October Update

Unbelievable its already that favourite time of year for golfers and greenkeepers alike, October Renovations, ok maybe more for greenkeepers, time has flown by. 

First of all my Apologies for the lack of an August and September update, a combination of TAFE commitments for our 2 apprentices’ and Leave arrangements with all staff have taking annual leave of varying lengths including myself has meant we have been at 75% capacity, at times 50% since August with no weeks being at full staffing levels during this time. 

This will continue through to the end of November which does impact the amount of tasks we can attend to on any given day. Throw in a few unplanned interruptions, felled tree branches going through irrigation pipes, snapped fanbelts, the odd idiot in carts doing doughies in the wet, among others and the fun starts, never a dull moment ! 

 

The frequency, timing and amount of rain through the back end of winter / early spring has also meant a condensed weed spraying schedule leading into renovations. This not only effects us time wise but also has an undesirable effect on our fairways which may look a little dry and unthrifty, this is only temporary due to the close intervals of applications than we would normally allow, they will bounce back through the renovation period. 

As you all know by now, our renovations commence Sunday afternoon 13th October and will continue through Wednesday 16th, during this time our plan is to verti cut , hallow core, seed and sand all greens, scalp down and verti cut, and clean off all front 9 fairways with selected back 9 fairways also being targeted as time permits. It is a huge undertaking but we are confident of achieving our goals and improving turf health through the course rain allowing. 

Other work to be attended through renovation closure period will include spraying of 1st cut roughs and carries, along with other necessary work which is the perfect time to attend to without the worry of players being on the course. 

 

 As what seems par for the course, the mere mention of renovations brings the clouds, despite glorious weather the past week, rain clouds are forecast to arrive smack on time for renovations, just adds a little more interest to proceedings. Contingency plans have been set in case the forecast rain arrives at the worst possible times, which will impact how much and what we can achieve depending on the time of arrival, fingers crossed we don’t have to worry, but as they say, hope for the best, plan for the worst. At the very least, worst case scenario we will still core greens, sanding may be an issue in wet conditions and verti cutting will be impacted. 

Stay tuned .....................

 

 I would like to thank the volunteers you have offered to assist pick up cores John is also very appreciative of the help without of which would delay us even further, more so that we will be racing against the clock to get finished before rain events. . 

 

See you on the other side of renovations Happy Hooking.

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