Rainfall for the Week: 23.5mm,  Rainfall for 2023: 836.0mm, Dam: 95%   Green Speed: 9.0 feet

The thunderstorm that rolled through last Saturday night delivered 18mm of rain in a short 20 minute period, which is great for filling our dam but caused considerable erosion damage to our bunkers. There were also strong winds with this storm which left the course covered in leaf debris on Sunday morning. As a result, planned work for the week was thrown out the window with many man hours required to restore playing surfaces back to expected standards. On Tuesday, five staff members spent six hours each repairing most of the eroded face areas of the bunkers instead of mowing rough, whipper snipping, edging collars and aprons, or spraying kikuyu in couch areas.

The team with the assistance of our volunteers were still able to cut out, pick up and lay new turf on the 9^th collar, and the black tee pad on the 18^th. This work had to continue as the order for the turf was made last week and couldn’t be cancelled over the weekend. This will be the last collar we replace until after the Christmas and the New Year period. Over the next few weeks, we will be giving the 6^th, 14^th, 17^th, and 18^th collars a renovation, consisting of coring (aeration with hollow tines/ removing a plug from the surface) and fertilising in an attempt to ignite some growth on these surfaces. Returfing of the LHS of the 6^th collar will still happen, as the kikuyu has invaded this side considerably, but will need to be sprayed out first.

Our tees are really starting to shine with the warmer nights and the recent fertiliser application taking affect. We used a carbon based fertiliser on these surfaces as the carbon is an energy source for the soil microbes. This kicks them into action and as a result they release locked up elements and nutrients in the soil which the turf is then able to use, with strong healthy growth the result, and this is what we are seeing on our tees.

I was able to visit both The Australian and The Lakes last week during the Australian Open and both courses were presented in outstanding condition for our national championship. The Australian has a full time crew of 25 staff, which swelled to 65 for the tournament week with volunteers coming from across Australia and overseas. The Lakes has a full time crew of 22, and they were able to get an additional 25 volunteers for the tournament. Large amounts of money were spent at both courses and particularly The Australian to showcase the course for this tournament, with Europe’s Ryder Cup player Robert MacIntyre commenting “Hands down the best conditioned golf course I have ever played.”, this money seems well spent if you are fortunate enough to have it, which very few clubs are.

A very hot day is being predicted for Saturday with tops of 42^oC expected. Greens won’t be cut or rolled on Saturday as a precaution, and heavy irrigation will be applied Friday night/ Saturday morning to ensure the greens don’t stress during the day. Moisture levels on greens were this morning to ensure no surprises pop up over the weekend, with 36^oC being the predicted top temperature today. Checking of greens will be performed around lunchtime on Saturday, and the tubs of ice will be out in front of the proshop and the 12^th tee for members to stay as comfortable as possible.