November 2023

Welcome to another instalment of the Course Maintenance Blog, I will try and slow down the typing, because we have been going at a cracking pace on the course over the past 6 weeks that would leave the Cup hopefuls in our wake. 

 The Finish line is in sight for a number of projects undertaken over the last month and looking forward to holding back the reigns( ok no more cup puns) to give time to consolidate the previous work performed. 

My thanks to Ben for his tireless efforts, with a great many extra hours worked, my staff who have also worked extra hours and of course both of our major works could not have been completed without the wonderful help of our ever present volunteers. This should never go unnoticed, coming from a metro golf course background, where volunteers were scarce to say the least; I am forever appreciative for the help these members give. Forget the profit and loss sheet for a moment or the condition of the course/ facilities, the true strength of a NFP club lies within its members more so by those members who freely give up their time to volunteer whether that be working on the course , club or on the various committees, for the betterment of the club and other members, they are the very heart and soul of any club, and on behalf of the staff I thank you. 

 The greens have, in the most part fully recovered from renovations; they are now back at normal mowing heights and frequency. We still have a couple of greens with areas to fill in from issues we experienced prior to renovations. These areas will continue to improve. This is a fantastic result given the amount of traffic we have experienced during the recovery period helped by those players doing the right thing in taking care when playing, repairing pitch marks and generally caring for the surface and we thankyou for your time and care. 

 Unfortunately some players not only lack that etiquette but also seem to believe their temper tantrums after a 3 putt gives them the right to take divots out of the greens, at least 5 nearby hole divots have been repaired over the last couple of weeks. 

 This should never be accepted, whether by greenfee player or member, and I urge playing partners to ask them to pull their head in at the least, report them to Management and Directors so further action can be taken. 

It is simply not on and the message needs to be understood for the benefit of all !

 Rant Over, the greens even though now at their normal heights will still be a tad slower than normal due to fertiliser applications aimed at high growth for recovery and no growth regulation occurring at the moment, residual nutrients will reduce and regulation will be implemented once we are happy with all greens progress.

 Tee and Green Aprons have also recovered in the main from renovations and like the greens some tees still have a few areas to fully recover in high wear areas, again a good result considering the extra wear we have experienced during the recovery period. 

 The Practice Tee works have all but concluded, site preparations included excavating 350mm of materials from high areas while filling low spots up to 250mm, increasing the width of the teeing area to the right. Still a rather smallish area for a grassed practice tee so careful management will need to be implemented. 

Level tee area and better sight lines to meter markers will now be experienced. 

 New irrigation was installed for better coverage of the turf that was laid last Friday. 

The turf operation consisting of cutting, rolling of our own in house turf areas, transporting to the tee and laying, 

In 30 plus degree heat, we are so appreciative of all the volunteers ( to many to name) who turned out to help, as said above, they are the true heartbeat of the club and us 3 staff on duty sure appreciated the extra hands. SO ONCE AGAIN A VERY BIG THANK YOU 

 We still have some tidy up to complete around the extremes of the tee, including further shaping of the banks and some more turf to lay, these works will be attended after the fairway renovations are completed over the next couple of weeks. Volunteers will also be laying artificial turf in the non irrigated area between the undercover driving range facility and new turf area. I anticipate the tee will be close to opening in 8 weeks after grow in is complete. 

 Our next major work to attend is this weeks fairway renovations, as mentioned in earlier blog posts and communications this is the first time in a number of years we have been able to scarify fairways, and is the very first time we are undertaking the work in house with the use of a hire Veemo from Greenworkz,( Australian distributor of Sisis Turf equipment), which is doubling up as a demo for us in view to purchase. My Thanks to Steve Dartnall for accommodation our request and providing the equipment. 

 Clean up is our main worry and the time it will take with what we have on hand, I feel a great deal of trial and error will occur until we settle on a method and routine that is suitable. For this reason I am unable to provide exact details on timing and conditions, for this I apologise but appreciate your understanding. 

 Our objective is to complete at least 9 holes, we are hopeful of completing all 18. We will soon find out ! 

 The full program includes

 Initial 50% lower cut prior to works 

 Scarify Clean up 

 Low Scroll cut 

 Secondary clean up

 Final clean up cut 

 Final clean up. 

 This will be followed by Wetting Agent and Fertiliser applications. 

 During the works there will be play disruptions outside of competition times, hole closures to allow staff to attend fairways in a safe efficient manner. 

These will be communicated by Shop staff . No closures or works will be performed during competition times, staff will be working early morning and late afternoon to accommodate this.

 Immediately after renovations the fairway will need some time to recover, please be aware a great deal of surface disruption will take place, prefer lies may be implemented by Match. 

Full recovery may take 6 weeks. Once again, we apologise for any inconvenience during this very important works and appreciate your patience and understanding whilst we get about improving long term surface conditions for your enjoyment.

 Till Next Time 

 Happy Hooking