Snooker Room Complete!

At long last the snooker room is complete! I'm sure those that use the room will appreciate how much different it looks. Big thanks go out to all the lads who have treated this job as professionals especially to Andy who has ordered us muppets about that didnt know one end of a paint brush from another before we started! Well done Andy! He is available for 'foreigners' if anyone wants any decorating doing at their house, please contact me through here or at the golf club to arrange. I only take 10% Andy!! 

For the next couple of days we will be concentrating on the course to get it prepared for the weekend.

Regards

Leigh

Course Open!

After nearly 2 weeks the golf course is fully open again! I think the rain early on last night has helped to melt all the snow, and the gale force winds afterwards have helped to dry it out. I must say, its not looking too bad out there, with no signs of disease on any greens!

Enjoy 

We're getting there!

There's a good 90% of the snow gone from the front 12 holes. However there is a lot of ice about, which is the main reason the course will remain closed today I'm afraid. On the plus side, the greens look very well considering they have been covered in snow for about 2 weeks. There is a worry that disease can form underneath the snow  because of the microclimate it creates. From what I can see I'm pleased to say that this isn't the case. This is because the greens were nice and healthy before the snow fall. Once all the snow and ice has gone, I shall have a good look around for the start of any disease and spray it where necessary. The temperature is predicted to get upto around 12 degrees by tomorrow, so, depending on the amount of rain we have, I am hopeful in getting at least the front 12 holes open, albeit on temporary greens.

Well, i did say there could be some flooding!! This is what you call rapid thawing at it best! Obviously the course is still closed and probably will remain closed for the next few days yet just to let the water drain off. Tomorrow we will be out with the pump pumping off the usual greens that hold water. Oh well, at least we can see grass again!

Course Update

Believe it or not there is still a golf course out there somewhere!! Seriously though, there is still a good 3inches of snow which covers pretty much 100% of the golf course. More heavy snow is predicted for later on today, however there is some hope on the horizon! This snow is predicted to turn into rain over the weekend with temperatures getting up to the dizzy heights of 8 degrees by Tuesday! Please bare in mind, that as the snow thaws this will leave the course soaking wet and could possibly leave some flooding in areas. So we're not out of the woods just yet! I just hope we can get the course (or at least a few holes) open by mid-week next week. One thing I can assure you though, is we will try our best to get it open! 

The snooker room is coming on leaps and bounds with just one more coat of Matt paint to go onto the underside of the dado rail, and then its onto the fiddly gloss work to finish it off. We are well on course for my prediction of a week to complete. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to leave a comment.

Leigh

The snooker room is going well!

The snooker room is progressing well. All the papering is done. The ceiling has been painted twice and all the cutting in on the walls has been done. 2 coats of paint will be going on all walls tomorrow. Then on Monday its just a small case of sanding down and glossing all the wood work! Please note the snooker room will be closed from 7-2 weekdays. However we'll try to get the 2 tables open for the weekend.
Leigh

Greenstaff Facilities Complete!

As Promised here are some pictures of our re-furbished facilities. I now wish I had taken some pictures of before we started, so I could compare. But for those of you had the mis-pleasure of seeing inside before hand I'm sure you will agree its much improved! This is the benefit of having an ex-painter and decorator (Andy Rafferty) on our multi skilled team!!
Work to the snooker room has now started with Andy leading the way and telling us 3 muppets he calls labourers what to do. Its a nice warm and dry job, that should take around a week to complete. So please bare in mind the Snooker Room will be closed between the hours of 7-2. I'll pop some pictures of the progress on later. This time i'll make sure I get before, and after pictures!! After we have finished the snooker room, we will be moving onto our machinery shed. Where we need to have a good tidy up,  and a service of the rest of our machines. This will hopefully stand us in good stead for the season to come!
Leigh

Work In The Snooker Room Begins Soon!

You might be wondering what us greenkeepers get upto in weather like this?  As you can imagine with around 6inches of snow all over the course its difficult to work out there. But this does give us a much needed chance to sort out our facilities and office. Over the past week we have undertaken a complete re-decoration of the green staff facilities which has included putting a new ceiling into one of the rooms. (pictures to follow) Over the next couple of weeks we will be using our unique skills (ahem) to tackle the snooker room. This will consist of a complete re-paint, and after a full sand down and seal of the bar wall, paper will be hung. After this we will be finishing off our winter servicing of the machinery, which will hopefully stand us in good stead for the season ahead! Onwards and upwards!

Flooding at 12th Green

You may be wondering why we have left an exposed drain pipe at the back of the green. Its been exposed, and G.U.R for a while now.
Earlier on in the year, we were struggling (day by day) to keep the 12th green from flooding. This was because the water could not get down to the drainpipe through the turf quick enough. So we exposed the pipe and now we dont have this problem. This will be backfilled and seeded before the season starts.

Flooding On The 12th

No no no!! We haven't created a new lake without informing the committee!!! All this water on the fairway is down to the disruption we caused by trying to drain the right hand side of the rough out into a ditch to create room for a ladies toilet. This and the unusual amount of rain we've had has resulted in the beginning of the fairway being flooded.
We HAVE to leave the right hand side (in the deep rough) to drain down naturally. Believe it or not, there are drains in there, this water just has to wait its turn to go down it! Its not until then, that we can start to pump the fairway out over the mound, and into the drain. To combat this, we need to try and contain the water into the right hand side by building a mound of soil. Then, for the start of the season the right hand side will be RED STAKED and deemed a lateral water hazard using rule 26.
Leigh