Important Course News
Golfers and regular visitors to the Royal Golf Club may have noticed that the grass on both the Montgomerie championship course and the Wee Monty academy course has become dry and brown in places over the past few weeks. This has been due to the fact that our RO (reverse osmosis) plant has not been fully functioning for some time and we have therefore had to irrigate the courses with highly saline water taken directly from an underground well.
While our particular turf, Paspalum, has a high tolerance to salt, it can only withstand large quantities for a limited time before becoming adversely affected.
We are pleased to share with you that our RO plant is now operating at 75% capacity and is expected to be fully functioning by the middle of July. The saline levels of the water in our irrigation lake have already dropped by 60% in the past few days and will continue to drop quickly on a daily basis now that desalinated water from the RO plant is being pumped into the lake.
Our valued members and guests will start noticing a distinct improvement in the quality and colour of the turf within a matter of weeks and by the end of July both courses will be back to the superb condition they were in during April and May.
Thank you for your patience and understanding in this matter.
Course Renovation Programme
In an effort to continually improve playing conditions at the Royal Golf Club we will be carrying out our second biannual golf course renovation this summer. Renovation of the golf course will include coring (punching ½ inch holes into the ground) and scarifying (removing thatch) followed by sand topdressing.
To minimise disruption to golfers we will renovate the Wee Monty academy course in mid July, allowing this course to recover before carrying out full renovation on the Montgomerie championship course in early August.
Purpose of renovation:
Coring and scarifying our course is scheduled during peak growth in the summer to allow for fast recovery. We have scheduled renovation in August this year to allow for recovery before our busiest months (October and November). Coring is completed to remove thatch (old decaying plant material) and to de-compact the surface allowing oxygen and nutrients to replenish the root zone. Coring also draws sand back onto the surface which we combine with additional topdressing sand and rub back into the surface. This helps improve surface smoothness and playability. Finally, renovation allows us to promote plant heath, preventing disease and maintaining ideal growing conditions helping us provide you with an unrivalled golfing experience!
Work Schedule:
Wee Monty course 20th – 21st July
Montgomerie course 8th – 11th August
Recovery:
As we are moving into our peak growth period (August/September), recovery from the renovation will be rapid. We anticipate recovery will take approximately two weeks allowing us a further two weeks to prepare the courses prior to October play.
