Gorse management programme. The area between the 1st and 18th holes is showing good signs of re-growth as seen in the pictures. I have marked off small individual areas where the gorse will be left to re generate. The small areas are marked with yellow flags and will be easier to manage in the future. The areas in between the gorse will be treated with the gramicide to remove the Yorkshire fog grass.

Verti draining greens. We have been out with 19mm tines going over the wet spots on some of the greens. These holes are 9 inches deep and will take water away from the surface during heavy rain. We have done all of the putting green and the 16th green and approach which still retain too much moisture in the old root zone. We have done some small areas on their greens where water sits during wet weather.

Short game area bunkers have been revetted. We have made them shallower and easier to get in and out of. These bunkers get a lot of use in the playing season and sand splash is a major problem. We have removed a lot of this from the top of the bunker face which has reduced the overall height of the bunker.

Hand mowing greens this morning. It's the middle of December and we are still getting a bit of growth on all fine turf areas. We cut this morning at 5mm just to top off the leggy growth and give the surface a roll. Most areas will be trimmed in the next ten days to ensure the course is well presented at all times.

New yellow/ red tee at the 13th hole. This is one of the new forward tees that are being put in to shorten the yellow and red courses.

Work has begun digging the foundations for the new machinery store at links farm.

Work being done on the hollows to the right of the 3rd green. After recent construction these hollows have settled and are now proving difficult to cut and maintain. We have stripped the turf and will up fill the low areas with new root zone. This will smooth out the contours and make maintenance easier. We have added around 12inches to the bottom of the hollows to re contour them.

Mini hollow tining work on the 15th and 18 greens. These are small diameter tines that remove small cores. This has been done to remove a small quantity of organic matter from the turf surface. After a roll with the turf iron there is minimal disturbance to the putting surface.

Hollow tining work being carried out on greens 2,3,4,12 to remove some organic matter from the turf surface. As these greens were lifted and re-laid last year we have not done as much aeration work to them over the past two years. A Humic acid product will be applied into the holes which will give some added nutrient to the sandy root zone. The core diameter was 16mm which has removed a lot of material from the surface.

Newly reverted bunker on right of 16th fairway. The angle of the face has been softened and a small set of steps will be put in to make access easier

Air 2 g 2 machine working on the putting green. This machine penetrates the ground to 11 inches and the shatters the underlying hard pan using compressed air. The tines have a series of holes for the air to be released. This will create several fissures in the soil that will allow for better drainage and also supply the roots with some much needed oxygen. The beauty of this machine is there is very little disturbance to the surface. A single roll with the turf iron returns the surface to normal.

The fairways are now being verti drained with 19mm tines. These are set to go down ten inches and will carry the sand dressing into the holes. The remaining sand will be drag matted into the holes.

Sand dressing fairways prior to verti draining. This will maintain firm dry playing conditions and will encourage the finer grasses to thrive.

Sand dressing being applied to greens and approaches prior to vertidrain work.

Links farm refurbishment. New insulation and sheeting fitted

Bunker revetment work at 12th hole on championship course

Bunker revetment work at 6th hole on silver burn

First frost of the Autumn on the 3rd green.

Bunker work at 16th hole.

Rough treatment

Shed renovations

Miserable day on the links

Another poor day at balgownie links with heavy rain all day. 5th green showing signs of old age. Time to get the verti drain out.