Ragwort control

The annual ragwort pull is underway, we aim to remove it before the seed is set.  After many years of sustained effort there is far less ragwort on the course but it still takes a few days to remove most of it.

Danny and Shane pulling ragwort on the river course

Drone photos

Craig has  been using his drone to take some great aerial photos and video of the course.  Here are a few examples and a link  https://youtu.be/JthA-Oy7KUE   to a short video.

4th Green

12th Green

17th Green

Craig and drone (Craig is the one on the right!)

Adder rescue

We found an adder on the river course this morning, tangled in some nylon netting.  Extricating it was quite a challenge as the adder was uncooperative but it was soon on its way. 

The adder - in a bit of bother

Removing the netting

Back in business

Weather summary for June

 June was a dry month but with temperatures very close to average.  The total rainfall was only 16.2mm and 8.2mm of that fell in one day (actually about 10 minutes!) on the 5th.  There are only three drier Junes in our records, the driest of which was 1996 with 6.8mm. Our long term average for June rainfall is 44.5mm.  The average temperature was 15.1° which is close to normal, and the high and low temperatures were also very close to the long term average.  The highest temperature recorded was 25.2° on the 17th and the lowest 6.8° on the 1st.

Although there have been forecasts of very high temperatures in the south east of England we rarely see these extremes here on the coast.  Since we first got a weather station in 2000 we've never recorded a temperature over 30°.  We've got close, with highest being 29.8° in July 2006, the highest June temperature we've had is 27.3°

Just as the temperatures have picked up enough for strong grass growth we're into a drought, so the irrigation system is running at full capacity.   The system runs from 10pm through to around 7am at full tilt but hand watering is still essential to reach areas not covered by the automatic system and to top up high and dry spots

Andrew Scott hand watering high spots in the green surrounds

Pop up sprinklers in action on the 10th green

Wild Flower Walk

Last week we had a wild flower walk led by Susan Stone of the Suffolk Wildlife Trust.  The dry acid grassland at Aldeburgh Golf Club supports a large number of wild flowers, many of them tiny and quite difficult to spot.  Susan has a sharp eye for these plants and often we would discover many species within a few metres.  We were given an insight into the adaptations that enable these plants to survive in the harsh heathland environment.

It's worth noting that the management work we do to create the whispy rough that provides a golfing challenge without large numbers of lost balls, also promotes the establishment of many wild flower species.

Many thanks to Susan for a very enjoyable and informative afternoon.

English Stonecrop

Bladder Campion

River course update

The reconstructed 3rd hole on the river course was opened for play today, a year and a half after the first tidal surge.  We've suffered a few setbacks during the construction process, not least the second tidal surge the night after we finished turfing!  Many of the pines in the block right of the fairway have been completely killed by the salt water but others, including the one next to the fairway are showing signs of recovery.

The first golfers to play the new 3rd green

A reminder of what it looked like in December 2013

Weather summary for May

A very average May about sums it up.  The average temperature was 11.9° which is bang on the long term average for May, with a maximum of  23.1° on the 11th and a minimum of 2.6° on the 2nd.  The highest temperature for May was lower than the 23.9° we recorded on the 15th of April!  Rainfall was also very close to average with 44.6mm.  Grass growth is still slow but it's picking up.

Grass snake on the 6th green

A grass snake was spotted on the 6th green yesterday and adders are still being seen fairly regularly. The first Turtle doves of the summer have been heard and there are at least six singing male Nightingales present on the course.  The pair of Woodlark nesting right of the 11th fairway have successfully fledged young.  The warmer weather has brought out a few butterflies and Orange tip, Speckled  wood, Peacock, Small heath and Small copper were on the wing yesterday.

Weather summary for April

The dry spring continued with only 13.4mm of rain during April compared to the 36.4 average.  The temperature was slightly lower than average but as for March it felt even cooler because on most days there was significant wind chill.  The average temperature was 8.7°, more than 2° lower than last year, with a minimum of 1.8° on the 7th and a maximum of 23.9° on the 15th.  This is the highest maximum temperature we have recorded during April, the previous highest was 22.7° in 2011.  Over the last couple of weeks we have had several ground frosts including one this morning (1st May).  In terms of grass growth we're still about  five weeks behind 2014 but ahead of 2013.

Arthur Whiting

Arthur Whiting retires next week after 18 years working on the greenkeeping team.  There was a presentation in the clubhouse today to mark his retirement and many members gathered to thank him for his years of excellent service to the club.

Arthur is the sort of person that every manager wants on their team - always willing, quietly getting on with his work and getting on well with the rest of the team.

We all wish him a very happy retirement.

Arthur with his wife Monica at the presentation today flanked by the captain,  Mike Jones and Mark Broughton