Course Managers Update - Around the Greens in August
Published Monday, 19th August 2019
July was the fourth driest July on record. Only 37mm of rain
fell which was good in a way as the course doesn’t like winter rain. Even with
the nice days we’ve still had several frosts.
The Greens are firm
and fast have coped quite well during July. The warm days have allowed for
growth, while the cool nights have inhibited any disease development. The Greens
are clean and ready for renovations on 21 August.
The warmer weather will assist the Tees which are worn. The Par
3 tees are suffering from high wear and the copious amounts of divots. The
Couch tees are free of any weeds besides Kikuyu, which shows our pre-emergent
program is working.
Regular light fertilizer applications on the fairways have
kept the colour up and the growth slowly continuing, ensuring they have
remained in good condition throughout winter. The plugging programme has
continued during July, but no turfing was carried out due to dormancy. Turfing
will resume in late August, early September. The first application of
Insecticide will be applied in early August, along with a herbicide application
to control flat weeds such as clover and bindii.
The top of the front bunker on the 7th was
lowered again by 450mm. Next time this bunker is done, the front of the green
will need to be lowered as well to blend correctly and to get to the
appropriate height. The face and the top of the right hand 16th
bunker has also been lowered/repaired.
New soil bins were constructed to assist with storage of
sand and soil. The new bins stop contamination and makes a huge difference to
the area.
The tub-grinding and mulching of debris in the refuge area adjacent to the 7th green was carried out as this area was a fire hazard and a breeding ground for pests such as foxes. A program is now in place to keep on top of any green waste collected from the course. The pipes running from the Gross Pollutant Trap’s on 4th and 14th have been cleared and this should alleviate flooding to those fairways when it does eventually rain again.
Course Manager