Saturday 21st January 2017.

Summer work projects are continuing with the upgrades of some areas around the course.

The redevelopment of the pitching green area is at grow-in stage and after some initial teething problems with the turf after relay, it is now beginning to to establish itself.

The turf itself did not take kindly to its relocation from the site of the 12th green and suffered from dry patch brought on by the presence of "Fairy ring" and also some turf disease.

This will continue to be monitored closely and the appropriate action taken if necessary.

The 12th green upgrade is progressing nicely and the green is expected to be opened in early February.

Mowing heights are gradually being lowered in conjunction with a light topdressing programme to help protect new growth and even playing surface.

Once this green is open for play it will continue to be lightly topdressed to protect from damage for several weeks.

Work is well underway with the replacement of the 6th green collar.

The encroaching couchgrass was sprayed and removed and new bentgrass collar laid around this area to increase our putting surface area.

Some couch within the putting surface will be patched out over the coming weeks in an effort to return this green to pure bentgrass.

This green should only be out of play for a short period of 3-4 weeks.

Work also took place this week on the calibration and cleaning of Groundwater Meters. Upon inspection we have found that these have been choked with a build up bacteria and other material and will need more frequent maintenance and treatment due to water quality.

These meters are a legal requirement by the Dept of Water to monitor that we are only using our Groundwater allocation under our licence.

New pitching green.

The developing 12th green.

Removal of couch collar around 6th green.

The re-laying of bentgrass onto the 6th collar.

Friday 2nd December 2016.

Work on the redesign and relaying of the pitching green is well underway.
The healthy turf that was removed from the 12th green site has be relaid on the pitching green area after some reshaping and enlarging.
The area to the north of the pitching green has had mounds added and these will be planted with couch creating a variety of points and slopes from which members can practice in the future.
It is expected that the green itself will be available for use in about 6 weeks with some of the other planted areas available for use a little later.

Re-turfing of the new practice pitching green.

The finished product.

Work also took place this week on the redesign and ref-surfacing of the 12th green. Couch infesting the green was treated and removed and the new green is slowly taking shape. The greenside bunker will be reshaped also to suit the new green layout. New irrigation will be installed where each sprinkler will be able to be controlled separately. We are hopeful that we will be able to open the green for play about 6 weeks after the turf is laid.

Earthworks begins on the 12th green with the removal the couch infested areas.

Site is rotary hoed after turf removal to prepare the base soil for shaping and returfing.

Monday 14th November 2016.

A decision was made recently to trial the use of a contractor to complete some of the course renovations for this summer.
The contractor came to the club and completed all the required coring of our fairways in 2 days allowing our staff to concentrate solely on the clean up process.
Generally this coring practice would be completed by our own staff and our own equipment but would take some 3 weeks to finish.
This was an extremely successful exercise and helped up complete all coring and verti-cutting of fairways in 6 working days.
The success of this programme suggests to us that it could be the way to approach fairway renovation in the future seasons.

Contractor coring the 9th hole. Five tractor and corer units were used, completing an average sized hole in approx. 45 minutes.

A borrowed core processing unit from Sun City CC was then used to destroy cores and return nutrient material back into the soil profile. Fairways were then drag meshed to work sand into turf, loose organic material blown off and watered for 2 nights before being mown. 

Friday 4th November.

Groundstaff have been working feverishly this week to complete all the verti-mowing of our fairways.
This has worked and been completed really well in 4 days with the use of our verti-mower units that fit onto our fairway mowing unit, our Rake-o-vac unit and blower unit.
Significant amounts of grass have been removed from the fairways and we will see a great result from this procedure in about a month.
Thanks again to my staff for their hard work this week.
Next week 9 holes will be closed on Monday and Tuesday so contractors can complete the coring of the fairways. This will allow good movement of fertiliser and irrigation water into the rootzone and provide much-needed oxygen to the rootzone also.
We have borrowed a Core Processing unit from Sun City CC to clean up the cores behind the contractors with this exercise expected to take just the 2 days.
In the weeks that follow our renovation period we will apply both wetting agent and fertiliser to achieve sound recovery through the coming weeks.

Verti mowing with verti-mower units on our fairway mower.

Large amount of grass pulled out of fairway after verti-mowing.

Pick up of grass material with our Rake-o-vac unit.

The finished result after mowing, blowing and more mowing.

Monday 3rd October 2016.
With a cold wet winter we have had this year it has been particularly difficult managing the issue of invading wintergrass in our greens.
A certain level of wintergrass infestation remains in our greens all year round as many genotypes actually become perennial, meaning they last through the years, and not annual as is the typical cycle.
As weather conditions change to the wet, cooler months the desired species of bentgrass slows its growth and this highlights the presence and competitive ability of the wintergrass.
We are currently using to chemicals to help control the development of wintergrass, one being a growth retardant to restrict its development and the other being a contraceptive to restrict its flowering and in turn its ability to produce more seed.
The use of these chemicals affects the colour of the wintergrass and makes it more obvious visually. The 2nd green is a typical example of how the individual plants can be highlighted.
We have also been trialing a fertiliser and growth retardant combination product on the 10th green this year with encouraging results.
Though we have not eliminated the wintergrass totally in this green, its general health and condition has been a lot better this year as compared to previous years.
We are therefore considering the use of this programme on all greens next winter.

The 2nd green with the discoloured wintergrass (light green) plants after chemical treatment.

Thursday 11th August 2016.

With the winter months well and truly upon us, we find that wintergrass or Poa annua becomes more obvious in our putting surfaces.

This weed is probably the major issue faced by turf managers around the world, in putting surfaces, and continues to be so. It's presence can cause less than ideal ball role as its growth rate is much quicker than the desired species of bentgrass and this occurs throughout the daylight hours.

Though it is an annual grass, the conditions that it experiences in greens are so favourable that it will survive all year round and as such is always evident but more obvious through the colder wetter months.

There are limited effective controls for wintergrass in bentgrass turf and as such it is difficult to totally eliminate from putting surfaces once it gets a hold.

We currently have a programme with two separate products to help reduce its prevalence and restrict its development further.

The first is the use of a growth retardant that reduces it vertical growth and shrinks the plant to allow the desired species of bentgrass to overtake it or 'crowd it out'. The second product is a contraceptive to inhibit the wintergrass from flowering and in turn seeding which should lead to a reduction in plant numbers.

Another issue facing use with wintergrass management is the number of genotypes of wintergrass that occur. Some sites in Australia have recorded up to a dozen genotypes being evident and chemical controls may work on some and not others and over time the uncontrolled genotypes may dominate the turf sward leaving a site with a prominent infestation of uncontrollable wintergrass.

Both these programmes tend to yellow wintergrass making it more visible by eye at this time of year hence it becomes more obvious.

Unfortunately there is no 'silver bullet' for wintergrass control in bentgrass at this time but chemical manufacturers and turfgrass research organisations are constantly trying to develop improved control products.

We have this winter trialled the use of a growth retardant and fertiliser combination product on the 10th green to evaluate its benefit in our overall programme and it does seem to have some positive elements to its use at this time.

At this time however a broad management programme that involves controlled nutrient application and the use of the other products described is the best solution.

Yellow stunted wintergrass under chemical control on the 10th green site. The greener darker desirable bentgrass can be seen surrounding the wintergrass and competing with the wintergrass plants.

This photo shows the area on 10th green where wintergrass has been controlled and succumbed to chemical pressure. The healthy desirable bentgrass can be seen around the bare area and this will now creep and develop into the bare area as weather improves. 

Friday 1st July 2016.

Work has continued this week with the finishing off of the area around the new buggy shed and cart path from carpark to clubhouse.

We are currently in the process of remodeling the practice bunker area as it was disrupted by the construction of the pathway and we are improving the paving near the carpark and shed entrance and exit.

This will improve access to the course for carts from the carpark to clubhouse and avoid the need for carts to move around the Maintenance Facility.

Re-shaping practice bunker.

Shaped practice bunker.

Repairing paved pathway from carpark.