Glen Gorse Greenkeepers

Busy day on the golf course 🌱⛳

A busy one on the greens today, starting with the grooming brush. The brush works ahead of the mower to stand the grass blades back upright, helping to lift any lateral growth and prepare the turf for a cleaner, more consistent cut.

We then cut the greens, following the lines in the opposite direction to help stand the grass up and make sure we were getting a clean, sharp cut without leaving any blades laid over or missed.

Once the cutting was finished, we sprayed the greens with Fiata Boost, TriCure, Terafirm and ThatchZyme.

🌱 Fiata Boost – a microbial biostimulant designed to support stronger roots, stress tolerance and overall turf resilience, particularly useful during periods of heat and drought.

💧 TriCure – a wetting agent helping improve water movement and moisture uniformity through the rootzone, reducing the risk of dry spots.

💦 Terafirm – helps move water down through the profile, encouraging quicker dry-down and firmer playing surfaces.

🌿 ThatchZyme – an enzyme-based treatment helping naturally break down thatch and manage organic matter within the green.

We then flicked the sprinklers on for a light watering, helping move the application into the turf and rootzone while giving the greens a little moisture after a busy day of maintenance.

A lot goes into keeping the greens healthy, consistent and playing at their best. 👌🏽⛳🌱

With the warm temperatures this week, the course is really showing just how dry it has become. The first photo gives a good idea of the conditions we’re working in, with very little natural growth across the course. 🌞🥵

The irrigation system has been working hard to keep the greens and tees healthy and playing well, while we’ve also been hand-watering dry areas on the greens. We’ve been using a wetting agent tablet through the hose and gun to help get the water into those dry spots and make the most of every drop. 💧

With very little growth away from the greens and tees, there hasn’t been much cutting to do, so we’ve been using the time to get stuck into plenty of tidy-up jobs around the course. Hedges around the 4th tee, right of the 9th green and right of the 17th white tee have all been cut back and given a sharp, clean finish. 🌿✂️

Today we’ve also raked all the bunkers, double cut the greens and changed the holes ready for play. 🏌️‍♂️

The dry conditions are certainly testing us, but the team are working hard to keep the important playing areas in good condition while also keeping on top of the wider course. 💪🌱 We’ve also started spreading woodchip around the course, helping to tidy up and improve some of the areas around the trees and paths. 🌳🪵 There’s still plenty more to spread out. Thankyou for the support ⛳️

Entering our 5th heatwave of the year ☀️🌱

With prolonged heat, high evapotranspiration and continued plant stress, turf health is more important than ever.

We’re applying C-Complex 4-3-4 at 25g/m², with the programme split into two applications — 25g/m² now and a further 25g/m² in four weeks, immediately after renovations.

This first application isn’t only about preparing the plant for renovation. It will also improve the playing surface in the here and now, supporting stronger, healthier growth, improved turf density and better overall presentation and performance during what has been an exceptionally demanding summer.

Why prepare for renovation four weeks in advance?

Renovation is essential to the long-term health and performance of our greens, but it is also a stressful process for the grass plant. Rather than waiting until renovation begins, we want to build plant health and resilience during the four weeks leading into the work.

Over time, organic matter accumulates and the soil profile can become compacted, restricting air movement, water infiltration and healthy root development.

Aeration, scarification, topdressing and overseeding allow us to:

* Reduce excess organic matter and thatch
* Relieve compaction
* Improve movement of air and water through the soil profile
* Encourage deeper, stronger rooting
* Create the right environment for new seed establishment
* Maintain firmer, healthier and more consistent putting surfaces

By feeding four weeks before renovation, we’re giving the existing turf time to strengthen and build reserves before we deliberately put it under additional mechanical stress.

The second 25g/m² application immediately following renovation will then support recovery, new growth and establishment as we move towards autumn.

The aim is simple: improve the playing surfaces now, take the healthiest possible turf into renovation, and give it everything it needs to recover strongly afterwards.

🏌️‍♂️ Texas Scramble Open 🏌️‍♀️

Good luck to everyone playing in today’s Texas Scramble Open! 👍 Enjoy the course and have a great game.

This morning’s course setup:
⛳ Greens single cut and rolled
⛳ Collars cut
⛳ Holes changed
⛳ All bunkers raked

Enjoy your game everyone! 👌

Course set up is complete for the Seniors Open. ⛳️

The holes have been changed, all bunkers have been freshly raked, and the greens have been single cut and rolled. Good luck to everyone taking part! 👍

⛳️ The ditch between the 7th and 15th holes has been strimmed and tidied, giving it a smart, clean finish. We’ve also strimmed along the hedge on the 7th, from the tee towards the green, as well as the left-hand hedge on the 16th. A backpack blower was then used to clear away all the debris, leaving the areas looking neat and well presented.

The pond to the right of the 7th green has also had a much-needed tidy-up, helping to improve the overall appearance of the area. ⛳️

⛳️ Ditches ⛳️

The ditches around the course have been smartened up today using the strimmer, Flymo and blower, giving them a clean, tidy and well-defined finish. These small improvements help keep the course looking its best and improve presentation throughout. ⛳

Bunker top-ups are well underway! ⛳️

A handful of bunkers have now been topped up, and we’ll continue working our way around the course over the coming days. A lot of hard work goes into each bunker, pushing the sand off the faces, redistributing it evenly into the base, and adding fresh sand to improve consistency and playability.

We’d also like to remind everyone to please rake bunkers correctly after use. When raking, push the sand away from you rather than pulling it towards you. Pulling the rake towards you gradually moves the sand to one end of the bunker, creating uneven sand depths. Pushing the sand away helps keep it evenly distributed throughout the bunker, providing a fairer playing surface for everyone.

We have also ordered more sand and will continue topping up the remaining bunkers as it arrives.

Thank you for helping us keep the course in the best possible condition. 👍

Course Update ⛳️

Today we’ve been edging all of the bunkers using the strimmer, followed by flymoing around the edges and blowing out any debris to leave them looking clean and tidy. All greenside and fairway bunkers have now been completed, giving the course a smart, well-presented finish.

We’ve also started topping up selected bunkers with fresh sand. This is a gradual process and will take some time, but we’ll be working hard to complete as many as possible and continue improving the quality and consistency of our bunkers.

We hope you enjoy the improvements, and thank you for your patience while we carry out these ongoing works.

The greens have also been single cut today. We’re irrigating overnight and hand watering dry areas during the day to keep them in top condition.

Course Update 🌿⛳

Today we sprayed the greens with a selected tank mix to improve overall turf health and playing quality.

The application included:

* Fiata Boost – to support healthy growth and improve nutrient uptake.
* Thatch-Zyme – helps break down organic matter and reduce thatch build-up.
* Ascoflex Plus – a seaweed-based biostimulant to help the plant cope with stress and promote stronger, healthier turf.
* TriCure – a penetrant wetting agent that improves water movement into the soil for more even moisture levels.
* Terrafirm – helps firm up the playing surface while encouraging better water infiltration.

The greens were not cut today to allow the products to be absorbed as effectively as possible. Once the spray application was complete, each green was irrigated for 4 minutes on each side (8 minutes per green) to wash the products into the rootzone where they can provide the greatest benefit.

These applications are all part of our ongoing maintenance programme to keep the greens healthy, resilient, and performing at their best throughout the season. 🌱⛳