Course Managers Report - Around the Greens in March 2022
Published Monday, 14th March 2022
What can I say about the weather in February? Of the 28
days in the month, there were only 7 days on which no rain was recorded. We had
351mm of rain in total, with 270mm of that falling in the last 7 days of
February. It is safe to say that we finished the month under water!
The Greens were in great shape throughout February and
have held up very well under the circumstances. An extra gypsum application was
put on greens just before the heavy rain and we have managed to fit in
fungicide and Primo Growth Retardant applications between showers. The Greens should
remain in very good condition but will need the renovation which is scheduled
for the 13th and 14th of March. The renovation will bring
some much-needed relief to the greens soil profile. Further soil amendments
will be applied at the same time.
The humid weather of February suited the tees, and they
are growing well and remaining very healthy. The heavy rain has not yet
impacted on tee surfaces although some areas will thin out if the rain persists.
PGR applications scheduled for tees have been missed so we will see a build-up
of thatch on tee surfaces with uncontrolled growth in early March.
The fairways were in fantastic condition throughout
February. Turfing took place on the 10th and 11th
fairways, but the heavy rain and flooding washed a lot of the turf away. The
majority of this turf was picked up from the roughs and edges of the dam and
replaced but at this stage I’m not holding high hopes for the life expectancy
of that turf. There isn’t a fairway on the course that has not been affected by
water. Prolonged surface water cutting oxygen and sunlight from the plant will
have a detrimental effect on plant health and I dare say we could lose some
small patches of Kikuyu on some of our wetter fairways. Obviously all possible
actions will be taken to avoid this happening.
The plants and garden soil for the 14th garden
have been delivered but the completion of this job has been delayed until we
can get equipment onto the course.
Shay Tasker,
Course Manager
