19/06/2026
Hi Folks, an update and pictures detailing some of the recent work on the golf course.
Firstly, what happened to the summer? We’ve now seen 22 consecutive days with some rainfall at Callander. As I write this this (Friday 19th) the course is closed after enduring 31mm in the last few hours and it’s still raining! Last week we totalled 62mm and the previous week, 54mm. Relentless rainfall. The long term forecast isn’t looking too bright either but hopefully things settle down soon.
With this constant rainfall we have been regularly star slitting the greens, at least once a week. This practice helps water pass through the profile which is imperative during these wet spells. This causes very little disruption to the putting surface and playability.
Prior to this poor spell of weather we took the opportunity to carry out some renovation work on the 6th green. This green was particularly thin in areas where the moss content was high. We firstly solid-tined with half inch tines, over-seeded with a fescue mix, top dressed with sand then dragged the green. Finally a granular fertiliser was applied to aid the seedlings and the general recovery. The green has come on well in recent weeks and is much improved despite the poor weather. Likewise with the rest of the greens, there’s been a gradual and significant improvement in grass coverage and in turn, playability and appearance.
In between the standard maintenance we have been carrying out some strimming and Flymo work on some of the ditches, making the hazards clearer and a lot more presentable.
It’s a similar story with the paths as we work our way around them when we have a chance.
The various seeded G.U.R areas have recovered well and are now back in play. Some of these areas have been particularly stubborn to get grass growing in, which is probably why they’ve been bare for the past few seasons. There are small areas around the 4th green which are still receiving attention but the improvements are clear to see and this will continue.
And finally, I’m sure everyone who has played this season would have noticed the semi-rough was a bit….long. For the entirety of this season our own rough cutter has been out of action with a plethora of faults, it’s a long story. We are happy to announce after carful consideration we recently purchased a new mower. It was important to source the right machine for our site given the significant undulations we have. We will be taking delivery of our new mower soon and are looking forward to seeing it in action. In the meantime we have been keeping on top of the thicker areas with a borrowed mower from Duncan our local mechanic. Using this and strimming by our volunteers has helped massively so a big thanks to everyone, great community spirit.
We currently have a loan of another rough mower from the dealership and in the last week all of the semi-rough has now been cut. We appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding regarding this.
Thanks.⛳️
