Scoonie Golf Course Information

There has been a granular fertiliser added to the greens. This fertiliser will help with recovery from any wear caused during the dry periods and also improve the colour.
It’s currently being watered in.

July Update

Jeez, I lost track of time and it’s the 6th of August already!

July was a month that saw the course start to change colour and play much more like a links course. The ground became very hard, and there was next to no rain for most of the month. We went 28 days with only 5mm of rain, with temperatures on some days reaching the mid-20s. Then, in the last three days of July, we finally got the rain we’d been missing all month. Around 35mm fell in just over two days, which unfortunately washed out the bunkers and meant they all needed repairing.

Overall, July was mainly a general maintenance month. With only three members of staff, one of us was almost full-time going around with hoses and sprinklers to keep on top of the greens that were drying out.

Each morning we watered all the greens, and after our break we focused on the driest areas that needed extra attention. That left the other two of us to keep on top of cutting the course, whether it was the fairways, rough, tees, approaches or greens.

The bunkers were also strimmed and weeded, along with the shin rails, yardage markers, posts and several tee signs.

Looking ahead, August will see a visit from Robert Patterson, who will carry out the annual testing of our greens. We’ll hopefully be able to share the results here once we receive them.

Scoonie Golf Course Update – June

June has been a busy month on the course.

At the start of the month, we took the ProCore out to solid-tine the greens. This relieves some of the compaction caused by heavy footfall while allowing air and water to pe*****te the surface more effectively. This work is essential throughout the season and causes minimal disruption. It also gave us a great opportunity to try out our new Toro greens roller.

Speaking of new machines, we also welcomed our brand-new Jacobsen rough mower. It had a few teething problems throughout the month, but now that it’s up and running, it’s proving to be a great addition to the fleet.

This month saw just over 75mm of rainfall. In the first four days of June, we had the same amount of rain as we received during the whole of the previous month. It then stayed relatively dry for most of June until last Friday, when the weather turned biblical with heavy rain and thunderstorms.

On the course, we’ve been concentrating on some of the poorer areas, particularly the approaches, where we’ve been carrying out soiling and overseeding. Some of the par 3 tees have also been divoted to help improve the playing surfaces.

All of the tee signs, distance markers, tree bases and shin rails have been strimmed and blown clean. W**d killer has also been applied around tree bases and other problem areas to keep everything looking tidy.

Our new tractor mounted blower has also been put to work, and what a difference it makes. It’s been fantastic for clearing grass clippings after cutting on dewy mornings or in wet conditions, leaving a much cleaner finish.

Finally, we’re delighted to have been ranked 91st in the UK & Ireland for the best golf courses £40 and under. It’s great recognition for all the hard work that goes into maintaining the course, but we’re not stopping there. With a bit more hard work, hopefully we can climb even higher up the rankings. 💪🏽

Scoonie Update

Going forward, the greenkeeping staff will be providing monthly updates on this page about all things Scoonie. These updates will give golfers an insight into the work being carried out around the course and the reasons behind it.

May has seen the course start to take shape again, with a clear definition now visible between the fairways, rough and greens. The greens have been verticut, which removes thatch and excess lateral growth. We then applied a fertiliser and have seen a very positive response over the last week.

New ball washers have been fitted to the bins that arrived at the start of the year, and these will be topped up regularly. Divot bins have also been added to all par 3s, along with broken tee holders.

On that note, there are still a lot of broken tees being left on the tee boxes. Please use the broken tee holders where possible. If one isn’t available, please throw broken tees into the semi-rough. Once our new machinery arrives, debris such as broken tees can easily damage or knock a cutting unit out of alignment.

We were delighted last week with the arrival of our new fairway mower and greens roller. The fairway mower has already been put to work and is looking the part. Hopefully the rest of the new machinery isn’t too far behind. 🤞

We’ve recorded 33mm of rain during May, which isn’t a great deal all things considered. As a result, we’ve had to carry out a fair amount of manual watering alongside our regular daily tasks.

Disappointed

Hi all I was out playing the medal tonight and noticed ppl have been putting there ci******es out on the top of the new bin these bins are plastic 😢
As a smoker myself there is no reason to be doing this the members and the trust have paid £4000 for these bins to make the course look a bit better and to keep the course tidy.
If anyone sees anyone doing this could they please let the club know as action will be taken against these halfwits.