Course Managers Update - Around the Greens in December

Good follow up rain fell in November with a total of 63ml for the month. We missed a lot of the heavy rain that fell in parts of Sydney on the 28^th with only 37ml for the day on the course.

Greens were fantastic for the Open Qualifier and renovations went ahead as planned on November 19^th. Soil amendments in the form of organics and Gypsum and a light rate of synthetic fertilizer were applied at this time. The weather then turned warm and very windy, hindering the recovery of the greens but recent rain has helped them to bounce back. A light dusting will occur in early December.

The Tees are doing well in these weather conditions and are handling the wear and tear of 6 weeks of championship events very well. The 7^th men’s tee is the only exception as it is suffering a bit from being in the shade and the excessive wear it has endured.

Growth regulator was applied to the fairways during November and again in early December. This is the first-time fairways have been in good enough health for consecutive applications in 2 years. We’re trying a new regulation product on fairways it has the same active ingredient but a different solvent. It is slightly stronger, so we use less of it, and hopefully it will last a bit longer in the plant. Unfortunately, Ground Pearl is very active now although the trial area on the 17^th has showed promising results with depleted numbers at the last count. Further trials are being conducted and we will continue our turf planting programme to minimise the impact on the course.

Sydney Water have begun digging up the sewer to re-sleeve the pipe between the 19^th and 17^th. I have been assured this work will take between 7 to 10 days. The storm water pipe across the 4^th fairway is blocked, and I hope to negotiate with Sydney Water to get this repaired.

Shay Tasker

Course Manager