Another "Unusual Event"
I wish I was talking about a 3 club golf event or some other unusual novelty golfing event, but no the main topic for the maintenance crew this week was another "unusual weather event".
The cold front associated with the deep low sitting off the coast which swept through the region on Tuesday night, Wednesday and Thursday bringing 85km/hr winds has been officially declared an "unusual event" for this time of year, certainly we do not normally experience this type of weather in the last week of Spring to add to the one in ten year event we experienced back in in June and a few other "unusual events" along the way this year......Does this make it an "Unusual" year ?
(Pictures courtesy of Ben ) yes my camera is still on the blink.
As for the impact on the course, we escaped any major damage however we did lose another 4 trees, and the small debris over the course was a mess, the main problem course maintenance wise is the loss of 3 days of planned work scheduled, through the storm and the clean up, however I am happy to say that by Friday afternoon little evidence of the mess remain. So much so a visiting player late Friday went out of his way to approach a staff member complimenting him on the condition of the course, if he had seen the course on Thursday morning he probably would not have played at all !!!!!
Once again the staff came up with the goods, changing work hours to suit the course so we could have maximum time cleaning up the small debris. In many aspects small debris spread over the course is more of a challenge than major trees down, cleaning up small debris is more time consuming, we do not have equipment like allot of golf courses where we can use a turf VAC or turbine blower to clear the course, instead we have just one outfront mower which we put to use but with so much of the course effected it takes a considerable amount of time to complete.
After spending all day Thursday clearing the trailer size branches (it was useless putting the outfront to work Thursday due to the winds remaining above 40km/hr...sort of like peeing against the wind), We arranged work hours differently for Friday, Between the 4 of us we had the outfront running continuously from 4.30am through to 7pm Friday night, and like last weeks smooth sailing, anyone playing on the weekend will be asking................................. What storm ? and that feels great!
The lost planned work will now have to be completed next week which puts off the tee renovations and the second of the 16th mound construction which were to begin next wed and Thursday.
Below are some of the work we wanted to complete this week which had to be postponed -
Completing the Front 9 Bunker edges - Back 9 finished Front 9 were scheduled for Thursday.
Finish spraying Back 9 roughs - was scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.
Fertilising all carries and Practice area - Was scheduled for Thursday.
Greens Grooming (light verti cut) - Was scheduled for Friday
Repair work to 6th toilet pipes.
Fairway mowing - Was Thursday / Friday
Commencing last Bush cut for fire season preps.
Plus a number of other routine maintenance which usually is attended Wednesday / Thursday / Friday, as you can see these "unusual events" do cause unseen maintenance headaches.
At least with the 20mm of rain we could turn the irrigation pumps off....Now that is an UNUSUAL EVENT heading into summer.
The cold front associated with the deep low sitting off the coast which swept through the region on Tuesday night, Wednesday and Thursday bringing 85km/hr winds has been officially declared an "unusual event" for this time of year, certainly we do not normally experience this type of weather in the last week of Spring to add to the one in ten year event we experienced back in in June and a few other "unusual events" along the way this year......Does this make it an "Unusual" year ?
(Pictures courtesy of Ben ) yes my camera is still on the blink.
As for the impact on the course, we escaped any major damage however we did lose another 4 trees, and the small debris over the course was a mess, the main problem course maintenance wise is the loss of 3 days of planned work scheduled, through the storm and the clean up, however I am happy to say that by Friday afternoon little evidence of the mess remain. So much so a visiting player late Friday went out of his way to approach a staff member complimenting him on the condition of the course, if he had seen the course on Thursday morning he probably would not have played at all !!!!!
After spending all day Thursday clearing the trailer size branches (it was useless putting the outfront to work Thursday due to the winds remaining above 40km/hr...sort of like peeing against the wind), We arranged work hours differently for Friday, Between the 4 of us we had the outfront running continuously from 4.30am through to 7pm Friday night, and like last weeks smooth sailing, anyone playing on the weekend will be asking................................. What storm ? and that feels great!
Below are some of the work we wanted to complete this week which had to be postponed -
Completing the Front 9 Bunker edges - Back 9 finished Front 9 were scheduled for Thursday.
Finish spraying Back 9 roughs - was scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.
Fertilising all carries and Practice area - Was scheduled for Thursday.
Greens Grooming (light verti cut) - Was scheduled for Friday
Repair work to 6th toilet pipes.
Fairway mowing - Was Thursday / Friday
Commencing last Bush cut for fire season preps.
Plus a number of other routine maintenance which usually is attended Wednesday / Thursday / Friday, as you can see these "unusual events" do cause unseen maintenance headaches.
At least with the 20mm of rain we could turn the irrigation pumps off....Now that is an UNUSUAL EVENT heading into summer.
