Irrigation Drama's
Last Sunday (30th) a main line ruptured on the front 9
Due to the nature and location of the break( 10m from bore, another 2m and we would have been OK) we are unable to isolate the pipe which means we cannot irrigate any areas on the front 9 with the irrigation system, to add to our woes we cannot obtain the correct fittings till at least Wednesday 2nd Jan and then we have to slowly pressurise the system which will take time.
As you can imagine with the heat we are having it is cause for concern, temperatures of 34 to 40 degrees combined with low humidity are effectively cooking our turf areas without water.
The greens are our main priority, we are using 600 litre tanks to hand water greens early morning and late evening some tees are being watered in this manner as well. The front 9 fairways will be worst effected as we cannot water these areas as frequent by hand.
You can expect we will endeavour to keep the greens "alive" as a priority, they will be slower as we alternate mow days to relieve some of the mechanical stress placed on the plant and help us get through this very trying time.
You can also expect the tee boxes to be only slightly effected but some browning off may occur.
You can expect the fairways to brown off and " bleach in some areas, they will not look nice at all, the good news is once we have the irrigation system back up and running, recovery will be quick, they were in very healthy condition prior to this and with applications of surfactants they should bounce back pretty quickly. Keep in mind the fairway will have gone 10 days without water by Thursday.
You can help by not driving carts over obvious dry areas, by driving over these areas under water stress you crush the cell structure of the plant causing death to the effected area, please be alert when using carts on the course.
Many thanks to Peter and Mick for their assistance with watering and chasing down contacts, and of course my staff who once again are doing everything they can including altering work hours to overcome what is a major irrigation problem under very hot conditions.
Add this to our Xmas day dramas and you could say we are having a blow out of a time.
Due to the nature and location of the break( 10m from bore, another 2m and we would have been OK) we are unable to isolate the pipe which means we cannot irrigate any areas on the front 9 with the irrigation system, to add to our woes we cannot obtain the correct fittings till at least Wednesday 2nd Jan and then we have to slowly pressurise the system which will take time.
As you can imagine with the heat we are having it is cause for concern, temperatures of 34 to 40 degrees combined with low humidity are effectively cooking our turf areas without water.
The greens are our main priority, we are using 600 litre tanks to hand water greens early morning and late evening some tees are being watered in this manner as well. The front 9 fairways will be worst effected as we cannot water these areas as frequent by hand.
You can expect we will endeavour to keep the greens "alive" as a priority, they will be slower as we alternate mow days to relieve some of the mechanical stress placed on the plant and help us get through this very trying time.
You can also expect the tee boxes to be only slightly effected but some browning off may occur.
You can expect the fairways to brown off and " bleach in some areas, they will not look nice at all, the good news is once we have the irrigation system back up and running, recovery will be quick, they were in very healthy condition prior to this and with applications of surfactants they should bounce back pretty quickly. Keep in mind the fairway will have gone 10 days without water by Thursday.
You can help by not driving carts over obvious dry areas, by driving over these areas under water stress you crush the cell structure of the plant causing death to the effected area, please be alert when using carts on the course.
Many thanks to Peter and Mick for their assistance with watering and chasing down contacts, and of course my staff who once again are doing everything they can including altering work hours to overcome what is a major irrigation problem under very hot conditions.
Add this to our Xmas day dramas and you could say we are having a blow out of a time.
