Forest Pines Hotel & Golf Resort
Captain's Log

Following the snowy conditions at the end of 2009 and beginning of 2010, things are finally swinging into action as the new golfing season gets underway.

We started the year in style driving down the first fairway in a Rolls Royce buggy for the Captain’s Drive In. The whole day was a great success and our thanks go to everyone involved in making it a day we will never forget. The following week the ladies, adorned in every pink imaginable, took to the course to raise money for the Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign. The contributions received from the men’s section and visitors on the day were greatly appreciated and in total the ‘Wear it Pink Day’ raised £220.00. Thank you to everyone (including the Pink Panther for his special guest appearance) who supported the event.

Events

The Golf Clubs Invitation Day - Sunday, 9 May is fast approaching and the entry sheet for selecting your tee time is located on the Mixed Board. Don’t miss out on the opportunity of inviting a friend to play at Forest Pines with the chance to win some prizes.
Captains Weekend
Friday 9th July - Widows Putter
Saturday 10th July - Pairs Competition
Sunday 11th July (Morning) 9 hole Texas Scramble
(Afternoon) Individual Members competition for the converted Captain and Lady Captains Cups. We do believe that with the support from you the members, this will be a very successful and fun weekend for everyone.
Forest Pines Golf Club Summer Ball - Friday, 23 July The night will take on a Hollywood theme and back by popular demand, we are delighted to confirm that the duo Lewis & Kirk will be providing the nights entertainment amongst other things!

QHotels have again, this year, very kindly organized various Q competitions during April, May, June, July and August with the winners being invited to play at the Q Champion of Champions competition held over 2 days at Telford.

New team colours have been chosen this year for both the men and ladies. Any member wishing to purchase a team shirt for playing in club matches, such as league and mixed matches, should leave details with the Pro shop. It would be great when representing Forest Pines for us all to look the part and wear our team colours with pride.

Presentation Awards will take a different format this year with the ‘Winners’ Competition being held prior to the presentation. Further details will be provided in our next report.

Finally, we would like to wish everyone a very successful and enjoyable 2010 golfing season.

Vince Mc Afee : Captain
Sue Harvey : Lady Captain

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Greenkeeper's Update

The long cold winter has allowed us to do a lot more tree work than usual, including both pruning and removal of self sets.

All playing surfaces have had deep aeration as normal. In the next few weeks the tees and aprons will be over seeded and dressed now that the soil temperatures are rising which will help seed germination.

The greens have all been scarified with the graden and filled with sand. As last year, this helps to firm up the greens and allow them to grow and play better throughout the year. The greens will be over seeded and dressed very shortly.

The tees, fairways and semi-rough have been fed with a controlled release fertiliser which will keep them growing steadily throughout the playing season.

A few of our team members have changed in the winter and we wish them all the best in their new jobs. At the moment we are currently looking for a replacement mechanic.

STRI – Sports Turf Research Institute Visit
This month sees the first visit of the STRI on behalf of the Royal & Ancient on our build up to the British Boys Home Internationals in 2013, to be staged at Forest Pines.

Facts - Did you know?
The cold weather has highlighted several things:

• Long spells of really cold weather naturally helps drainage as with the roads & pot holes the soil is broken up and reforms its structure (Flocculation) to allow pockets for air and water to move through the profile.
• Deep red and purple patches on the greens or even your own lawn is caused by warm day temperatures allowing the grass to start to grow and photosynthesise producing sugars or food.
• Night temperatures drop sharply and the grass plant shuts down. The sugar accumulation in the leaf then binds to Anthocyanin (the pigment for autumn colours) rather than the Chlorophyll (the green pigment). Hence you get red/purple patches that soon disappear and does no harm to the plant.