CAPEL GOLF COURSE MAINTENANCE

Greens Renovations As mentioned HERE   the second mini greens renovations will commence Monday 8th December. The course will be closed for the day. We will be using the same process and tine size as we did for the October Renovations and expect similar outcomes with a turn around of 2 weeks to have the greens back to normal. This second renovations is important to complete the preparations for the greens heading into summer. Back 9 Fairway Renovations The back 9 fairway renovations have also been organised to commence on Monday 8th December, this will allow us time to get a head start before the competition on Tuesday hits off minimising the disruption to players. This year we will be hollow coring the Fairways instead of verti cutting. It is anticipated we will cover 3 to 4 fairways per day however as this is the first time the fairways have been hollow cored (plugs pulled to surface) I am expecting to "hit" (pun intended) a few snags, mainly ...

My thanks to the staff for their efforts in the lead up to and during the AVGU National Championship week, their commitment and dedication which saw them here ready to work at 4am every morning and then again after play till well into the night was made even more impressive, considering as a young inexperienced staff, it was their first taste of what it takes to prepare a golf course for a National Event.   To our many volunteers and the tremendous assistance given we could not have accomplished what we achieved without your help thank you.   Some Course Maintenance Facts Specific for the Event ·         Working bees attracted up to 18 volunteers on both major work days ·         Course staff of 4 were assisted with a few hours spent by regular volunteers. ·         Greens H.O.C   2.3mm double cut morning and single cut afternoon ...

If we think we can't we won't If we think we can We will That has been my mantra to staff these past few weeks Some pics from the National Veterans preps.     I think we did!!

Another fantastic turnout of helpers through the past week, concentrating on picking up branches etc in the Bush area between holes, the odd whipper snipping around fixtures, finishing the refurbishment of the sand bucket stands and some more carpark and tree pruning work. Once again to many to name individually so a collective thank you to everyone who have came out to lend a hand over the past fortnight. It is fantastic as a staff to see so many members take pride in their course and willing to help out when required, as a small staff with a major event on the horizon, the added help is appreciated and allows us more time to concentrate on the overall conditioning of the Golf Course. I have no doubt the combined efforts of Staff and Volunteers will result in a sensational finished product as we peak the course in Condition over the coming weeks.    This week we continue increased grooming of the course, one priority task wi...

We had a healthy turn out of volunteers during the week, helping staff and regular helpers attend jobs around the course in preparations for the National Vets. Some of the work attended included   - Levelling / Adding sand to a total of 13 bunkers. - Clearing and tidying up around the bottom end car-park - Pruning trees along 18 Fairway - Refurbishing Sand Bucket Dispensers - Removal of Dead Banksias along 14 Rough.  - Edging paths and hard surface areas. - Entrance gardens Weeded and Tidied Without the help of these Volunteers we would have been struggling to complete or some instances commence any of the above work. To many to name, a huge thank you to all that came out and to those that will be out over the next few weeks. It is very appreciated and nothing more shows the pride you have in the club than coming out and lending a hand when needed. Again Thank you to all. With last weeks assault on the worst of the sand bunker downslopes, only a...

Tomorrow (Monday 20th) marks 14 days since the greens renovations and we will commence morning cuts at 3mm as all sand is now below the height of cut range. Normally we keep the cut at 3mm for the remainder of summer however with the National Vets Championships this year we will be chasing that extra bit of pace for the event and will be lowering the heights a little more closer to the event. A further mini tine and sanding will be completed after the Vets and Capel International to counteract any detrimental effects of "chasing the pace" as well as to ensure turf health through summer after only mini tinning at our scheduled renovations. With new turf laid on the 10th Ladies tee and Men's White tee last week we can finally put what has been a huge drain on our time to bed, with only 4 of us on course and many other maintenance tasks and course set up to attend we look forward to turning our full attention to gearing the course up for...

Greens renovations went very well despite the 19mm rain received the day before causing the applied sand and greens to be wetter than we would have liked. This had the effect of the core holes not opening fully till later in the afternoon when the greens warmed up and dried, after the sand had already been brushed in. End result some core holes are not filled completely. That said the use of the smaller diameter tines means this is less critical than when we use the larger 12mm ones and will cover by the end of the week but have the benefit of tiny channels created for water and air movement.   The greens have progressed well since renovation 4 days ago, we are cutting at 4mm in the afternoons. The reason for the afternoon cut is for the sand on the greens to be dry to avoid the mowers picking up wet sand and adversely affecting the quality of cut. Heights will be lowered by the end of next week to 3mm. We have also been very busy with the 10th tee complex, the Men'...