Clean up Day 5

About 18 volunteers turned out to take in the beautiful sunshine today enjoying spending a fair bit of time on the golf course, probably not what they think after cleaning up debris rather than playing golf........

The ladies were again well represented bringing their rakes and continuing the stick and small debris clearing off on tees etc, some tees you could not see a blade of grass owing the debris so another job well done.

Meanwhile the member volunteers, (some that may as well be on staff), along with the staff continued removing the branches etc from the rough areas between holes, we managed the entire 4th (except the huge, huge monsters) the 10th and various areas around 13, 15 and 16 green and tee complexes. Well done guys we have made a huge impact to date.

Other victories today included removing some of the dangerous high reach limbs in trees, mowing all the greens some for the first time since Sunday and of course, FINALLY THE POWER IS BACK ON !!!!! I look forward to having a cuppa in the morning.
 oh Cripes another one                                                       Geeze I spend enough time in the rough

Tomorrow (Saturday) and a planned member busy bee of those who would normally play but cant cause were closed is hoped to be well supported, those that normally play in the morning will become the morning crew and those who usually play in the afternoon will become the afternoon crew.
It is hoped we can come very close to finishing enough for opening on Monday without much to do on Sunday. After racking up 65hrs plus over the last 5 days I look forward to getting the job done.
So I guess the message is simple...
more volunteers = more clean up work completed = the sooner the course is open and you can play = a very happy happy superintendent who might get a day off ha ha.

Our goals tomorrow are to get as close as possible to finishing all areas, the roughs on the back 9, the more labour intensive small debris removal etc and a start around the club, practice tee and fairway.
We hope to get the bunkers raked and ready for play and we will be spraying greens as a disease precaution as well as a light feed after the heavy rain leached nutrients.

Look forward to seeing you out there.
Max.

Popular posts from this blog

Saltene and Couch Grass

Image
I thought I would talk about this subject instead of what has been run of the mill course work updates lately, nothing like a bit of variety to keep it fresh... It is this time of year (summer if you didn't know better) the couch and saltene in the greens become more visible and start to out compete the bent grass. If you have been good students and followed the turf 101's on this blog you would know Bent is a cool season grass preferring cooler temps, Couch and Saltene both warm season grasses preferring hotter temps for optimum growth. So what happens when the two compete against each other year round ?   During the cooler months,  April through October the Bent grass out competes the Couch and Saltene, the Couch and Saltene are still there just not as pronounced as during the warmer months, thanks to their vigorous rhizomes even tho the bent has control of the top, the couch and saltene are waiting to pounce when warmer temps arrive due to their extensive rhizome syste
Read more

Hydraulic Oil Leak

Image
Over the weekend we had a Hydraulic Oil leak under the mower when mowing greens, unfortunately as it was pre-dawn mowing with a heavy dew, the operator only detected it when the sun came up after he was halfway through.   Of 13 greens mowed, 8 are effected of which 4 are cause for the most concern. Wishful thinking, I am wondering, and will find out soon enough, with the greens renovations only just completed whether the vigorous growth we have encourage to recover from Reno's and the higher cut we were mowing at will lessen the impact and we may be able to cut out most of it....Experience tells me IT IS wishful thinking. With this type of oil leak, it isn't so much the oil but the temperature of the oil that causes most of the damage, instantly killing the grass it contacts. We have applied Activated Charcoal, and a dilute detergent to deactivate and dilute the oil, there isn't much more we can do I am afraid.  We have sanded the 15th to see if that helps, unfo
Read more

Fairways, Saltine and Merry...Xmas

Image
The front 9  fairway renovation went well with strong growth occurring, alleviating some compaction and more importantly allowing the gases exchange from the root-zone,  this should hold them in good position for summer. You would have noticed the yellowing saltine in the greens I have taken advantage of the mild weather conditions being more aggressive with measures for Saltine and Crab grass in the greens than previous years. The Saltine will stand out more so than normal as it discolours with the herbicide effect, as a result it may appear there is more than usual in the greens, there isn't it just seems that way with the discolouration making it stand out more. Unfortunately due to the vigorous nature of the grass, control measures are more for   suppression and long term control than immediate eradication. Further due to the high risks of photo-toxicity to the bent grass in warmer weather, product applications are ceased during summer. The initial treatment a
Read more