Wow! What a difference a week makes! I joked with my colleagues here at Leeds Golf Centre this morning that ‘we could do with a bit of rain’…I can’t repeat what was said to me in response but I got the sense that the much awaited start of summer didn’t come a moment too soon! In all seriousness, it’s great to see the golf courses and driving range looking so busy though – a sure sign that the hard work we’re all putting in to create a top-flight facility is paying off.

I’m happy to report that the soil temperature has now risen to approaching 12 degrees-C so we can all look forward to genuine turf growth and a superb new golf course to boot. Finally – at last – we are almost there!

In the last fortnight, we have scarified the greens to remove organic matter build-up – this will help enormously to ensure true rolls and promote more rapid green speeds. A fertiliser application and about one-and-a-half tonnes of top dressing went on each green last week which will obviously help the quality of growth. Now that the cutting height has been lowered to 4mm and a frequent programme of rolling and turf ironing is underway, I’m certain our putting surfaces are well on their way to the standards of excellence we grew accustomed to last year.

In other news, we have sprayed The Oaks course with worm suppressant, have continued over-seeding tees and worn areas with dwarf rye grass and commenced the fairway ‘divoting’ programme.

Thanks to all our members and visitors for being so patient during this time of tremendous change here at Leeds Golf Centre – you will all be rewarded with an excellent golf course this summer and that’s a promise! Play well and enjoy – I look forward to seeing you on the fairways sometime very soon!

Brian D Carr

Head Greenkeeper