CEGC Greens

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.

12/09/2025

Good bye August!!! you have been a difficult one this year! It's been a month of balancing performance with plant health and at times it was a bit like spinning plates! 😬

We have been out and about with the new bowser + wetting agents to support drier tees and surrounds

Some greens did drop off more than we would of liked and as a result we had to perform some unplanned aeration, fertilisation and overseeding in between some big events. Although there was some slight disruption to the golf experience the greens have recovered well.

Green speeds are down but will increase through the month due to the reduction in the use of growth regulators to allow weaker poa annua grass to recover and the application of a granular fertiliser.

Hand cutting at a height of 5mm all this week with turf brushes down have stood lateral growth up and allowed the newly germinated seed to establish in the thining patches of Anthracnose.

Follow up applications of seaweed, phosphite, calcium and a little nitrogen should help the greens perk up ready to reduce the height of cut back to the previously stated 4.5mm

You may of seen the pet robot mower working around the 18th which we have on demo until next week. I'm sure you'll agree uts doing a great job.

Bunkers are now less dusty and soft after the rainfall allowing us present the bunkers as we would like which is the Australian style.

Bunkers on the 11th have been topped up and we will continue to monitor the sand depths

13/08/2025

How has it been a month since the last post!! 🤯🤯.

Sorry not sorry for loading this update with some nice data to digest 🤣

Overall the greens have been performing well.
but increased work on the greens coupled with the high stress factors associated with late July and August such as foot traffic, heat, high humidity and low cutting heights the greens have been affected by a stress related infection called Anthracnose. This is not quite as sinister as it sounds but if left un treated can cause some issues to the sward.

Patches are now visible on most greens with the 4,5,10 the worst affected. As a cultural reactive measure we have completed mini renovation of Micro ninja tine (areation), overseed and roll. (Hopefully this went unnoticed!! ) Liquid fertiliser applications of Carbohydrates, Seaweed, Potassium, nitrogen Thatch degraders and some heavy metals are being applied little and often to encourage new growth.

Overseeding remains part of the long-term process to convert the Annual meadow grass dominated greens to a more Bent grass dominated greens during the process outbreaks in disease will become less frequent. At the moment Anthracnose is to be considered helpful.

Green speeds have been consistent and within the thresholds. (9.5-11) apart from a week at the end of July when we recorded our slowest reading 😥 (8.5) which was inbetween PGR applications and heavy water usage 50m3 at night. This was an exception and we will continue to push speeds to stay within the thresholds.
historical Speed averages for June and July
2022- 10.8
2023- 10.6
2024- 9.6
2025- 10.5

Heights were taken down to 3.5mm over club championship week but are now back to the standard 4 mm and will remain at this height for the rest of the season additional rolling to maintain speeds will used.

Interesting fact number two!!

Greens rolling has less impact on the turf surface than cutting or walking on!

Roller 3-5 psi
Greens mower 11 psi
walking 11 -14 psi( Depending on who's walking 🤣)

Surrounds are burning off a little and some remedial over seeding will be required to maintain good coverage. the new bowser will be used to support the weaker ones.

Tees are showing signs of wear in particular the Par 3’s- Increased divoting and fertiliser applications will be applied to aid recovery.

Please could I remind everyone to make sure you repair your pitchmark damage on the greens.

Irrigation Leaks on the course have been marked and will be repaired once the main golf season has eased and the need for irrigation reduced.

17/07/2025

Well it's been a bit of a scorchio🌞🌞 month since the last update! The irrigation has certainly been used to its max!! It may be old and have a few leaks but does the job!!! Coupled with a solid wetting agent plan the greens have remained strong and looking healthy.

Massive thanks to Tony, Dan, Harry for coming back into work on a Sunday afternoon to repair a burst pipe and ensure the system keeps running👌👏 Team work makes the dream work👍

Greens speeds remain within the set parameters and are on par (🤣) with previous years.

To support the irrigation system we have bought a small bowser to reach the parts the sprinklers can't hit. This will prove to be a very useful tool which will give good control over water usage.

13b practice green is now in play and a flag will be installed this weekend.

Dan has again been out and about representing Castle eden gc at the Scottish Open putting his hand mower skills to the test mowing the surrounds at the Renaissance. ⛳ we'll done!!