At Castle Royle we will always to our upmost to have the course not only open for our members, but also in a premium condition for the time of Year.
However, there are times when we have to make restrictions on the Course, or even closures, to help protect the course and those playing it.
The main factors which cause course closures or restrictions come with rainfall, frost & foggy conditions which we have explained further below.
Ross & his Team are the experts in this field, which is why they have the unenviable task to consider all these matters when making their daily decisions on course status, including looking at the forecasts ahead, and I'm sure you will all support and trust them with this process.
Rainfall
There are six factors Ross' Team consider when it comes to considering the impact rainfall has on course condition.
Rain rate – This is the intensity of the rain falling. i.e is it classed as heavy, average or light rain.
Any rainfall that has a rain rate of 5mm per hour or above is classed as heavy, so if we have 10mm of rain but the rate is 1mm per hour the ground has a chance to accept the rain and drain away before hitting saturation point. If we have the same 10mm at a rate of 5mm per hour the ground hits saturation point very quickly and standing water forms.
Rainfall timing – This is very important and it ties in directly with rain rate. If we had 10mm early evening over a 5hr period we know there is a good chance that by the next morning the ground will have drained and there will be no issues. However, if we had 10mm at 4am over a 2hr period we know there would be a high possibility of localised flooding when doing the course inspection, especially if we've previously had rainfall that week.
Days of consecutive rain –This is the topping up process of rain and the ability of the soil to dry down. We could look at a monthly rainfall figure of 80mm for Nov and think that's fairly average but the reality could be very different; If we had 3 days of rain which totalled 80mm the course would be dry as there has been a long time between rain events for the soil to dry. If that 80mm came over 25 days with only 5 dry days the outcome would be drastically different with the course appearing to be a lot wetter as that averages out at over 3mm per day, so little drying can take place causing soil moisture to be constantly topped up until it hits saturation point and subsequently floods.
Rainfall amount – This ties in with rain rate, rain timing and consecutive rain days, but it is a guide for our expectations before doing a course inspection. If we have 10mm in the gauge we know there is potential for the course to be wet depending on the other factors just mentioned. The monthly totals are useful for when we look back at averages and yearly trends for future planning.
Evapotranspiration – This is the process of how much moisture is lost to the atmosphere. The factors effecting evapotranspiration are humidity, temperature, wind and sunlight. In the summer evapotranspiration is high (higher temperatures & longer daylight), so the amount each day can be anything between 3 – 6mm which is why heavy rain in the summer is easily dealt with. In the winter we get very little evapotranspiration (between 0 – 1mm) as we have shorter daylight hours, limited sun exposure and lower temperatures. The only thing in winter that helps is wind but sometimes we don't get that either or its with rainfall which isn't so helpful. So you can see how quickly the soil moisture deficit will be balanced towards saturation in winter if we have low evapotranspiration combined with consecutive days of rainfall.
Wind speed & direction – As mentioned above wind is vital for speeding up the drying process, however the direction is also key. If we get SW wind it generally brings storm systems in from the Atlantic so doesn't help with drying. A favourable wind is either Northerly or Easterly as this brings cold air which is low in humidity and great for drying conditions.
Frost
As a management team we have previously agreed to tweak the frost policy in an effort to maximise opening opportunities, without compromising turf conditions.
We will still close when there is a white frost (hoar) to protect the plant from damage but in circumstances when the ground is frozen but temperatures aren't high enough to to initiate a thaw we will open once the visible surface frost has disappeared.
The other time we must close is during the thawing process of a ground frost which is when the most damage will occur to our greens.
This is due to root shear causing plants to be badly damaged or in some cases die off, which won't begin to grow back until Spring. We understand this scenario is often the most frustrating to golfers, as temperatures appear higher and ground conditions softer, but ultimately it is our most vulnerable point in terms of potential damage to putting surfaces.
The below outlines a summary of the course policy during frosty conditions:
Ground Frost – This is when the ground conditions are frozen solid, but there is no 'surface frost'.
The Course will OPEN, assuming their is no surface frost and there isn't a chance of thawing during the day (minimal rise in temperature).
Surface Frost - This is when we see a white 'hoar' frost - i.e on putting surfaces, but not in the ground.
The Course will be CLOSED until the white frost has thawed (disappeared).
The Course will then OPEN and will typically require a 10th tee start as the 1st green is very shaded and takes the longest to thaw.
Ground Frost Thawing – The Course will be CLOSED until thawing has gone from the top 2inches, at which point the Course will OPEN.
We adopt these rules to ensure we don't cause any damage to our putting surfaces through turf loss by playing in white frost and from root shear by playing while the greens are thawing out. It's by protecting the greens during these periods that we are able to produce excellent putting surfaces for the remainder of the year.
Fog
Given our location, it is quite common for Castle Royle to suffer from poor visibility over the Winter months; it is prudent to have a fog policy to ensure that members and staff alike are kept safe from potential harm.
This policy sets out the procedures to close the course when fog or mist prohibits visibility.
We have to review the entire course during these conditions, as conditions one side of the bridle path can be different from the other.
However, as an example, a benchmark to determine if play can start or continue will be measured by the ability on hole 1 to see the outline of the green from the red tees, which is approximately 350 yards. If play is allowed, it is still the responsibility of players to not hit a ball further than they can see it land.
The Greenkeeping & Pro Shop Staff will be the sole judge of whether, or not, visibility is good enough for play to start or continue.
We will endeavor to get everyone off in order of their original start time, but may require a 10 minute interval between tee times.
Enough time will be given as the fog lifts to allow preparation for play and also time for the fog to come back in. This period of time will be no less than 10 minutes.
Suspension of play
If no one is playing on the course when the decision is made to suspend play, then a notice will be placed outside the Pro Shop.
If visibility becomes limited on any part of the course, it is the individual responsibility of all golfers to cease play and report the condition as soon as practical.
When players are on the course and conditions deteriorate such that in the opinion of our Management Team play should be suspended we will adopt the signals as recommended within the Rules of Golf “Suspension of Play due to a Dangerous Situation” which are:
Discontinue play immediately: One prolonged note of the klaxon.
Discontinue play (end of hole): Three consecutive notes of klaxon, repeated.
Resume play: Two short notes of klaxon, repeated.
All golfers must not commence or continue play when the decision to cease play has been made by the Club.
Thank you for your understanding & we hope you enjoy your golf at the Club!