CAPEL GOLF COURSE MAINTENANCE

Another week, another front came through bringing with it another 40mm rain, wind gusts up to 80km/hr bringing down another 3 trees and plenty of small debris across the course requiring clearing.       It is the small debris that consumes the time, you could not putt through the below mess on the 11th green    and we cannot mow greens with it there either, it all must be cleared along with bunker washout repair, path washouts etc before we can turn our attention to other projects / tasks.   It can be very frustrating for the crew going through the cleanup process only for another front to come through requiring us to go through it all again, the latest accounted for a total of 70 labour hours this week dedicated to debris clearing.   Our winter works program delayed another week. With the amount and frequency of rain, green approaches are holding a great deal of moisture,   the blue lines are   in place as a remind...

One task we have been doing more than we would like over the past few weeks is clearing fallen banksia trees and repairing washouts, cold fronts bringing rain and wind never ends well for the weak rooted banksias with 8 requiring removal over the past 2 weeks. The same can be said for bunker and path washouts.   That said we much prefer clearing the big stuff as we are better equipped for the job to get it cut and out of the way rather than the small debris often left after a cold front pushes through, one such example was last week which covered all greens with small debris requiring clearing before we could mow and set up for the days play, 3 hours and 4 trailer loads of debris later the greens were cleared and then on to tees, bunkers and fairways, we lose the planed works we had intended to do cleaning up the mess instead. The ugly part of winter has arrived and with it you will notice a few climate forced changes with the course. Our war...

I knew it has been a while since I updated but it wasn’t till it was pointed out to me that I realised it has been so long, 7 weeks, just proves the old saying – Time flies when you’re having fun busy working. So what’s been keeping me away from the blog and on the job these past 7 weeks ?       Firstly we welcome Sarah to the team as our new 1 st year apprentice, Sarah was by far the standout candidate for the position and we wish her well for the coming years learning the trade, please make her feel welcome and understand she is very much in the learning stage of her new position. The first 4 weeks can be overwhelming for any young new apprentice, learning the various safe work practices and procedures along with the operation of plant to a satisfactory standard, this doesn’t happen overnight, some tasks initially take a while longer to complete till the new worker gains the experience and confidence that only time and training can achieve. During the time ...

The compliments and positive feedback we have received over the past few years regarding the condition of the course is very satisfying, particularly the effort that goes into our major events, the feedback received over the Easter Medley event makes all the extra effort worthwhile. I congratulate the staff on their performance with nothing ever being to much to ask for. Speaking of staff this week we farewelled Anthony who resigned in order to  work and travel overseas, I thank Anthony for all his efforts over the past few years and wish him well on his adventure of a lifetime. For the course, as one door closes another opens, moving forward the outlook remains positive as we adjust and re evaluate staff structure and numbers for the betterment of the course long term, there will be some new faces but also renewed enthusiasm as we continue to strive for excellence.    Seen here showing his Archery Skills   After...

On behalf of the greenstaff we wish all our members a Safe and Happy Easter. It is also our Easter Medley event this weekend, it goes without saying our prime focus was on course presentation this week. As with all our Major events our preparations started 6weeks ago with the greens renovations firmly in mind setting the greens to peak for this weekend, at 2.5mm and rolling true we believe we accomplished our goals.  Each week we ticked off each task until this weeks lead in was simply presentation orientated. Preparing the course for one of the clubs a major event never starts the week before, the weeks and in some cases months leading into the event are meticulously planned to set not just the greens but the course as a whole to peak in condition.   We hope all enjoy the Easter long weekend of Golf.     Normal course operations will be disrupted through Public Holidays and Staff shortages over the next few weeks...

A spike in temperatures this week saw an April summer, with our highest minimum temperatures for April in 12 years as well as maximum temperatures in the 30's. not entirely unusual for April in the west but certainly a great deal warmer than we would expect. What we would like to see is some rain after a promising end of March with a little over 10mm falling, we have only recorded 1.2mm so far this April, with no decent falls expected in the next week we are carefully managing the remaining water allocation to ensure we supply enough for healthy turf grass growth but keep some in reserve should this trend of warmer drier weather continue.  Greens are now at 2.5mm and with increased frequency of cut in the lead up to the Easter Medley should be rolling quick and true for the event. We are very pleased with the turnaround from renovations. You may notice some turf browning off around the greens, this is a result of selective herbicide application for Mullumbi...

The greens continue their strong recovery from renovations helped along with moderate temperatures suited to Bent grass growth, they are now being cut at 3mm but still slightly off pace as a result of the strong growth being experienced. We will start manipulating  excess growth under our control now that sufficient recovery has occurred for the lower heights of cut with a corresponding increase in green speed.  This week we also renovated the back putting green, made a start on coring green surrounds along with seeding and sanding thin or patchy green surround areas. This work will continue next week to get some germination and growth before winter.   Finally you would think the below picture was taken from the practice tee or other dedicated practice area.   Sadly it was taken from behind the 16th green!!!!   All members are reminded practice on the course proper is strictly prohibited, Dedicated practice facilities are provided...