With Spring showing glimpses of itself since my last course report, both courses have started to develop nicely. The newly renovated tee boxes have bedded in well and are now open for use. I would like to take this opportunity to politely remind people to please replace any divots on the tee boxes to ensure they remain in good condition.

Greens maintenance has now been completed on both courses and the playing surface is improving by the day. As the weather warms up the seeds from hollow coring will start to germinate and we will see a better coverage on the greens which will create a more level playing surface and see them speed up. However, the warm weather does bring other challenges. I’m sure many of you will have noticed small areas of damage on the greens and the surrounds. This is caused by various animals (birds and badgers in particular) digging for food. They target the areas of the course with the shortest grass for worms and leather jacket larvae who are starting to rise to the surface as the weather warms up. This is an issue found at golf courses everywhere since the decision was made to outlaw the use of insecticides some years ago and is a constant battle for greenkeepers nationally. We continue to replace the damage made and move it to the edge of the green with the holecutter whenever it arises, but this is a time consuming exercise we have to carry out on a daily basis. Aeration practices and top dressing are the long term solutions for this issue and will be worked into our plans accordingly. Despite this, the greens are playing extremely well for the time of year and I do expect that moving into the warmer, summer months they will be in the best condition we have seen them for many years.

I hope you all enjoyed The Masters last weekend and with the bank holiday weekend coming up, there is no better time or place to replicate Scottie Scheffler’s consistency or Rory’s bunker shot than this weekend at Edwalton! You can book a round for this weekend through this link.

With the days getting longer, many of you will be finding yourself with more time to play golf. At Edwalton we offer a flexible 1 month membership that allows you to cancel at 2 weeks notice and reinstate your membership again at any time you choose, perfect for the fairweather golfer! The club has some fantastic competitions lined up over the coming months, so now is the perfect opportunity to get a membership up and running and a handicap set up, ready to take your golf to the next level. Not only that, but if you play golf at Edwalton 1 or more times a week, you will save money too! Find out more info and sign up here.

I look forward to seeing you on the fairways soon.

Jordan