Auchterader Golf Club

Golf Course Update - in order to keep members fully updated of developments on the golf course, we will be distributing a course update following every Committee Meeting.

Course Update - OCTOBER 2025

With only a month or so since the last report most maintenance practices have remained the same but things are slowly turning and as always, the autumn period has resulted in a lot more blowing and tidying etc.
We will continue on the same path until growth slows right down but have already started some of our winter project work and these works will be summarised further on. A quick look at the rainfall figures shows we had above average rainfall for the month of September with 82mm although this fell in bursts rather than a long sustained wet period.
October has been reasonably dry except from storm Amy which was responsible for 30mm of Octobers total so far. Underfoot conditions have been good for the time of year and playing conditions remain favourable.

         Greens/Collars

• Daily mowing height increased to 4mm with triple mower

• Collars mowed @ 6.5mm with pedestrian mower

• Rolling with tru-turf roller as and when required

• Spraying has continued on our summer program with seaweed, liquid fertiliser, plant growth regulator, wetting agents and some bio stimulants according to plan. This will shortly switch to a winter defence program

• Fungicide sprayed as and when required

• Aeriation work bi-weekly with PlanetAir machine

• Verti-cutting bi-weekly at -1mm. Frequency will reduce as growth slows

• Regular light dressings of sand after each verti-cut (approx. 7 tonnes each time)

• Regular dew removal to reduce disease pressure

• Regular green speed checks stimping consistently above 10 for general play right up until the last medal

• Heights raised gradually as conditions dictate. Height currently @ 4mm and will go up again and mowing regularity will drop

• Greens/collars will receive a solid tine in the coming weeks to allow air into the profile and aid drainage

• Topdressing will also be applied when conditions allow

• We will move from mowing with triple mower to walk mowing to reduce wheel marking in softer conditions

• A fetiliser application is due in coming weeks with a 3-0-14 fertiliser to keep us strong going into the winter months and a gypsum application will also be put down which will help aid water infiltration and firmer surfaces

          Approaches 

•  Regular mowing @ 8mm with triple mower

• Tees due to be aerated with 19mm solid tines

• Tees will be fertilised in the coming days with a 3-0-14 fertiliser to strengthen over the winter period

• Approaches sprayed late August with nitrogen, iron, and liquid fertiliser

• Tees also sprayed with nitrogen, iron, seaweed, liquid fertiliser

• Topdressing applications on both areas

• Tees divoted daily to aid recovery

• Mowing regularity reduced as growth slows for winter period

  Fairways, Intermediate & Semi-Rough

• Fairways mowed 2 twice weekly @ 11mm

• Intermediate mowed twice weekly @ 19mm

• Semi-rough mowed once per week @ 2-inch height of cut

• Fairways/intermediate due one more spray to help keep moss content down over winter

• Several wetter areas spiked with 19mm tines @ 8-inch depth and slit tined as and when time allows

• A contractor will be in over the winter period to spike all fairways with larger tines at deeper depth

• Grass and debris blown as required with tractor mounted blower

• As with all areas mowing regularity recently reduced and will be done as and when conditions require and allow

  Bunkers & Paths

• Bunkers raked daily with different rakes according to conditions

• Flymo and strimming work carried out regularly to maintain appearance

• Washouts repaired as required

• Some of the busier bunkers recently had more sand added to increase levels

• Paths have been weeded regularly and work carried out to 7, 8 & 12 to fill low areas and potholes. Weeding ongoing

• Winter bunker rule now in-play. With our time on setup restricted with winter works bunkers will no longer be raked daily but this rule allows players to rake before playing their shot

  Winter Works

  A summary of some of the main winter project works that will be carried out this year:

• Winter greens will be marked out imminently and some work carried out to make them as good as possible for when the weather changes

• Work already started on a wet area at the rear right-hand side of hole 8. Drains will be added along with contours changed to improve this problematic wet area

• Drains will be added to the front part of the 7th green/approach similar to the work carried out on greens 1 & 3 in previous years. We will also investigate a current blocked drain and reinstate this at the same time

• A major bunker renovation will be carried out on the greenside bunker @ hole 10 (sleeper bunker). This will consist of the removal of the sleepers and turning the bunker to run across more of the right-hand side of the green with a good percentage of the front of the current bunker filled in. The edge of the green will be lifted and dropped to remove the lip/hollow then re-laid to allow for a shallower bunker. Adequate drainage will be added along the way as required

• A number of other smaller drainage problems on various areas of the course will be investigated and work carried out to rectify these

• Work will be carried out on several astroturf paths/steps to remove slip hazards

• Some bunkers that have deteriorated over time will have the faces stripped, reshaped and returfed

• We will continue with the rough management program and work will start soon to cut and collect the most popular areas!

• Blaize path work will be carried out as required and discussions are currently ongoing to change the material of the path from the clubhouse to the 1st tee, 18th green and carpark

• Gorse and tree work to remove low hanging branches will be ongoing when time permits throughout the winter period

• All course furniture will be assessed and refurbished or renewed if required

  Miscellaneous

  Storm Amy caused a little bit of damage with a few trees down, most noticeably the one beside the ladies’ 6th tee. We also had several big branches down and a lot of debris. The bulk of this has been cut up and removed to clear playing areas and the remainder will be carried out over the next few weeks.

  Lindsay Stewart has joined us full time and enrolled on a HNC in golf course management course which will then lead onto a HND course. Lindsay has been with us part time for several years now as one of our weekend/holiday boys and it’s great to have him with us full time now. We are all looking forward to helping and watching him develop over the coming years and he will continue to be a vital part of the team.

  To wrap up, the course continues to look and play well and hopefully the weather stays favourable for a while longer. The playing conditions that have received very positive feedback from all who have played this season, both members and visitors, is testament to the work the whole team have shown great pride in producing and I can’t thank them enough. The consistency of the product they are producing is remarkable and isn’t going unnoticed both locally and further afield

         Shaun McNaughton