The Duke’s Green Keeping

Hi Everyone, It’s all go here at The Duke’s, as I am sure it is at most golf courses at the moment. The drought continues for us on the east coast and with the temperatures up into the 20s it’s an early start to ensure the irrigation system is working correctly!. A few minor repairs [...]

Hi All, With the recent dry weather we have been able to get some mowing done this week,  using the mornings to get the bunkers raked and the afternoons to get some mowing done.  The greens, approaches, fairways and rough all being cut this week as well as an application of liquid seaweed on the greens. [...]

As mentioned in the previous post we have been building a mound behind 17 and also planting some trees to the left of 7 green. Its taken a couple of weeks to complete but the weather was kind to us, allowing us to get the job completed not only faster but also without making to [...]

This week we have been forging ahead with one of our winter projects, Jon and Steven have been constructing a mound behind the 17th green and planting some gorse on and around it.  For a change the weather decided to be good to us, with the frosty days being ideal for moving soil without causing too [...]

It can be a common theme that the first thing I do each day is check the weather forecast to see if it changed since I last checked it before I went to bed!. The weather can be a constant challenge and can change our planned work very quickly. In the summer its usually the [...]

Hi Again. The past few weeks have continued to be unseasonably mild which has been good for various tasks around the course as well as any disease scars on the greens that we briefly had are now growing in nicely. The heavy rain recently has put an emphasis on the drainage systems on the course. [...]

Hi everyone I have stated in previous posts that autumn is here and grass growth is slowing down. I think someone needs to tell the grass! Due to the really mild weather we are experiencing at the moment the growth seems to have picked up and doesn’t show many signs of slowing down again. For [...]

Hi there! We can’t deny it….Autumn is certainly upon us now. The leaves have turned some fantastic colours!                 It might look pretty but when the leaves start to fall it does create a bit of extra work for the team. Our course set up in the morning takes a little longer than normal as [...]

Hello again! The end of September surprised us with glorious weather, perfectly timed with the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. Two of our green-staff, Jon Methven and Steven Horsburgh, were volunteering at Kingsbarns for the event. Both lads had a very enjoyable week assisting with the preparation and set up of the course. Our mechanic, Austen [...]

Hello again. The eagle eyed amongst you have already pointed out my little typo in the last post, rest assured that we do not mow our grass at 4mm but at 14mm!  The recent rainfall and high winds have played havoc with our bunkers, washing them out and blowing sand around. Repairing the damage has [...]