a tough challenge for us greenkeepers, but that doesn’t mean the course can’t be a welcome challenge for players as well.  The winter weather may not make for ideal conditions, but the course is still ready for players who anxious to try and conquer it.
 
That said, we hope you to see you out there soon! If you have any questions or suggestions then please feel free to come and see us anytime, or leave a message for us. 

    
Sincerely,

Simon Freeman
Head Greenkeeper

Our monthly golf course update from our Head Greenkeeper, Simon Freeman:

The weather was kind to us in November – we experienced a good amount of sunshine and relatively few of those bleak, drizzly days which can really suck the energy out of a golf course. Any rain that we had came down in torrents, but that doesn’t hurt us nearly as badly as relentless drizzle does. We’ve always felt that a good downpour actually freshens the place up, as it flushes toxic substances that linger about the surface down to the subsoil where they can’t do any damage to grass plants.

Because the weather has been so good, we haven’t really backed off from cutting greens.  Of course, we have raised the cutting height considerably in order to maximise the plants’ ability to photosynthesise during this period of low light and short days, but we have been mowing often enough to ensure that the greens have remained relatively true. You might have to hit the ball a bit harder, but if you get the pace of the greens early on, you can hole a lot of putts out there!

The remainder of our regular mowing program has now been shelved, and we have been utilising the extra man hours that we have at our disposal by focusing on our winter construction program. The first job we took on was the re-routing of the drainage around the Golf House and 1st tee area, with the ultimate goal of making it look as natural as possible whilst ensuring that far more of the drainage water from the fields above meanders its way down to the 17th gully and the dune slacks at the left of the 11th. To get this project to work, we had to considerably deepen the ditch across the 9th fairway, so this has become a proper hazard now. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!

The Machrihanish Dunes greenkeeping team remodel the ditch on the 9^th fairway.

Since completing this job, we have moved onto the bunkers on the 8^th.  We have remodelled the greenside trap (this is now two separate pots), and have completely rebuilt the one 50 yards short left of the green. We will continue with this bunker work throughout the winter, but we still have some bridges to move, some tees to alter, some more pathways to renovate (following the good work that has been done over the last two winters) and a program to replace all the bunker and tee stairs in an agreed uniform style.  As always, we welcome any questions and suggestions, so if you have any ideas or if there’s anything in particular you think should be altered, please do come and see us.

The two new pot bunkers at the left of the 8^th green. All they need is turf.

The remodelled bunker to the left of the 8^th fairway.

Despite the fact that we have been enjoying a great spell of weather, we are aware that it will not last forever and that winter really is just around the corner. With this in mind, we have taken the decision to close the 5th hole as of Monday 8th December, and we will revert to using the tee at the back of the Golf House as the 1st tee, just as we have done in previous years (playing to the pitching green), and then ask you to walk from the 4th green to the 6th tee. The 5th green still looks in reasonable condition, but, despite the new sea-wall banking and the winter fencing, it is still very exposed. We feel that resting it in this manner gives us a much greater chance of coaxing it through to the spring without sustaining too much damage.

The 5^th green, gleaming in the morning sunshine on November 30^th.

I hope the weather stays with us and you enjoy your golf at Machrihanish Dunes in December!

Sincerely,

Simon Freeman
Head Greenkeeper

Our monthly golf course update from our Head Greenkeeper, Simon Freeman:

Course Conditions Update
September was widely and quite rightly lauded as an outstanding month weather-wise across the whole of the United Kingdom, and we at Machrihanish Dunes certainly welcomed the brilliant golfing and working conditions that this late summer sunshine brought with it. As you all know, golfing calendars are set to favour play during the months that are “traditionally” more favourable weather-wise, so a spell of reasonably warm, dry weather so late in the year, coupled with shorter days and heavy dews, allowed us to undertake a lot of overseeding and minimalist aeration work which will stand us in good stead going into winter. Those of you who played in the Autumn Pairs event on 11th October would likely agree that the course was in superb health as you can see from the striking image below taken during the event.

The golf course looked fantastic at the Autumn Pairs Tournament!

Always be Prepared
Over the next few months, our priority is to protect the density of grass cover on our playing surfaces (especially on the greens and tees), an initiative we’ve had on our mind for a few months now. In a location as exposed as Machrihanish, any gaps in the sward (even one as small as a pitchmark) will be exposed by a gale in a matter of hours, and can easily become a dinner-plate-sized bare patch in just a few wild days. As greenkeepers, we will do everything in our power to minimise the defects, ensuring that the progress of the salt-laden wind is not interrupted as it whistles smoothly over the grass. Our main enemies are turf disease (which can kill grass and leave small bare patches which the wind can get into and dramatically extend) and scalping from machinery.  So we raise the mowers substantially at this time of year to retain a larger surface of leaf to allow the plants to photosynthesise more effectively during periods where there are typically fewer hours of sunshine, a feature of the West Coast, but also to ensure that we avoid making bare patches through mechanical damage.

Combating Turf Disease
Controlling turf disease is another one of those classic catch-22 dilemmas that tend to scramble the brain of the turf manager. It is widely known from historical experimentation that over-use of fungicides to control disease in poorly-managed greens will ultimately lead us into a spiral of decline.  Therefore, a balance must be found between implementing a rounded management regime that helps the turf to fight off fungal infection, and also applying the most suitable products if and when the pressure of disease becomes too great and remedial spraying becomes a necessity.

At Machrihanish Dunes, we are blessed with free-draining rootzones that have not built up a massive layer of surface organic matter (disease thrives in conditions where the top 20mm of the soil suffers from a lack of oxygen and is contaminated with decaying leaf matter).

We cannot afford to rest on our laurels though, which is why we:

• regularly aerate the surface to ensure air flow and gas exchange can occur without being hampered by surface compaction
• topdress regularly with a sandy material to dilute any surface build-up of debris and decaying matter
• stick to an agreed feeding program that has both short-term and long-term beneficial implications for the health of our turf
• constantly monitor heights of cut to ensure that we do not compromise the well-being of individual plants. 

If we ignore any of these and the many other important processes, plants will get sick, thatch will build up, disease will occur more regularly, bare patches will appear, and the wind will find its way into the gaps and literally tear the grass off the greens.

Fusarium Patch in a Machrihanish Dunes green. Fusarium is the most problematic pathogen for Greenkeepers.

When faced with one of these catch-22 dilemmas, I always relate the health of the grass on our fine turf surfaces with the health of my own body. I know that if I stay fit, eat right, get plenty of sleep and avoid stress, I will be far less likely to succumb to infection. The same set of rules can be applied when looking after turfgrass – if we aerate regularly, keep surface thatch under control, apply the right nutrients in the right quantities and allow the greens to recover from periods of stress by raising heights of cut as and when required, we should be able to keep disease and other associated issues at bay without resorting to the medicine cabinet!

Take-All Patch. It is fairly slow-moving and leaves the fescue unaffected.

If you have any questions about any of this or would simply like to know more about the work we do, feel free to come over and ask anytime. Even though the days are getting shorter, we hope to still see you out enjoying your golf over the winter months!

Sincerely,

Simon Freeman
Head Greenkeeper

The Village at Machrihanish Dunes had an unusual visitor this week – the Ryder Cup!  More than 250 people came out to the resort’s Royal Hotel in Campbeltown to see the Cup, have their pictures taken with it, and revel in the pre-tournament excitement leading up to the main event at Gleneagles later this month (September 23-28).

Mach Dunes was the second stop on the Trophy’s week-long tour of the “four corners” of Scotland.  The tour, organised by the Ryder Cup officials in conjunction with VisitScotland, includes Scottish golf courses located at Scotland’s most Northern, Eastern, Southern and Western corners that participate in the ClubGolf junior initiative programme. 

The trophy arrived in dramatic fashion, arriving via helicopter and landing with celebrity-level poise on the dunes of Machrihanish Dunes Golf Club.  After a quick photoshoot, the Cup drove out to The Royal Hotel to give hotel guests, locals, and anyone else who came out a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see it in person.  In just one hour, 250 people came through the hotel, viewing and snapping shots of the trophy, wrapping up the experience with coffees, teas, and a couple hundred smiles.

We were thrilled just to have the Ryder Cup tournament return to Scotland for just the second time in the event’s 40-year history.  After all, its return has turned heads back to the Home of Golf, and encouraged golfers all over the world to come play golf the way it was originally intended.

But to have the Cup itself actually come to Machrihanish and Campbeltown?  We were simply over the moon.  A special thanks to VisitScotland for making this incredible event a reality.

And remember to enter Mach Dunes Ryder Cup Sweepstakes and choose who you think will win this year’s event.  You could win a Stay & Play for two, and you get a free round of golf JUST FOR ENTERING!  Click here for more information.

Read more about the Ryder Cup Tour here.

Our monthly golf course update from our Head Greenkeeper, Simon Freeman:

The typical Scottish summer has been throwing all kinds of conditions at the Machrihanish Dunes greenkeepers over the last few weeks.  Just when we thought we were heading into a period of mixed weather and strong growth, the hottest week of the year appeared out of nowhere. Then, just when we had the pump going flat out and the whole course covered in irrigation hoses, the heavens opened!  Nobody could ever accuse the weather on the west coast of being boring.

The main focus of our maintenance regime during this period has obviously been cutting grass and trying to present the tidiest, most visually attractive golf course that we can. This means mowing fairways twice a week, constantly controlling thick rough that threatens to strangle the finer species present in our floral infrastructure, and, of course, maintaining greens and tees in order to give golfers the best playing surface we can.  It takes many man hours each week, but we have still found the time to factor in some necessary overseeding and aeration work.

We’ve been focusing on overseeding bentgrass rather than the fescue we were using earlier in the season. Fescue plays an important part in our program as it is extremely drought-tolerant and can be germinated at relatively low temperatures, but it can’t really tolerate the low heights of cut that we have to employ to keep the greens fast enough to be enjoyable to play on. The bentgrass, on the other hand, will only germinate once soil temperatures have become sufficiently raised, so although it integrates well with annual meadow grass to form a good summer sward, it cannot be used effectively in the shoulder months to fill in weak areas. Ideally, a thick carpet containing all three grasses would provide an ideal surface for Machrihanish Dunes, so we will continue to plant both species at different times of the year. The hope is we can bring a percentage of these plants to maturity.

    Left: red fescue seeds; Right: browntop bent seed                                Toro 648 Procore Aerator

Next month, we will begin our main aeration program…I can hear the collective shout of “oh, no!” already – but fear not!  The process will not be nearly as intrusive as you might think.

The relatively juvenile rootzones under the greens at Machrihanish Dunes have not built up a big layer of thatch which might force us to undertake highly intrusive holocoring surgery. We will not be vertidraining the greens (as we do not need to increase airflow or break up pans at those depths), and we will not be removing large amounts of material by coring with 14mm or 21mm tines as many courses blessed with soil-based greens have the necessity to do. We will spike the greens regularly over the next two months with 8mm tines using our Toro Procore, and may occasionally run the same machine with 10mm coring tines, removing a relatively small amount of material which will be replaced not with sand as is so often the case, but with a humus-rich organic product designed to help accelerate the march towards rootzone maturity. This product will encourage soil bacteria to flourish and will also retain moisture during dry periods, helping to reduce the incidences of localised dry spots which currently hamper our efforts to force maximum efficiency from the sandy bases of our greens.

If any of you are out playing and you see us undertaking one of these projects, please feel free to approach us and ask questions- no matter how busy we may appear to be, we will always have the time to explain the process and arm you with the correct information to pass on to others.

We look forward to seeing you out there!

Sincerely,

Simon Freeman
Head Greenkeeper

Our monthly golf course update from our Head Greenkeeper, Simon Freeman:

I have always found it tough to write reviews during the middle of the growing season – after all, who wants to read about us cutting grass! As you know if you’ve been out playing the Dunes recently, this June hasn’t all been about mowing.  Thanks to the recent superb spell of weather, there hasn’t really been much green grass to cut at all. While a prolonged dry spell causes all kinds of headaches for us greenkeepers, it does make it easier to keep green speeds reasonable and control the growth on the fairways, which makes the course far more fun for everybody to play on…which is of course what the game of golf is all about!

Our own Campbeltown Open and Club Championship were contested this past weekend, and we hope that everyone who played in these competitions enjoyed the challenge that we set up for you.

Once we get past the end of this month and into the proper growing season, we will be looking to start overseeding some bentgrass into our greens and also to seed out our new turf nursery, which we have recently constructed near the golf house. We will be attempting to grow some greens quality turf, some tee turf and also experiment with some trial plots, which will be clearly defined and marked. If you are interested in this development and you happen to spot us at the resort, please feel free to come and ask for a guided tour of this new feature.

I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible out on the golf course during July.  Hopefully the weather will be as kind as it has been during June. 

Sincerely,

Simon Freeman
Head Greenkeeper