CEGC Greens

19/09/2026

One month since the last post and some much needed rainfall has helped colour up the course from the brown tinged one we experienced this summer!

I'm going to keep this update short as last month's went on and on!!!🤣

Greens have been in great condition, the sward is dense, speeds are good (between 9.5 and 10.5) disease has been kept to a minimum and managed when appeared.

Seeding and plugging of droughted patches around the tree lined patches of greens has continued with the new seed germinating under the perfect late summer early autumn conditions.🌱🌱

Bunkers Have been edged to within a inch of there lives but look👌 sand although not to everyone's preference has been moved about to ensure landing hot spots have ample in. They will be topped up in coming months. Style of raking changed this year due to the dry weather with the preferred rolled faces being replaced by the traditional raked. This is solely down to the lack of moisture in the sand after the long hot summer! as soon as moisture levels are suitable we will revert back to the rolled faces, which should ensure balls that land in bunkers roll off the faces and into the bottom of the bunker.

Alfie the apprentice has been gain new skills this month and trying out new machinery and turf maintenance skills. Doing well keep it up👍

If there is one thing I hate the most is weeds on greens!! When Conditions are right they just pop up out of nowhere! As we are on the greens everyday either cutting, walking across or changing holes, fertilising, topdrssing it's eyes 👀 down and tune in. If you spot one I guarantee there's three🤣 Less than a minute and it's done⛳👌

22/08/2026

A slightly longer than planned update - Sorry!! but I got on a bit of a roll and didn't know when to stop!!🤣

Greens have had an application of npk granular fertiliser (6-5-11)to help strengthen the plant through this high disease stress period of the year. A mixture of Ammonium and urea forms of nitrogen give an initial flush uptake (Ammonium) and a longer slower plant uptake (Urea) was applied on Monday ⛳⛳

As a result of the fertiliser application and 69mm of rain🌧☔ we got through Wednesday and Thursday the Green speeds this weekend (22nd August) are slightly slower than compared to last week. As of today they are running at 9 ( last week 10)

To put that rainfall into perspective the rainfall was 25mm more rain than we got through the whole of June and July.

Bunkers have had sand moved about in them to ensure correct depths are in play. There remains a number of bunkers with inadequate amounts of sand. We will replenish the bunkers over the next month to get them back to standard.

We have also started seeding of some of the burnt off areas on high spots on the greens. Greens will slightly change shape to allow the seed to germinate but will be cut back out once established. 🌱🌱

light top dressings have been applied to the greens and further applications will be applied to the greens when opportunities allow.

Essential aeration was carried out with minimal distruption to play. This work allowed us to apply a wetting agent the next day in readiness for the rainfall to make best use of the rain. The greens were rolled and watered to ensure trueness and smoothness remain

Heights of cut remain as follows
Greens 4mm
Tees 10mm
Surrounds 10mm
Fairways 12mm
Semi rough 22mm
Rough 44mm

The Warm up net next to the 1st tee I complete and new inner baffles have be installed as the old ones were weather beaten and worn

Work around Stewards side of the Swing Studio is currently ongoing and we hope to complete and the face lift in the next week.

During the dry period we have noticed some strangely green and lush patches like the one on right hand side of the 4th fairway this is a irrigation leak and will be fixed when the irrigation system isn't being so heavily relied on.

19/07/2026

🌞🌞🌞 And just like that the winter months are a distant memory!! No significant rainfall in what seems like months has produced some dry, bouncy conditions! everyone is smashing long drives!! Due to the hard ground conditions some people including myself are now putting off the fairway!!

The Course has however held up well to the weather greens and tees remain green through the use of the irrigation system with the additional support from the water bowser on the water storage chamber on the 3rd fairway

Green speeds remain in the 9.5 to 10.5 bracket although pace did drop to the lower end after the County match. This was mainly due to application of wetting agents and water. The aim is to protect the greens so they remain healthy and under as little stress as possible.

This time of year is prime for a infection called Anthracnose which can and sometimes does affect the annual meadow grass in the greens which can reduce sward density and affect ball roll. We are closely monitoring the greens and applying remedial applications of low nitrogen, light topdressings to protect the leaf crown and an application of Fungicide. ⛳

Some of you have hopefully noticed the area close to the swing studio has had an improved foot and trolley cleaner facility built.

Progress on the new warm up nets should reach completion in the coming week finally ticking off most of the outstanding jobs.

Finally a massive thank you to all the volunteers helping around the course and clubhouse area. Your help has been invaluable. 💪💪.

28/05/2026

Well what a difference a month can make!! ⛳ The course has woken from its winter gloom! Ground and air temperatures on the rise longer days and new growth all round.

The winter seeding has been a great success with almost all the old scaring healing up. Putting surfaces are back on track to where they should for this time of year.

Green speeds are on Par (pardon the pun) for May. Slowest being 8 and fastest to date 9.75 we will be working hard over the next few weeks to increase and maintain the speed with 10.5/11 the target 🎯.

As the weather has finally turned in our favour we are faced with a flush of growth most noticeably the rough but also other areas of play. To help control this growth we increase the frequency of cut and apply plant growth regulators (PGR) we aim to apply these PGR's on a 21 day cycle to control flushes Unfortunately sometimes we miss the 21st day and we get a bounce or kick back which we noticed this last weekend!! 🤦

Over the last month we have and are still having a few issues with our Rough mower which has meant we have had to improvise a little using smaller machines which aren't quite as good but will do in the short term. hopefully all back up and running next week 🤞

Some of you may have seen the new apprentice greenkeeper around the course. Alfie started at the beginning of April and has taken to the job fantastically. Eager to learn and not afraid to get stuck in he has settled into the team well.

21/04/2026

So it's been a long time since the last update and it's been a difficult few months! one of the hardest in 30+ years! With nice weather on the way and temperatures starting to hold though the night we will get some much needed growth to close up some of the scaring on the greens.

In my last post we were working hard to get the 7th green back in to play but with the golfing season closing in and the turn around not happening as fast as we liked. The call was made to strip the old turf and relay the affected area. This process has gone down well and knit in nicely. This green will be back in play shortly.

When I look back over the winter it really was a bad one. None stop rain through November- January and an equally poor February has made it difficult to keep the surfaces in good condition. As a result we aren't at the same place as we were at the beginning of 2025 but as I suggested at the beginning of this post we will soon have it were we want it. Scaring has new seed growing through after the winter seeding when opportunities allowed and we continue to plug out the stubborn ones.

We have applied cold start fertiliser with higher concentrations of nitrate in, which more available to the plant in cool conditions. ideal for pushing some growth. Further liquid applications will be applied to keep the plant moving.

Other work around the course has continued with resin work on footpaths the new bench plinths have been built and topped off with resin, the 6th white tee is in play, tree stumps have been ground out. They will be topped with soil and seeded out as well as some of the older ones that didn't do so well last year.

Irrigation fault finding and leaks are being fixed as we locate them. the Hole on 4 has been left open for now so we can inspect the line because the pipe was wrapped in tree roots! 🌳 and we didn't want to revisit the same section.

Stick collection on the course is on going thank to the volunteers who helped out it was appreciated.

Robot mowers have been installed and the trenches for the electrics will be back filled this week. Once this has been completed we will move the compressor and foot scraper to its new location.

19/02/2026

Well it's been a while since the last post and I think it's pretty much rained everyday up until this week! Then at last the big yellow thing popped it's head out for a split second! 🌞 even then the bitter wind reminded us all it's still deepest darkest winter!!

Don't worry though we haven't let the awful weather dampen our enthusiasm and work on the course has continued. Tree management was the focus after the new year taking the recommendations from previous tree surveys to improve air flow/light around greens and thining out copses to promote healthier specimen trees. We still have a few more areas to work through.

6th white tee extension is at full throttle now the ground is firm enough to move soil to it. It should be all levelled up ready for turf this weekend. 🤞

work on the Swing Studio foundations and new shoe cleaner have been concreted ready for the next stage.

Work on the greens continues with deep verti drain aeration, slit tining, Hollow coring and micro solid tining taking place to help air exchange and water movement. The greens have also had the first of two possibly three winter seed applications. We are adopting an early winter seed principle this year to give the best possible start in Spring to some of the greens that have been left scared after Novembers Fusarium outbreaks!

The 7th green remains wet and will be out of play longer than we would like. Intensive aeration work such as well as sarrel rolling and light topdressings coupled with applications of penetrative wetting agents, foliar feeding and supplementary nutrients to ensure root development and support continues. As it stands today it is considerably drier than it was a week ago. The process is slow but will be ready for the season so long as Mrs Nature plays ball and allows us some decent dry time!!

Finally I promise not to leave it so long next time so you don't end up with a long essay like this one!!🤣

25/01/2026

Castle Eden Golf Club are looking to employ an apprentice greenkeeper. This is a fantastic club to start your career in green keeping at.

We’ve introduced a new way to find and apply for an apprenticeship in England.

31/12/2025

As we finally sign off on 2025 I had chance to reflect a little on the year passing.
Has it been a difficult one? Yes massively but did I take anything from it? In short Yes! Greenkeeping is a constant learning curve and it never stops! 33 years in the trade and its different every year!!!
For most of the year the course matched expectations both personally and from members and visitors alike. But with the unexpected fluctuations in weather patterns wet, humidity, high afternoon temperature, high irrigation usage coupled with intensive management required on fine turf and high footfall the greens from September have been a constant battle!!

Anthracnose and in November fusarium outbreak like I can't remember has left us with some winter scaring. Fungicides x 3 plus iron, heavy metal applications and dew cures to help had little affect! Growing conditions remain good and we will be foliar feeding at close intervals to help aid recovery. Apologies for tyre marks but they are necessary!!
Problem? No,
Unsightly? Yes!
We have already started plugging the worst patches and in the New Year we will start aeration, winter seeding and Zeolite applications to help dry the surface and improve

Massive thank you to the Greens Team for another great year and to Stuart Robinson without your help it just doesn't work. 👌

Form the Greens Team Happy New Year!! and see you Friday .

05/12/2025

So it's been at least a month since the last up date and in that time the weather has shown her teeth and reminded us all who's the boss!!

November has been a difficult month to manage the greens with some extremes in conditions. Wet, warm, freezing, snow and even the odd Spring like day! a really mixed bag.

Unfortunately though this time line we have had an outbreak of fusaruim which flashed through the surrounds but lingered a bit longer on the greens causing some scaring and on a couple of greens severe scarring. To try and counter the outbreak we applied a fungicide, Sulphate of iron, applications of Phosphite/Seaweed to encourage the plant to push through. New growth is apparent and green shoots are visible within the scars. 🌱To encourage the new growth we are actively foliar feeding at shortened intervals, appling regular light top dressings, applications of dew Dispersant at regular intervals to keep surfaces dry and manually plugging out the worst spots.⛳⛳

Harry and Stuart have continued to see who can have the most holidays in a year 😎😎. Harry has the edge! leaving staffing levels shorter than previous years.

🍂🍂leaf collection is just about complete but we'll continue to go out and keep the place tidy.🍂🍂

We Have been out on the practice ground to make it look more in keeping with the rest of the course. Next year we plan to increase the frequency of maintenance over there which will hopefully improve it.

In the short term the nets are now out of play whist we look for a new location for them. but we have put out some artificial mats out there to hit from when the ground conditions become a bit worn.

24/10/2025

Well what a month! Quite a bit has happened since the last update Starting with the Weather! where did the nice warm days go? That's the shorts packed away for another 6 months 🤣

October is a busy maintenance month for the Greens Team. Once all the competitions are put to bed we start on some essential work this year we are concentrating on scarification, Deep tining (8-10 inches) topdressing and over seeding. We've managed most of the tasks in between rain but everything is progressing well.

Disease on the greens has been on the increase through the wet warm weeks and through our work action the grass plant is slightly stressed. The out breaks are flashing though and recovery is already visible. We will keep a close eye on them for now and treat as required.

the 7th, 10th, 16th and 15th fairways have been overseeded to fill in some of the areas that burnt off during the summer. If you look closely you can see the new seed coming through.

Practice areas are receiving some much over due TLC and work has started to improve the overall appearance. Can members please not chip off the area with the flags in, as this is to be worked on to form a chipping green. This will take a bit of time to train down but we hope to have a acceptable surface for 2026. Please remember you can chip on but not off it.

Lastly, Hopefully everyone is aware that Dan Robson will be leaving Castle Eden GC at the end of the month with his last working day today the 24/10/25. Dan has accepted a Roll at Ramside. Personally I've only known Dan 5 years and during that time he has grown and developed into a excellent greenkeeper and member of the team, His enthusiasm and dedication has allowed him to travel round the world and support at some amazing venues.

Good luck in your new roll 👍

Instead of the usual golf course pictures I've added the life cycle of Dan at CEGC 2020-2025.