Well its not stopped raining the last 48 hours but I thought you might like to see how well the drainage is working and how it’s filling up the Irrigation lake.

If you cannot see the video below please copy and paste the link to be able to watch and keep the volume quite high.

Hope you enjoyed , must go I need the Loo !!

Enjoy your Course, Enjoy your Club…………………it’s yours remember !

Well as I’m sure you see we have been busy out on the Course. As promised I said I would give you an update on Course works and a revised schedule

The rain we had Saturday and then the horrendous rain we had Tuesday morning has caused havoc I’m sure you will imagine. Any of you that tried to go through Abridge Village would have seen the 3 foot of water on the roads and the fields below us are well and truly flooded!

The good news is is that the Course has held up incredibly well. All greens were back on by 10.00 am Tuesday morning and those Golfers that went and played reported the drainage that we have installed on certain holes to be working really well.

The 4th pond thats been resealed also has enjoyed the rain and is filling nicely!

The 1st and 13th Greens that have had drainage installed are draining brilliantly and I am pleased to let you know that these are back in use. The rain has disturbed the sand in the lines a little but this should settle again with a bit of dry weather .

Sadly with so much rain so quickly we have a few issues to sort out!

The Irrigation lake is looking great , unfortunately its not finished yet to start filling too much so to stop the ‘run off’ going into the lake they have had to redirect this onto the 3rd fairway! The 4th pond also is not ready yet to fill to the top so the flow from the drainage and Clubhouse also had to be diverted away from the 4th pond and onto the 4th fairway.

These were the reasons we had to close the four holes yesterday as it was too slippery everywhere.

Some of you may have also noticed that some of the hard work my staff had done with the drainage works on the 7th, 8th and 11th holes has been washed away by yesterday’s deluge. So we have had to spend yesterday and today reinstating some of the works. This means that we have not had time to get Bunkers back in play yet but will as soon as we can.

You will also have noticed that a few areas of the paths have been damaged by the heavy rain. We will get to repair them in the next couple of weeks but presently we have the cherry picker on hire,(which is not cheap!) and we need to concentrate on the tree work. Until we can get to the paths please take extreme care when using them.

The deluge of rain has also made areas very soft especially behind the 2nd green. It has been decided between us and the Contractor that it will make far far too much mess if they attempt to re-configure the pond and mound the back of the 2nd green up next week. They have agreed to come back mid July next year and do it then when ground conditions would be much better and we can get the repair works done and recovered much quicker . I am sure you all agree with this decision ?

They will be however finishing off the 4th pond and the filling in of the 3rd small pond on the left of the fairway next week.

For health and safety reasons we will have the first four holes closed on Monday to Wednesday inclusive next week (11th -13th Oct), as large machines will be crossing over these holes to carry out the works needed to be finished and also we will be carrying out tree work with the cherry picker and other works on these 4 holes. If things go to plan the holes will re-open on Thursday morning.

Thank you all again for your patience and support

ENJOY YOUR GOLF ENJOY YOUR CLUB……………..IT’S YOURS REMEMBER!

On Monday I am pleased to announce that we will commence construction of our Irrigation Lake. This is the 3rd phase of our Irrigation and Drainage plan which we set out 4 years ago.

For those interested, it will hold approx 34,000 cubic metres when full. To put this into perspective its about the volume of about 14 Olympic swimming pools !

Part of the contractors remit will also be to clear out, reshape and reseal the pond between the 4th and 5th. This pond we will then feed drainage pipes into from various holes to ‘catch’ water and in turn from this pond we will pipe water into the new Irrigation Lake.

The contractors will also be using some of the excess soil to ‘bank up’ behind the 2nd green, we will also be making the 2nd green slightly bigger and finally they will be digging out the 2nd pond and hopefully resealing it.

It will take approx 6-8 weeks to complete if all goes to plan! Hopefully there will not be too much disturbance to your Golf but please be patient . We do not envisage any hole closures whilst the main lake is built but we will have to close the 2nd hole for approx 5 days when those works are done. We may also either have to move the tees forward or close the 4th hole when this pond is repaired.

So all exciting stuff and making us much more self sufficient and great use of recycling water. I will keep you updated on the progress of the works and will also record some Drone footage for you to see the works.

If you wondered why we have had tree works done on the 13th hole this week, this was being done by the Electricity Board as the Trees were too close to the high voltage overhead cables.

Hopefully you have been enjoying your Course the last few months despite the ‘not great’ weather.

Congratulations to Mandi and Lol our new Captains.

We will be commencing our Summer renovations w/c 23rd of August but I will give you more details of that in the next couple of weeks

Regards

Geoff

Enjoy your Golf Course , Enjoy your club………..it’s yours remember!

Hi all, hope you are all enjoying your Golf, even though it’s flipping cold! Amazing that we are getting frosts every morning presently and temperatures not getting above single figures during the day, the grass on surfaces have just gone ‘back into Winter mode’

First I must mention that we are commencing further drainage works now that conditions are perfect . Apologies if this causes any inconvenience to any of you but the work needs to be done if we are to continue with our investment of making the Course drier during the Winter months.

We plan to install the main and primary drains over the next 3-4 weeks on holes 18,16 and 10. This means on certain days a hole will be closed so we will be using the green next to the 8th as the extra hole . I will update you all each day as to whats going on and thank you for your understanding (hopefully !).

Ok, I have been asked a few questions by a few members so I will attempt to answer them

1. What are all the lines on the fairways and tees?

The lines are where we have been overseeding. All tees have been overseeded The fairways, where there is damage from the Winter’s drainage works and damage from Leatherjackets/Bird pecking have also been overseeded. The machine creates a perfect groove and automatically drops seed into it. The very cool temperatures we are experiencing presently means we have to be patient as it will take longer for the seed to start ‘popping’ and filling in the areas. In a few weeks the lines will have gone.

It’s gone very dry why are we not watering?

From going from yet another wet record breaking Winter, we have gone very cool and dry in 4 weeks! Most Golf Managers I talk to in Essex are all praying for some natural rain. If we water in these temperatures with cold ‘mains’ water it merely sends the grass into ‘shock’ and can actually stop it trying to grow as the grass thinks it’s in Winter. However slowly but surely this week night time temperatures are rising and we are also watering a bit during the day once temperatures rise so thats why you may see some sprinklers on when you play.

When will the greens that have some bare patches recover?

The areas damaged from the excessive wet weather and leatherjacket issues have been overseeded and we really just need some warmer temperatures and dare i say a little rain and these areas will start to recover

Why does the 18th fairway and certain areas look ‘weak?

The 18th fairway has suffered from Leatherjacket damage this Winter, aswell as a few areas on the 1st, 3rd and 8th fairways. The grubs attack and feed on the roots making the grass plant weak, then the Birds realise there are grubs under the surface and start pecking and destroying the Turf to feed on the grubs. With all Chemicals that eradicated this 100% now presently banned we have very little options but to just let nature take its course. However, overseeding and fertilising will soon get these areas back in shape.

On Tuesday and Thursday this week what was being sprayed it smelt awful!?

I personally like the smell but I know many of you didn’t! It’s basically a ‘natural’ fertiliser of Sugars and Molasses, that gives carbohydrates and other beneficial nutrients to the grasses roots which encourages recovery from the Winter and root damage such as leatherjackets. It assists in ‘waking the plant up’ and also helps with seed germination.

A bit of technology info now if you like that sort of thing. Our new sprayer is fitted with a very sophisticated Gps system. We have mapped all areas of the Golf course and categorised them . This mean for example when we want to a spray a certain area we type in where we are and the area appears green on the screen. We then have to drive the sprayer over this area and the spray nozzles only spray where needed , colouring in the green area grey. The advantages of this are many, but to name a few, accurate use of Chemicals, no overlap or potential ‘miss’ issues, spraying only the areas required and not wasting Chemicals.

Hope you have found these questions and answers useful?

Please be patient the next few weeks while we wait for temperatures to pick up and the grasses to start growing properly . And also remember the drainage works are essential.

That’s it for now I’m off to buy myself some new Sketcher Golf Shoes’ that Jack’s just started stocking in his shop! Go and see for yourself they are awesome !

Enjoy your Course, Enjoy your Club………..it’s yours remember!

Hi everyone and so great to see you all back enjoying your Golf Course!

Hopefully you will agree the Course is in pretty good condition considering its only early April! Hopefully you will also have noticed a lot of the jobs my hard working Greenstaff have done during this third Lockdown. Its great to see full tee time sheets and everyone safely enjoying themselves, even though our routine jobs are taking twice as long now!

The reason for the ‘BUT ‘ in the title of this report is that I have to strongly complain, to what I’m sure is only a few of you, but none the less extremely disappointing of some basic Golf Etiquette and correct procedures being ignored that as Golfers you should ALL be adhering to !

I cannot believe that in just 4 days of Golfers returning the ridiculous amount of Pitch Marks that are being left not repaired on all of the Greens. A few of you will be complaining about ‘bumpy inconsistent greens in a few weeks? Please do not complain to me or my staff! Moan at your fellow Golfers for not doing their job ! The damage done to a Golf Green by not repairing yours or any others pitch marks is incredible.

I AGAIN below have included a video of showing you the damage a pitch mark makes and how you correctly repair your pitchmark or any others you may see.

The picture below shows what we discovered on Wednesday morning at the back of the 5th Green. It looks like somone has hit a bad shot and then in anger just took a swipe and chunk out of the green! DON’T ! If you make a bad shot ,moan, explete, gesticulate or get a Lesson from Jack! DON’T take it out on the Golf Course please.

Finally please explain to me why if a sign says No Trollies past this point, or No Trollies this way , or GUR ( Ground under repair) or Buggy’s stay on paths at ALL times! we have seen many golfers disobeying these requests? Do those that ignore these signs think they are special that the signs don’t apply to them? Or do they just not care about your Golf Course?

If you see any of your fellow golfers doing any of the above please tell them to stop.

As I said earlier my staff and myself have worked very very hard to give you the best possible course we could give you for your return in March, especially considering the awful wet Winter we have had. It’s quite insulting to see how quickly a few of you want to just abuse ‘Your Golf Course’ and then expect us to make it all magically right.

We have so much planned over the next few weeks and months to create an amazing Course, however, I ask that you don’t create more work for us than is necessary so we can get on with jobs we need and want to do to continue to improve Your golf course!

That’s the moan over but I hope those these moans apply to listen and act. Plans for the next 4 weeks are to finish verti-draining all fairways, overseed tees, fairways and other areas where needed. Greens and other surfaces get a feed next week or so, and as and when its right to do so, we will start lowering heights of cut on certain areas. We are also continuing with some of the ditch work and getting ready to draining the 18th and 16th fairways. We are also continuing with the bunker reshapes and ‘fill ins’

Once again welcome to all of our new members and welcome back to all of our loyal existing members, it’s great to see you all.

Enjoy your Course , Enjoy your club……..It’s yours remember !

This Winter has been one of the longest, wettest and ‘trying’ ones for many a year. In fact February has just been announced as the wettest February’s on record! So it’s time to do something about it.

We are going to start installing a Comprehensive Drainage system into Fairways and Approaches to make the Course more playable in the wetter periods. This drainage will never stop some of the excessive flooding conditions we have had this Winter, BUT what it will do is to enable the surfaces to cope with the rainfall and drain the surfaces quicker. At the moment the water has nowhere to go and just sits on the surfaces as the clay subsoil underneath is saturated.

The plans and install methods have been checked by a qualified Drainage Consultant.

The plan consists installing Main, Primary and Secondary Drainage. We have measured and surveyed all 18 holes and then prioritised where we feel is best to start, but this depends massively on ground and Weather conditions and maintenance of your Golf Course.

Overall, we will be laying in excess of 3,500M of Mains Drainage, in excess of 7,000M of Primary Drainage and in excess of 80,000M of Secondary drainage over the next 3-4 years!

MAIN DRAINS

These will be installed in the appropriate places in the Rough just along the edges of Fairways and Approaches.

They will consist of a trench with 100mm perforated pipe covered with a non-woven Geo textile Sock (this helps to stop the silting up of the pipe), the trench will then be backfilled to the surface using 10mm washed pea shingle. These will be visible for a while until the grass grows over the top of the gravel. Inspection points along the Main drains will be installed for us to service and keep the pipes clear.

Backfilling trenches with a 3 Ton Gravel Trailer

PRIMARY (LATERAL) DRAINS

These will be installed in the appropriate places. They are spaced between 5M and 10M apart and connect directly into the Main drains

Primary drains consist of a trench with 80mm perforated pipe, backfilled with 10mm washed pea shingle up to 75mm below the surface. The remaining 75mm will be filled with an 80/20 sand/soil mix. This stops gravel coming to the surface which can ruin mower blades and also help to limit ‘Tiger striping’ during very dry periods. It also gives a good base for grass to grow and ‘knit’ the drainage lines in.

SECONDARY DRAINS

Secondary drains enable surface water to reach the Primary Drains quicker. They are spaced at 1M apart.

Secondary drains  consist of closely spaced gravel bands , approx. 20-25 mm wide and injected into the playing surface 200-250mm deep by a vibrating channel opener. Instead of using gravel we use Lytag.

 LYTAG is a porous material that is far superior to gravel in carrying water away from desired areas. It can drain up to 10 times faster than 10mm gravel. It’s a recycled material from made from the fly ash, a by-product of coal fired power stations. It’s been used by Drainage contractors for over 30 years. Lytag on the surface does not cause damage to mower blades and owing to its honeycomb design it holds a small percentage of water which helps with stopping ‘tiger striping’ during dry periods.

Also, as no soil is removed in laying secondary drainage surface disturbance is minimal and play can resume almost immediately.

Using a 3ton Gravel bander to install the Secondary Drainage

HOW CAN YOU HELP WITH YOUR COURSE!!

One of the most labour-intensive jobs during the drainage installation will be the back filling of the primary drainage trenches with the 75mm of sand/soil. This has to be done by hand and shovel.  It’s your Golf course remember and if you would like to help us with this job it would be greatly appreciated! Two members have already instigated that they would be willing to help at times so if you would also like to get involve please contact me on geoffabridgegolf@gmail.com or leave a message with Lol Green or the office.

WHAT DISRUPTION WILL THERE BE AND IN WHAT ORDER WILL DRAINAGE BE INSTALLED

You cannot make an omelette without breaking some eggs! However, given this Winter we have all just endured I hope to think you will all cope with a little inconvenience whilst we endeavour to make your Golf Course so much more playable. There will be some mess and occasionally we will have to close a whole while certain jobs are carried out.

We have decided on the following strategy, but this really does depend on several factors, weather, the ability to get onto the surfaces with the machinery, staff levels and pressure of Golf. We have also to maintain your Golf Course to the highest standards the main Season.

March 2020 – November 2020.        Holes 1- 7

March 2021 – November 2021.        Holes 10,11,14,16,18

March 2022 – November 2022.       Holes 12,13,14,17

March 2023 – November 2023.       Holes 8,9, practice hole and parts of the Driving Range

The above is definitely subject to change. I will update you as much as I can.

I hope you are excited as we are of completing this massive upgrade in your Course.

WITH THE NEW FULL IRRIGATION SYSTEM, A FULL 18 HOLE BUGGY PATH, SOME OF THE BEST PRACTICE AND DRIVING RANGE FACILITIES IN THE COUNTY,THE WONDERFUL NEW CLUBHOUSE, THE AMAZING FOOD SERVING AT ‘THE LOUNGE’ AND JACK WINER OUR NEW HEAD PRO, ABRIDGE JUST GETS BETTER AND BETTER !

BE PART OF IT NOW!

ENJOY YOUR COURSE ENJOY YOUR CLUB……IT’S YOURS REMEMBER!

As announced a few weeks ago the next stage of your Golf Course improvement plan is to invest heavily in Drainage .