CASTLE STUART STAFF LEAVE IT LATE
TO MAKE CUT, links closed until March 24
NEWS RELEASE
NEWS RELEASE
Green
keepers at the internationally renowned Castle Stuart Golf Links between Nairn and Inverness are
testing both their long and short game skills due to unpredictable
weather.
While
expected severe conditions mean staff are preparing for the arrival of
snow, spells of milder December weather means they will be cutting
greens and fairways right up until Christmas.
Even
then, wild fluctuations in the temperature have meant daily changes to
the cutting regime and preparations for the start of next season.
In one extreme case temperatures plummeted to -6 degrees C, only to rise to 14 degrees C the very next day.
A
flurry of birdies in November coincided with Castle Stuart starting
winter maintenance work to have the course ready to re-open on March 24,
2017.
A
flock of grey lag geese, which stops off on farmland next to the golf
course on their winter migration, arrived early, suggesting colder
weather was on its way.
Chris
Haspell, course manager for the Inverness links that hosted the
Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open this year for the fourth time in
six years, said: “The geese normally arrive in mid-December, but they
came early this year, signalling an early cold snap.
“We
use a range of different forecasting techniques, including nature’s
indicators, to inform us of weather patterns and we got our maintenance
programme under way quite early this year.
“Since
then we have had a period of milder weather, punctuated by spells of
sub-zero temperatures. Such wild fluctuations can affect your
decision-making and means you are working day-to-day and just have to
react to the conditions.
“Some
days we have had frost on the ground, but then warmer conditions which
means the grass is still growing. Normally the last cut of the year is
done by late November, but this year we will still be cutting greens
right up to Christmas for only the second time since the course opened
in 2009.”
He
said pests that are normally killed by frost can thrive and this
increases the risk of disease in the grass:
“It’s something we are
managing and will be ready when the snow does come.”
Labels: golf news
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home