CAPEL GOLF COURSE MAINTENANCE

I have been meaning to update the blog on a few issues over the past week and a half but have been incredibly busy with the preps for the Summer Cup and the extra work load that creates as well as still taking the heat precautions and extra labor hours that involves, my apologies and will now try to bring everything up to date. To save one very long post where you look, yawn and skip it, I might try to do a few smaller ones instead....Key word is TRY.  Dust In Program Initial results from the dust in program are inconclusive at the moment due to the intervention we were forced to make during the extreme heat period we had of temps on course ranging 38 to 42 degrees, and they are still around the 35 mark,  those interventions do cause the greens to be slower, with this in mind, whilst I have some results in, I prefer to wait another month before detailing them. Stimp meter testing  I would like to take this opportunity to reinforce the message given by previous supers...

Most members would be aware during the last half of summer we are trialling a monthly dust in program with the objective to increase green speed while still cutting at our increased summer cutting heights and to keep the greens in healthy condition.  Today we have completed the first of the "dust ins", and will be evaluating the results over the next few months. We will be monitoring green speeds and comparing results to speeds when only mowing and double cutting is used and then again to when we "Groom"the greens, ( a light verti cut). Turf health will be monitored with general appearance of the surface, visible stress signals and root growth measured. I plan to post these results on the blog as well as update the course committee as we progress. During summer there are a number of stresses placed on the green's bent grass, being a cool season grass,( IE it favours growth in spring and autumn), heat and moisture stress are prime concerns  along with increase...