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Tee To Green March

19th March 2025

Find out the latest from our Greenkeepers in this month's Tee to Green.

The Downs Course

We have carried out a successful maintenance this month which has been very pleasing to see. The weather played its part, which compared to last year’s wash out was nice to see. The GKB machine removed about 7% of the greens thatch using 3mm blade, then replaced it with kiln dried sand. Then we hollow cored using 12mm tines to a depth of 6mm which removed another 4% of the thatch in the greens. Therefore 11% of thatch removal is a good number to have for reducing the problem area in the greens profile. After this the cores were collected and will be distributed around the golf course in bare areas, as part as our substantiality approach to improve the course with materials in house. After this the greens were ironed and then 2 tonnes of sand applied to each green. This was then drag matted in multiple times then swept with our sweep and fill brush to drive the sand into the holes. After this the greens were vibro rolled and blown. We then applied a cold start granular fertiliser and washed this in to aid recovery. We will now be applying sand the next few weeks to fill in any empty holes and improve the surface trueness. After this we will start our bi-weekly sand dustings to keep the greens true.

The 7^th right woodland behind the green tee has had a few large trees removed and canopy raised for playability from the Purple and Orange tees. Also, the forestry department have removed the dangerous tree on the right side of the 13^th hole and have taken down the dead Ash trees on the left side of the 4^th hole. We still need to remove some of the debris left behind, but this had to be done for safety reasons. We will be planting some fruit trees this month to replace some of the ones which have been taken down.

The 5th tee and some walk offs have now been turfed and we will start reducing heights of the grass to bring back into play. We now must hand water these areas as we haven’t had any decent rainfall in the past few weeks. The 18^th bunker has now been repaired as the estates new pipeline is up and running. This has been re-vetted, turfed and now is back in play.

The irrigation system has now been fired up and has thrown up a few leaks. These are currently being repaired, but with a new system being installed next year, hopefully this will be the last season with have to spend so many labour hours dealing with our problematic system.

This month we will also fertilise the tees and aprons and get them growing, now that the soil temperature is on the rise. This should thicken up the sward and increase recovery on the worn tees.

See you on the course.

Rob Dyer, Head Greenkeeper, The Downs Course

The Park Course

Firstly, this month I would like to inform you of some changes to The Agronomy Team this you may not know about.

Simon Berry has now been promoted to Course Manager and will oversee the 3 courses. Simon was Head Greenkeeper of The Park course for 12 years and has been at Goodwood for 20 years. I wish Simon all the best in his new role.

The Park has gone from strength to strength through his leadership and knowledge and now I have big boots to fill following my promotion to Head Greenkeeper. I’m delighted for the opportunity and excited to get stuck in. Danny Carter has also been promoted to Deputy Head Greenkeeper of The Park. Many of you know Danny from the Academy grow in as he was mainly down there during growing process. We both want to continue Simon’s success on The Park and take it to another level with the up-and-coming Masterplan.

That nicely leads into Phase 1 of The Masterplan. With the weather being kind and dry, as well very wet last week of February with both courses closed, we were able to get MJ Abbotts in a week earlier than expected to take advantage of the dry weather. As you may have seen on the course, progress is moving very quickly indeed. As we speak, 4^th bunkers are now getting re-vetted, then the final shaping will take place and then the bunkers will be ready to line and turf before finally putting sand in. The 13^th bunkers are now shaped and awaiting European Designs to put in sand lines. 12^th and 3^rd greenside bunkers will be next on the agenda.

The 4^th teeing area construction is also well under way. The area will be a bit smaller from the original with a planned green tee going in a later date. The plan is to get as many bunkers as possible and the tee done and if they have time to fill in the bunkers on the 3^rd and 12^th fairways. If time runs out, we will do them in house. The trees on the back of 11^th have now gone in. We experienced a delay in the delivery and will experience further delays on some mature Oaks which will be planted next Autumn.

The course has been presenting well and greens have been consistent in speed and trueness. The team have also been helping on The Downs with their greens maintenance this week which was a huge success with the weather being kind as well. The Copse and putting/chipping greens were meant to be having a similar maintenance, but it was decided the greens weren’t ready and will reevaluate again in September when we do The Park. The main putting green is now showing real signs of progress and will be looking to open that back up in April for the start of the season.

Thank you for your patience with the putting green and holes being closed for construction, it will be all worth it soon.

See you on the course.

Scott Peterson, Head Greenkeeper, The Park Course