Greens Renovations

The greens are recovering well following the work on Monday. We have been cutting them the past 2 days at 3.5mm and will continue to do so through the weekend. Once the remainder of the sand is incorporated into the surface, we will lower the height to 3mm again which should be by next weekend. It might not sound like much, but after 20 years in the industry I'm still amazed at what a difference 1mm in cutting height makes.

Greens Renovations

Greens renovations: two words which golfers don't enjoy too much. Our growth levels mean we need to remove excess organic matter from the greens which renovations provide. The end result are better greens, for your enjoyment. We don't go out in the heat and humidity and work hard on the greens for us, we do it for you.

So today, we commence our greens renovations. The poor weather of late last week resulted in a change of procedures for today as we did not know what the weather had in store for us. So the procedure today will be as follows:

- Verticut the greens: We will be using verti-cutting heads in the greens mowers instead of the walk behind unit and verti-cutting the greens to a depth of around -5mm. Verti-cutting means vertical mowing, straight down. After one pass we will assess the results and determine whether we make a second pass. By using the heads on the greens mowers, it will mean we will get across the greens fast.

- Clean up cut: Once we finish verti-cutting, we mow the green to standard height which currently is 3mm.

- Aerate: Very important. Aeration provides a number of benefits for a golf green such as increasing the oxygen levels in the soil; encouraging deeper root systems; reducing compaction; improving water infiltration through the profile; and so on. This is where our major change is. We were initially going to use a hollow tyne and remove plugs from the green. To clean them up they need to be dry. But due to the rain last week we were concerned that if we remove plugs and could not get them dry then we would have made alot of mess on the putting surfaces which takes longer to get back to good condition. Therefore, we have switched coring tynes to solid tynes, which still provide the above benefits, but also don't leave any mess as we are not pulling material out.

- Topdress: The greens will receive a light topdress to promote surface smoothness.

As we are using our ride on mowers for the verti-cutting we will get over the greens faster. Therefore, we probably will not stop after 9 holes today (front) as originally expected. We do not know what the weather will bring so we will no doubt press on as the day progresses. Please check with the pro-shop to our current status if you are intending on playing.

Wet Conditions

Another 35mm recorded yesterday and overnight. Surprisingly it is has not created any damage to the course (like bunker washouts). There is standing water on fairways 10, 12, 16, 17 & 18 and these holes will be cart path only. The remainder are fine to drive on, but obviously you need to watch for the typical wet areas on a hole, such as around 9 green and any low areas on fairways or rough. Also, if you observe any other golfers not adhering to the rules of the day can you please inform the pro-shop as we unfortunately do not have a marshall at the course.

Overnight Rainfall

A total of 7mm of rain to 5.00am this morning, so the course is in relatively good condition. The forecast is for a chance of moderate falls to rain periods today, easing early tomorrow. Carts today will be as normal for the front 9, with the 90 degree rule in place for the back 9, primarily on our problem holes 10, 12, 16, 18. If the rain intensifies during the morning then we will reassess later in the day.

Pre-emerging

As we live in a tropical climate, our soil temperatures are warmer than many other golf courses which results in not only increased growth but also increased weed pressure. Every 8 weeks, we apply what is known as a pre-emergent herbicide to almost the entire golf course and we will be finishing the golf course today. Once applied the herbicide creates a film in the top of the soil so that when a weed seed germinates and comes in contact with this film, it adsorbs the herbicide and is killed before it becomes visible - hence the term 'pre-emergent'. Given our 5 days of winter this year, we started our pre-emerging in August instead of typically September. We will continue this programme now right though to around April/May.

Greens Renovations

A reminder to all members that greens renovations are scheduled for next Monday (front 9) and Tuesday (back 9), October 25 & 26. We will be verti-cutting again followed by aerifying and topdressing. We expect the greens to be back in good condition in around 2 weeks.

Greens Verti-cutting

It has now been 2 weeks since we verti-cut the greens by hand. The extended rainfall into April this year meant we were not able to carry out our typical greens renovations as we had limited time between the wet season finishing and school holidays/Carnivale time which is why we only aerified. As such, we had excess organic matter under the surface which we needed to remove before the rain starts again. Excess organic matter can contribute to a number of problems for a golf green, such as increased insect and disease pressure (ie. more 'food'), soft and uneven putting surfaces, slower greens, reduced root structure, and so on. It is imperative in our climate that we maintain a minimal level of organic matter so that our greens can drain quickly and remain in the healthiest state possible.

The greens are recovering well with the darker lines you see in the greens being new shoots. The greens are now firmer underfoot and the roll is smoothing out well. As the appropriate saying goes, 'Short term pain, long term gain'.

Growth Regulation

During the summer months, and wet season, we apply a growth regulator product called Primo to nearly all parts of the golf course which assists us in keeping the turf under control. Applied monthly, it slows growth by limiting cell division in the leaf blade so when heavy rains are around and we can't cut fairways for a week, it ensures the length of the grass does not get out of control. We applied our first application last week to the fairways which has caused a slight change in colour to the fairways. The first application typically gives the fairways a slight 'smokey' look which you may have noticed. By the second and third applications (November/December) however, this turns more to the typical dark green.

19mm of rain received yesterday and overnight. Carts will be on a 90 degree rule for the back 9 today. Please be mindful of low areas when you are driving.

2010 Rainfall

2010 is shaping up to be one of our wettest years on record on the course. To date we have received 2.2m for the year. As an example of how much more we have received, the annual totals in 2007 were 1.95m, 2008 2.21m, and 2009 1.82m. With the current La Nina weather pattern, the final 3 months to New Year look to be wet.

Welcome

Welcome to the Sea Temple Golf Club Course Maintenance blog for members and guests of the golf course. Please check back regularly as we update course conditions and inform you of works being undertaken around the golf course.