CAPEL GOLF COURSE MAINTENANCE

Fairway renovations were completed successfully today in time for the competition, my thanks to the contractors Sussex Turf Control and our own staff for for the long hours put in yesterday to ensure we were completed by hit off today. Only some product application is left to complete tomorrow.   Renovations went as smooth as they could go, I am expecting a very good result which will be almost immediate but will take a few weeks for the full benefits to kick in and stand the fairways in good shape for summer. As part of the renovation process  we did apply some post emergent herbicide to the short roughs on the front 9  for various weed control, this will cause the turf to discolour (brown off), this is only a temporary side effect and will soon be back to normal conditions. Further spraying to the back 9 short roughs will take place in December with more or less the same effects.  

A notice to all players to advise The front 9 Fairways will be Cored commencing next Monday the 23rd November. Surface disruption will result during the process and for few weeks after till the core holes completely heal.  It is not expected to impact on competition fields as we hope to be well advanced by Tuesday afternoon and other than the initial coring and cleaning off minimal interference with play should be encountered. However unforeseen circumstances may arise that delay or slow down the work which are out of our control,  should you come to a fairway with workers carrying out their duties, please DO NOT HIT , if playing socially miss the hole and continue on the next, if in Competition wait to be called. Your cooperation in this matter is important for the safety of contractors and staff.  Thank you. This maintenance work is vitally important for the continued high standard our fairways are in and expect the success of last years renovations on the back 9 to be rep

The greens continue their strong recovery from renovations, we have been cutting at 3mm for the last week with double cuts commencing this week .  The greens may still be slightly slower specially for afternoon players as we continue to have very strong growth rates due to the remaining active fertiliser applied for recovery and the optimal cooler temperatures with some humidity also increasing growth rates. At this stage we are not applying any growth regulators to control growth as we still need some recovery occurring but should tamper off over the coming weeks with subsequent improvement in pace. The 9th tee extension will be open soon, a decrease in height of cut and a 3rd sanding to smooth any irregularities will be carried out prior to markers being placed in the area. The 2nd tee is taking longer to attend as it is a low priority task with us only working on the tee when time permits.  Many members would not realise we have been operating at only 75% capacity f