If you caught The Open at Royal Birkdale, you saw the world’s best players firing tee shots onto fairways that looked less like Augusta and a lot more like a freshly toasted slice of sourdough.

For years, we’ve been conditioned to expect pristine, emerald-green carpets as the norm. But with record-breaking dry spells becoming the standard, expecting hyper-irrigated grass during a drought isn’t just unrealistic – it puts an unsustainable burden on the land and the people who care for it.

A sunburnt fairway isn’t dying. It’s resilient turf doing what it was built to do. If the world’s best can play the biggest tournament of the year on golden brown grass, it’s good enough for your Sunday medal.

Out here in the heart of Richmond Park, that same dry stretch has taken hold. Both the Prince’s and the Duke’s are playing hard and fast, offering that glorious summer roll down the fairways. But while the outer areas embrace the golden warmth, our greens have held up exceptionally well – a testament to relentless work behind the scenes and an irrigation system that’s been running overtime.

However, keeping putting surfaces alive during one of the driest years on record comes with a catch: the massive volume of water required leaves the soil compacted and tired. To set the course up for long-term health, essential recovery work begins soon.

Autumn Greens Maintenance: August 24th

Greens maintenance kicks off on August 24th – taking two days on the Duke’s and two days on the Prince’s. This year, we’re implementing a targeted three-step process to give the turf much-needed relief before winter:

1. Verti-Draining: Deep aeration to break up compaction and restore deep drainage.
2. Hollow Coring: Removing built-up thatch to help the profile breathe and absorb future rain.
3. Scarifying: Cleaning up lateral growth to keep putting surfaces smooth and clean.

Looking to the Fairways & Bunkers

The extreme weather means our autumn renovation plans are ambitious. We’ve doubled our seed order for the fairways this year, but timing is everything. Demo runs showed that the turf is currently too brittle to work; we need natural moisture before renovations can safely begin. To make the most of the weather window when it arrives, we’ve partnered with external agronomy specialists to execute a rapid fairway seeding and recovery program before winter sets in.

Similarly, fairway weeds have thrived in the dry conditions. Chemical treatments require guaranteed soil moisture to avoid harming the surrounding turf, so spraying will commence the moment rainfall allows. Meanwhile, as cooler evening temperatures reduce the need for constant hand-watering, the team will turn their attention to topping up bunker sand across both courses.

Managing Animal Damage

Due to prolonged dry conditions, local wildlife is currently targeting our greens & tees – the only soft ground on the course.

To protect the course long-term, our greenkeeping team is repairing damaged areas with sand instead of topsoil. Topsoil encourages animals to keep digging, while sand acts as a natural deterrent.

Although these sand repairs might look a little unsightly in the short term, they are essential to protect the greens while respecting Richmond Park’s vibrant wildlife ecosystem. We appreciate your patience!

Investing in the Future: 2027 Irrigation Expansion

After two consecutive years of severe drought, it’s clear the climate is shifting – and our infrastructure must shift with it. Our original irrigation setup was never designed for the extreme demands of modern summers, leading to depleted water reserves that placed extra stress on our tees this season.

To solve this, we have formal proposals in place to significantly increase our on-site water storage for 2027. Following last year’s investment in a bespoke control panel, we will also be replacing both main irrigation pumps to complete a full overhaul of our water management system.

So next time you stand on the tee at Richmond Park, see more beige than green, and watch your drive pick up an extra thirty yards of run and fun – enjoy it. Trust the firm bounce, support the essential maintenance work ahead, and go high-five your greenkeeper.

After all, fortune favours the firm.