Overdue Update

I apologise for not updating the blog over the past 2 weeks and more so not updating about renovations. As I have mentioned in previous posts we are in the midst of a very busy maintenance period and to top it off I have been spending a considerable amount of my own time completing risk assessments. Anyone who has ever been involved with the process knows it can be a lengthy process. I digress and move on with the update.
Green Renovations

Went very smoothly and the greens are coming back in great condition. We gave them the first cut on Wednesday afternoon, we were so impressed we will be lowering the heights for the Friday afternoon cut. This weekend will be the worst as far as pace and smoothness for ball roll  is concerned as we are at a higher height of cut and only mowing afternoons so not to pick up wet sand as we mow. Next week we will further lower the heights and commence morning mows.

Practice Chipper
The root zone sand as been loaded levelled and we are watering to help settle, before adding amendments. Anthony is at TAFE this week and next so I am leaving the amendments till he returns for his experience before we seed.
16th Mound / Sandbunker
 One less bunker to worry about !!!!
 
Improvement works to the 16th surrounds commenced this week, as you know 2 mounds are being constructed, the 1st replacing the short right side bunker and the 2nd to the right of the green. This work will greatly improve the wear problem experienced around the right side green. We will also be rotary hoeing the non mound area.

The first step was to fill the bunker, we have started mounding that section, and again with only the tractor to use it will take some time to get the amount of sand we need for the height of the mound. Having said that we should have the mound close to finish and the turf cut for the mound laid back down by Friday afternoon.
The next step will be rotary hoeing the existing walkway area, raising the levels slightly and chaffing the area (explained below).

Once that is complete we will start mounding the 2nd mound.
Front 9 Fairway Renovations
If we are not busy enough the front 9 Fairway renovations will start on Monday, verti cutting, cleaning up and scrolling fairways will be hopefully completed by Wednesday afternoon. We will beusing some of the material from the verti cutting to chaff the 16th walkway and chipping green banks.  

Chaffing is another method to establish couch grass, the material from verti cutting is kept moist and basically top dressed over bare ground before being lightly rotary hoed in, rolled and watered. We will hopefully have a nice coverage 6 weeks later.

 A long Post but your now up-to-date, oh and fairway irrigation has started, so if you are tired after reading all this imagine how we are doing. We still managed to fit a BBQ in to officially welcome Ben to the staff and congratulate Anthony before he attended his last TAFE block. Of course the tradition continued for the new staff initiation, cooking the onions as Ben found out.

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