OCTOBER 2022 GREENS REPORT
We have come to completion of this year’s major works on the course this month and we have opened up all new tees, and have turfed areas such as 13th fairway and next to the 17th tee.
After this weekend’s heavy rain, it totally destroyed the turf laying on the 13th fairway and washed most of it away. As I have mentioned, this short term fix will not go away until major changes are done to the flow of the river that runs through our course down towards the 15th.
The boys have placed turf back in position and hopefully we don’t see anymore heavy downfalls until the grass takes.
The course was looking really good with everything mowed, and with greens coming back from renovations right in time for The Open. However, that changed quickly with the rain we just received. The course at the moment is very wet but the grass is growing quickly, and our plans are to be patient without making too much mess with mowing, and continue on with other work needed: cart paths, snipping drains and weed spraying on greens and surrounds.
The greens desperately need some sunshine as most of them are very wet underneath, anad we will also be monitoring the bad greens and top dressing those needed next week.
Hopefully a better month of weather to come.
ANDY BOSWELL – COURSE SUPERINTENDENT
NOVEMBER 2022 GREENS
REPORT
Firstly, I
would like to pass on condolences to Dave’s family. On behalf of the course
staff, we will miss having you around on and off the golf course: rest in peace
Dave!
This month
has been a complete opposite in weather, with the rain finally staying away and
within two weeks the course has dried up completely!.
The boys
have been busy everyday hand-watering tees and greens, and with no sign of any
rain in the coming weeks, the irrigation system and water tanks will be working
overtime .
Last month
I mentioned an insect issue we have on the 3rd green, and I have applied three
applications now to all 328 greens to control the mite contamination. Although
the surface is slowly coming back, the disease is under control with an
application of Granular fertiliser applied this week to push new leaf growth.
The 7th
and 15th greens were also fertilised and are looking a lot
better! With not having any drainage to these greens the roots underneath are
finally dry and not waterlogged, therefore we are actually seeing some new
growth on the surface.
There has
been mentioned of bare areas on certain greens that haven’t been attended too, and
this has not been ignored. These small bare areas have been an issue for years
and major construction to tree removal will need to be done to properly fix
this issue as the root system from these trees have made home underneath the
greens surface.
Examples of
greens mentioned: left hand side of 2nd green and left hand side of
13th green both have tree
roots running into the profile and need major excavation work to completely
assure that the grass sustains growth for the future. In the meantime, the
course staff will simply clean and replace with some turf, however this is only
a temporary fix to the issue as I’ve explained above.
The main
focus this month is to keep moisture up to our tees and greens, fix some bare
areas mentioned, and continue with snipping dams and all other large areas.
With the
arrival of our new roughs mower, the staff have been doing a great job keeping
the rough down in height with our two toro mowers.
This month
we continue to maintain the course and most importantly keep the water up to
our tees and greens with a limited irrigation system.The Everglades will be
cleaned up and areas on greens turfed as mentioned.
ANDY
BOSWELL – COURSE SUPERINTENDENT
DECEMBER 2022
GREENS REPORT
It has been
a great month with getting the course into good shape for the Christmas
holidays. With no sign of rain, the course has been busy every day with golfers,
and the course staff constantly mowing.
A follow up
from last month with regards to the insect issue to the 3rd green: a final
application has been completed and the disease and mite issue is under full
control and is improving fast.
The 7th and
15th greens have also improved a lot due to applications, and most importantly
some decent sunshine!
Bare
patches that have been noted in the annual report will all be repaired after
the Christmas holiday period, and will ALL be completed and in play before
course renovations in February.
The drainage
project that on the 7th which runs alongside the green will also be
done before renovations.
As we have
limited course staff at the moment, we are focusing on maintaining all daily
maintenance throughout the course before taking on any projects.
Also
mentioned in the annual report, this month we have purchased some new ball washers
and rubbish bins, and this will continue into the new year until all have been
replaced.
The staff
have kept the rough down and low mowing every week with large amounts of hand
watering as we are back to a dry course again.
After a
very rough year due to weather that caused a lot of problems to our greens that
already suffer from shade and poor drainage, it has been a good end to the year.
The course is looking great and I look forward to improving it with new
projects planned for next year.
On behalf
of the course staff, I wish all staff, committee and members a safe and Happy New
Year.
ANDY
BOSWELL – COURSE SUPERINTENDENT