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 - SEPTEMBER 2026

A follow on from July’s report most weekly maintenance work has remained very similar with the greens coring work being the exception. We also extended our coring work this year to include the 7th and 11th fairways along with all the tees. Going into the autumn period we will remain on a similar path but with more of our time required for leaf and debris clearing.
In the previous report we were midway through July with just 5mm of rain and the dry spell continued. We ended the month with a total of 23mm of rain with 16mm of this in the last 3 days of the month. The total of 23mm was the lowest we have on record for the month of July. Along with the dry weather we had daily temperatures regularly above 20°C. Later in August the weather turned a little with some heavy rain days and the rainfall figures returning more like our averages. This has carried on into September with temperatures starting to drop also. September’s rain so far is 24mm so far (written on the 10th).

Greens

• Daily mowing currently @ 3.75mm with triple mower. Height altered regularly to suit conditions.
• Regular rolling with tru-turf roller.
• Spraying continues on summer program with seaweed, liquid fertiliser, plant growth regulator, wetting agents and some bio stimulants according to plan.
• Fungicide sprayed as and when required.
• All greens hollow cored with 12mm tines (26th/27th July).
• Heavy sand dressings applied post coring work (approx. 70 tonne).
• 16-3-6 fertiliser applied after coring work to aid recovery.
• Aeration with PlanetAir machine every second Monday.
• Verti-cutting every 2 weeks @ -1mm alternating weeks with the PlanetAir work.
• Regular light dressings of sand after each verti-cut (approx. 6-7 tonnes each time) Yearly total approx. 118 tonnes.
• Regular green speed checks are back stimping consistently above 10 for general play, this dropped post coring works due to the fertiliser application and the slight increase in mowing height.
• We have been battling an aggressive disease called anthracnose on the greens throughout this season which has altered our maintenance programs slightly. Height of cut raised and laying off with some verti-cutting and Planetair work in order to reduce stress along with the correct spray formulations have helped us reduce the impact and aid with recovery as quickly as possible. To most golfers this probably hasn’t been too noticeable but if it’s not dealt with correctly, it can have devastating effects on the greens.

Again, as in previous years, carrying out the greens coring work at the end of July has proved a huge success. With favourable weather conditions resulting in a drier surface, we manage to get a lot more sand worked into the hollow core holes resulting in a much sandier profile, which is becoming more noticeable year on year. This has allowed us to achieve firmer, smoother and faster putting surfaces all while aiding drainage properties. It also aids recovery much quicker and with all the sand combined with a granular fertiliser application the greens return to a high standard in approximately 2 weeks. It’s hard to stress how grateful we are to carry out this work when we do and it is a credit to the club and members for their understanding of the brief spell of disruption it can cause, the trade-off being a high standard of playing surface for longer as we head towards the autumn and winter months.

To finish on the coring work, it wouldn’t be possible to carry it all out in one day without the aid of the volunteers who have done a remarkable job. We had a core group of familiar faces, and it was great to see some new faces this year also. I think in total we had close to 20 volunteers over the course of the day, and we are very grateful to each and every one for their contribution and the help is hugely appreciated by all of the green staff.

Tees, Approaches & Collars

• Tees and approaches regular mowing @ 8mm with triple mower.
• Collars regular mowing @ 7mm with pedestrian mower.
• Collars have been receiving the same maintenance processes and spray applications as the greens.
• All collars were hollow cored along with the greens.
• 16-3-6 fertiliser applied to all area. Gypsum applied to help aid drainage properties
• Approaches sprayed with nitrogen, iron, seaweed, liquid fertiliser and a PGR
• Tees sprayed with nitrogen, iron, seaweed, liquid fertiliser, PGR and wetting agent.
• Tees divoted daily to aid recovery.
• Both tees and approaches are due to be aerated/scarified while growth is still strong.
• All tees were hollow-cored with larger 16mm tines and topdressing applied.
• A few selected approaches were also cored with 16mm tines.

Fairways, Intermediate & Semi-Rough

• Fairway mowing carried out twice weekly @11mm height of cut.
• Intermediate mowing also twice weekly @ 19mm.
• Semi-rough mowing carried out once per week.
• Fairways and Intermediate have both had another spray with urea, ferrous sulphate, ammonium sulphate and a PGR and another application this week minus the PGR.
• All areas blown regularly over the period to remove leaves, debris and excess grass.
• The fairways at the 7th and 11th were hollow cored with 16mm tines and a heavy dressing of sand applied to help with the ongoing drainage issues.
• Granular fertiliser applied to aid recovery on these fairways after coring and gypsum also applied.
• Extra work will continue on these fairways with extensive work planned for the winter period.

Bunkers & Paths

• Bunkers raked daily with spring rakes.
• Bunker sand levels checked and sand added as required. All bunkers were done but checking levels is always ongoing.
• Bunker banks fly mowed and strimmed every second week.
• Paths have been blown and tidied regularly.
• All main areas have been weeded, and this will continue as time allows.
• Potholes and washouts fixed and blaize added to some areas, again, this is ongoing.
• The new tarmac path at the first has proved popular with both golfers and green staff making maintenance a little easier. Some tie in work around the edges will be carried out in the winter program.

Miscellaneous

• The Irrigation system has again been utilised to great affect particularly through the very warm temperatures we had during July and August and also aided us in the recovery process after coring.
• The next update should provide more info on our winter work plans; these are currently being discussed and finalised.
• Thanks must go to Fergus Ledger who has been a part of the team for the last 4 years, mainly carrying out weekend work, as he heads off to University. Fergus has been a huge help and carried out extra work over the last couple of months through the busy summer period and his contribution will be missed greatly. We wish him well with his university studies.

The course has continued to perform well with the various weather patterns over the reported period, with all surfaces remaining of very good standard. We have had excellent recovery from the coring works and with the correct management of disease pressure we are in good shape. As mentioned above a lot of our time in the coming weeks will be spent clearing leaves/needles and debris on top of our regular maintenance practices before we move our focus to our winter improvement program.

As mentioned in previous reports we have continued to have a number of instances where divots and scuff marks have been taken out of some of the greens and now some green surrounds, usually occurring during evening play. As everyone is aware this is totally unacceptable and would appreciate if anyone who witnesses this could report it back to the club.

To end, all staff including our weekend boys have worked hard through a tough summer period to produce the best product possible. We hope everyone has enjoyed the conditions as we keep pushing to have a strong end to the medal season.

Beelow are some pics with the first one taken just 13 days after the hollow coring to show recovery.