Well, we appear to have experienced three seasons in the space of a week as golfers have confronted high winds, sharp frosts and cold winds for the last week or so which has culminated in a splurge of activity around the coffee machines and a boost in the income of the snooker tables.
Frost really is a two edged sword in that it is necessary to ward off all manner of summer maladies that golf courses suffer from by freezing out dormant remains already in the turf, but the downside is that is really is very difficult to deliver iron shots from rock hard ground as the old adage” ball first, turf last” could easily mean sprained wrists and sore hands for days to come.
The other unfortunate side effect is caused when the thaw sets in. Turf thaws from the top downwards so that the upper levels can be soft, but as hard as nails a half inch below the surface. Walking and turning on the greens can have a “shearing” effect when shoes create twisting actions on the surface resulting in the roots suffering damage which can take literally weeks to repair. So, there is no problem playing on hard greens, but be careful how you tread during the thaw.
The club played their Sunday Winter league and my thanks again to Paul Hogan for the emailed results. Winners were Andre Jones and Paul himself with 39 points followed by Daniel Darlington and Paul’s father John with 38. Third place went to Les Shoemark and Mike Darlington with 35, with Dan Moore and Duncan Fellowes in fourth spot with 31.