Course Managers Update - Around the Greens in April 2021

What a month weather-wise!

In March we had 467mm of rain which is nearly half of our annual average rainfall of 1100mm.  Although the course was very wet and closed for a few days, we still fared better than a lot of other courses. Even with all the rain we still had average maximum temperatures of 25.5 degrees, which helped the course recover quite quickly after all the rain. Needless to say, the dams are full.

The greens handled the wet weather very well. Constant rain and low light conditions are perfect for algae growth and Pythium disease, neither of which have infested our greens. Fortunately we were able to carry out our renovations as planned on the 14^th and 15^th of March, right before the heavy rain started. We also managed to mini-core the greens and apply a dusting of sand, gypsum and organic fertilizer all of which has assisted the greens ability to handle the weather conditions. A small solid tine will take place in the first week of April to ensure air movement within the profile.

Coming into autumn the Tees are in magnificent condition. Selective herbicide was applied while we were closed to control kikuyu and prevent winter grass germination. A second application is due in early April. Organic fertilizer will also be applied in April in preparation for winter and spring.

I will take this opportunity to remind golfers again to please take the time to replace/fill divots with sand, especially during winter when grass recovery is much slower.

The fairways bounced back from the wet very well. Poa has germinated with the wet weather, covering most of the smaller bare areas from old Ground Pearl damage. We will be starting a new nonchemical program on fairways to control the formation of Winter Fusarium and this should help them to maintain uniformity right through winter. We managed to get some turf patches down on the 14^th prior to the rain setting in and I’m planning to get a couple more fairways done in April subject to supply.

Thirty tonnes of bunker sand was placed into the traps as well as sand being moved where required and wash-outs repaired. There was minimal weather damage to the bunkers, and they drained quite well.

Again, I will put out a request to all players to rake the bunkers after playing their shot, your consideration will be appreciated by the players following you.

Shay Tasker,

Course Manager