30/09/2026
September Course Update
September gave us the full west‑of‑Scotland treatment — wet, unpredictable, and a proper welcome to autumn. Despite the conditions, the team completed the planned maintenance week and kept the course moving in the right direction.
Greens Maintenance
We hollow‑cored the greens to 100 mm to remove thatch and improve long‑term surface performance. After coring, we applied:
30 tonnes of sand
20 g/m² ryegrass seed
Seed is already visible in the core holes, and the ryegrass will help protect the finer grasses through the winter months.
Verti‑Draining and Fairways
We brought an older verti‑drain — over 30 years old — back into service. It’s larger than our newer model, which makes it ideal for fairway work. It’s slow progress (around one full day per hole) but it’s steadily improving aeration and drainage across the course.
Approaches
Approaches have been spiked to 150 mm, with completion expected by the weekend. This will support winter drainage and help maintain firmer surfaces.
Topdressing applied this week:
Greens: 10 tonnes — 64 tonnes year‑to‑date
Approaches: 10 tonnes — 28 tonnes year‑to‑date
General Course Work
Regular cutting has continued across all areas:
Greens: 4.5 mm
Tees: 12 mm
Approaches: 10 mm
Fairways: 15 mm
Semi‑rough: 50 mm
Rough: 50 mm
We’ve lifted many mower heights heading into autumn to protect the turf through wetter, colder conditions. Greens will run slightly slower as a result. Bunker maintenance has also continued.
Drainage Investigations
We carried out test digging around selected drains and completed ditch clearing to assess what work may be required over winter. These findings will help shape our drainage priorities for the coming months.
