It’s been a productive week for the team, with
plenty of work being completed across the course. The recent run of calm,
windless days has eased the pressure on leaf clean-up, reducing the need for
two staff on blowers each day to clear debris from fairway surfaces.
Work has begun on the temporary putting green on the 18th tee.
The couch turf was cut out, with a small section of
the championship tee pad repaired with some of this
turf. Our excavator was then used to dig out the
remaining root zone of the couch turf which will hopefully reduce the
likelihood of the couch grass regenerating through the new putting surface.
Heading into the weekend, we have almost installed the new growing medium back
into the green sub-base, with this to be completed early next week before we
incorporate an organic matter material into this profile which will assist with
moisture and nutrient retention/availability. We are storing the turf we
removed from the 12th green outside the maintenance shed and plan to
relay this turf by the end of next week.
The contractors have commenced work on the 12th hole this week,
starting at the green and removing the existing topsoil. This provided a great
snapshot of this green’s soil profile, and it will make a great comparison to
the putting green profile when the easement works commence in this area. The
old 12th green had around 100mm of a sandy profile (from renovation
practices over many years), and then it turned into a heavy soil type that was
black in colour, with no sub-surface drainage at all. It explains the challenge
in maintaining the green during summer and why this green couldn’t develop a
strong root system, with the surface prone to lifting when we verti-drained during
renovations.
Members of the course team spent Monday and
Tuesday moving sand around in bunkers, pushing it in from the back and pulling
it down off the high faces, to ensure the lining materials are properly
covered. Extra sand was added to selected bunkers on the 2nd, 4th,
and 5th holes. The adding of sand will continue of the next few months
to top up bunkers as required.
Tee complexes were treated with a herbicide to control the winter grass
weeds in them, and areas on the 7th fairway have been cut out with
the turf cutter and rotary hoed to relieve compaction. Turf will be cut from
either the 12th or 18th fairway to repair these areas. The
other areas around the course that were completed recently are establishing
well, with the 17th flyover a major improvement.
The volunteers were on course Monday morning mulching the
gardens around Farmer Tunk’s Hut and refreshing the mulch area between the 8th
fairway and 9th tee. Many of these Monday volunteers backed up on
Thursday morning to help relocate the Proshop back down to the temporary
clubhouse building. Thank you to everyone that generously volunteered at the
club this week, your contribution and continued support is very much appreciated.
Greens will be cut both mornings this weekend. I will be setting pins on Saturday and Gary will set them on Sunday morning.
Happy Golfing
The Course Team.
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