CAPEL GOLF COURSE MAINTENANCE

Just 14 days into Summer and we are already having temperatures we do not normally experience till mid Summer at least. We have had only 3 days below 30 degrees, with the average temperature 5 degrees above average sitting at 32.1 degrees and the relentless heat shows no sign of easing in the immediate days ahead with maximums of 36 expected. Minimum temperatures are fairing a little better just 1.9 degrees above average at 15.4 degrees and this is allowing the greens some respite. The earlier heat and drying northerly and easterly winds have impacted on the various management programs including increased surfactant applications and irrigation but by far the biggest impact has been on the early summer season herbicide program specially on greens. Any herbicide application carries a degree of risk but when air temperatures increase above 30 / 32 degrees that risk is increased proportionately. We have been forced to modify our program, miss some applications and re evaluate how we pr

  The last of the main pre summer renovations are complete with the Tees and Practice area, verti cut, cored, sanded and some goodies applied to benefit health and strength through the upcoming summer season.   Time spent over the past month renovating all our main play surfaces will ensure our turf surfaces are in a good resilient position to withstand the stresses of summer, play demands and maintenance preparations for play despite height of cuts between 2.5mm and 10mm for the various areas.   Reducing thatch, providing de-compaction and Aeration for healthy root growth is a must for high quality turf surfaces, I thank the members for your understanding and patience through what is generally a disruptive period for play and conditions.  Insect Repellent  The below 2 pictures are  the result of someone applying DEET based insect repellents to their legs / ankles on one of our fairways.   We all like to keep the bugs off us outdoors,

I introduced the blog some 7 years ago now in a slightly different format to improve communication with the  membership, since then the club commenced facebook posting, introduced monthly newsletters with the blog taking a backseat as I felt there was enough information floating around with these formats. With recent events and changes I think its time we fire this old chestnut back up again and resume blog updates.  With a small staff and ever increasing work demands I hope to update at least monthly with shorter intervals and smaller single updates as required.  So lets get stuck in.... Greens have recovered very well from renovations, by the end of this week (3 weeks since renovations) we will be back down to our summer heights of 3mm with full coverage. Presently on 3.7mm this week but well ahead of anticipated height movements greens will remain a little slow until full recovery but we are well down that track.   Greens remain soft so please pay ext