CAPEL GOLF COURSE MAINTENANCE

And on the 58th day it rained...well close enough, more like showers....after 57 days without precipitation we finally received some during the week, a total of 11mm fell, not allot but combined with the cooler weather we were able to switch off the irrigation pumps for a few days.  Green Renovation Recovery   Just over 3 weeks after green renovations and we are now at our normal mowing heights, we have upped the mowing to have them in pretty good shape for this weekend's Easter Medley, they will not be at the same pace as previous events, another week would have been perfect but we knew we only had 3 weeks to get them back and it was always going to be tight. They are rolling reasonably well and there shouldn't be any complaints. On the downside as expected the crab grass and couch has hung around and now visible this because we couldn't spray prior to renovations due to the national shortage of the chemical used, we received delivery yesterday and will be spraying next ...

 It is hard to believe we are only 18 days out from completing renovations, the greens have continued their phenomenal recovery and we are now just 1/2mm off our normal heights, to highlight the strong recovery, normally after a deep large aeration as we did this time, we expect a 30 day period before we are even close to where we are now. The only downside is having to wait for the chemical control of the crab grass, couch and saltene due to the shortage explained previously we couldn't spray when we normally do prior to Reno's, this means these weeds are hanging around longer than usual and when we do spray will certainly make the appearance unsightly. There is no doubt the hydraulic oil leak non detection has held us back a bit more and we could have been even further along if it hadn't happened, tho it does appear we have escaped the worst case scenario of 10cm wide strips of dead grass. Whether through decisive quick action or luck, most likely luck the af...

Day 12 since we completed renovations and the greens continue the strong recovery, we gave them their first cut on Monday (5mm) and have cut every day this week, lowering them again yesterday (4.5mm) which we will stay at till Monday coming before lowering them again twice next week. By next weekend the greens should be pretty close but not quite back to normal conditions. Russel Lines boys from Jetline were back in during the week with donated materials and labour to complete the first stage of the 1st Path and formed a verge along some of the car park.    They will also be constructing a small wall along side the 16th tee at tee height to formalise the area in expectation of path along the tee. Since the use of carts has increased it is areas like these that are showing the downside of high cart use, carts are constantly cutting the corner at the front of the tee eroding the bank and if left would have eventually started eroding the tee top, by constructing the wall, simila...

5 Days since renovations and the greens are making a strong recovery, during this week we topped up some greens with a little more sand to cover some holes left over.  I expect to give them their first cut next Monday afternoon at 5.5mm, once we are happy with minimal sand pick up we will commence the process of gradually lowering them to our normal height of cut. We rest the greens after renovations for two reasons, importantly for the health of the bent grass to grow new roots and shoots, plus we don't want to take heavy triplex mowers on them to soon while they are soft and moist, generally tho to recover from the intense practices they go through during the year, Secondly with so much sand about, cutting them would make sure the cylinders go blunt on the first green, tearing and ripping every subsequent green cut and adding to the maintenance bill trying to sharpen the blades and cylinders again. Normally a 4 to 5 week recovery time before they are back to normal conditions wi...

You can always tell a Golf Tragic, there the ones that when we close the course, they still find an excuse to walk around it... Greens Renovations were complete over the weekend. Due to a healthy volunteer turn out and Mick Lines Bobcat skills we were able to have 10 greens cored and cleaned up on Saturday afternoon and the rest by 9am Sunday. Many thanks to all our member volunteers for their assistance, much appreciated by staff as we would still be going without the help.  Once all the cores were picked up, a planned BBQ lunch was changed to a breakfast, a bite to eat and to quench the first as a thank you for all our hard working volunteers. It must be the earliest that part has ever been completed, so much so our volunteers were discussing what the hell they were going to do for the rest of the day!  The staff then resumed with sanding and rubbing in greens Generally we give an approx time for the greens to come back to normal time, as the greens were very healthy goi...

We are steadily making progress with renovating bunkers, so far minor adjustments have been made and the excess mounding caused by sand build up removed on the 2nd x 2, 5th, 8th, 11th and 14th sand bunkers. The picture below shows what we are trying to eliminate. Raised lip and worn edge Major bunker works are also complete on the 6th and 17th right side bunker, these works included reshaping the rear edge completely, levelling the base from a very steep rear to front slope and with the 17th increasing the width of what was a very small bunker, and impossible to rake with the bunker rake. 17th 6th  Both Bunkers have received positive comments and look, play and maintain allot better than before.  The 12th right side bunker is next on the list and will be the last before the Xmas / New Year period as we concentrate on other maintenance activities. Bunker works will then resume after New Year. In other news, the back 9 fairways were renovated last week, a decent resu...

Click.............Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Sorry Just me, cracking open a bottle of Jack's, putting the feet up and appreciating the fact the greens reno is finally done and dusted, ( excuse the pun).  We managed to get the sand on the greens from the past few rubbed in by midday after they dried under heavy skies, and then finished sanding the others, and finally rubbing them all in for a reasonable finish. It hasn't been the smoothest of Renovations but not the worst, with at first the Hire Top dresser not spreading the sand evenly and breaking down, then of course the rain, heavy clouded non drying skies, wet sand and a delay of 36hrs with sand on 8 greens before we could start rubbing in. My thanks, to our staff for putting in extra effort, our contractors for being flexible enough to allow us the extra day, and to those players today who turned up thinking reno's was complete and didn't mind playing the 9 holes which were open at the time, your understanding was apprecia...

Our fears were realised today when we had to stop Sanding the greens midway through. With forecast for rain and cloud hovering about it was decided to stop the Sanding as a precaution. We started early, with scattered cloud about but with forecast showing showers not till the afternoon, we were confident of getting the sand dried and rubbed in before the rain came. However with 97% humidity, cloud increasing and no wind at all, the sand was staying wet. Unfortunately, the sand already out has not dried 6hrs after putting out and we are stuck at the moment with sand over the greens as was to wet to rub in. Another effort will be made later this afternoon to get the sand in before rain makes the task impossible. We wait with baited breath, fingers crossed, and hope I won't have to explain the adverse effects if we leave the sand on to long..... Coring is complete, Sanding will take place at the earliest opportunity hopefully Tomorrow. Footnote  - Just back from th...

Yes its that time of year again, which all golfers just love...to hate.  For the many reasons we do this, click on this link Renovation Reasons .   Over the past week the renovation program kicked off with all Tees cored with our Ryan corer,amendments added, the ladies tees sanded and the greens verti cut yesterday. The Ryan in action Verti Units having the depths adjusted and prepared After the previous two glorious days we are keeping a nervous eye on the forecast for Sundays main green renovation day when we want, but don't necessarily get fine clear skies, a hint of rain could throw a huge spanner in the works so fingers crossed. Over the weekend, weather permitting, we will be Solid Coring, adding soil amendments, sanding, and of course rubbing the sand in. We are allowing a 4 week recovery period, (for the greens that is, not us) before they are back to normal playing conditions. Next week we will finish sanding the tees, from the...

We had a great turn out of volunteers for the weekend Reno's. A huge Thank you to all from the Greens staff, without your help we would be still going. Renovations went very smoothly, there was no lifting and plenty of cores removed and nearly just as much sand added to fill those cores all golfers love so much. Unfortunately I am still unable to upload pics so a brief description of what we did follows - Verti - Cut Greens -- This was to achieve 3 outcomes, 1) Remove some excess thatch, 2) To "crack open" the Couch and Saltene encroachment into the greens to allow for better chemical control and 3) create a seed bed for over sowing patches. Hollow Cored -- We were very aggressive with coring using 5/8 inch tines to a depth of 6 inches, this is part of the alternating cycle of using hallow and solid coring techniques where the solids used during spring are smaller and not as deep. Our objective is simple in Autumn renovations, relieve compaction, improve air and wate...

In greenkeeping it can at times be difficult when dealing with factors outside your control, and there are many, so you concentrate on the factors that are. Its good for you, and good for staff moral when they can see the end result of all the hard work put in. That's the beauty of this trade, for all the work you put in and comes undone through outside influences, there are plenty more instances where you can see why you love the job. The greens have come back very quickly from Reno's, they are in healthy condition and looking great. They are being cut at 3mm with double cutting this week. They may still be a little off pace as strong growth continues from the fert applied over the reno period, this will subside as we lay off the Nitrogen component and return to our normal nutrient maintenance practices.     The tees are also in great condition after renovations, plenty of growth recovering wear areas. Anthony taking great pride in his strip...

Works to the 3rd green surrounds was completed this week despite loosing some time to repairing a main line break on the back 9 caused by tree roots. The offending tree roots and tree were removed.  Getting back to the 3rd, all work was carried out by staff, the turf was cut from the surrounds and set aside for laying later, sand from the 4th pit used to create the mounding and extra turf cut from the practice fairway to cover the area. The green will now have a 1m collar before sloping off rectifying the problem of balls being putt of the green with the sharp and sudden drop that was. The area will be G.U.R till establishment. In other news, the greens were given their first cut after Reno's last Monday at 6mm and have been cut everyday since, we will gradually lower the height over the next week and should be 4mm next weekend, 3mm the week after. The tees are recovering well from the renovations to them and both greens and tees should be in great condition ...

The greens renovations were completed this past weekend, some pics follow. Using Solid Tines Holes Opened  Applying Amendments  Top Dressing   Brooming Sand  After Brooming All up the greens renos took 10hrs to complete, the greens also had excess sand removed by hand boarding, and brooming. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- This week we have cored all Tees, Walk ways and most Surrounds using our small corer. Verti cutting of the worst "thatched up tees" is progressing. Fertilising, amendments and Top dressing will be completed By Friday.

With our biennial greens renovation fast approaching I thought I would answer some common questions we receive by players at this time of year. Why Renovate? Without getting technical, there are a number of reasons why we renovate the greens, to relieve compaction, to get air into the profile, reduce any thatch build up and to add soil amendments when the greens are open from coring. To be blunt if we didn’t, the greens would deteriorate in condition and eventually die. Further explanations follow. Why Core ? Like so many things, the quality of a good putting green is more than skin deep. In fact, the condition of a green has a lot to do with what goes on below the surface. In order to keep grass growing at 3mm you have to have deep, healthy roots. Good roots demand oxygen. In good soil, they get the oxygen from tiny pockets of air trapped between soil and sand particles. Over time, the traffic from golfers' feet (as well as heavy mowing equipment) tends to compac...