Greenkeeper's Report September 2015
After a recent Greens Committee meeting, we have would like to share a prepared schedule of work which is planned, which we the next 6 months.
Bunker Renovation
What does bunker renovation involve?
- Dig out the old sand
- Re-edge the bunker
- Remove old drainage and gravel
- Install new drainage
- Fill with new sand
- Compact, check levels, rake
The main bulk of our work will be focused on improving bunkers. In the last two winters we have brought in 30 tonnes of bunker sand each winter in order to renovate and top up bunkers; we have found that this isn't enough when you have 72 bunkers, so in the 2015-16 winter we aim to bring in 80 tonnes.
Our plan is to fully renovate 19 bunkers on the golf course, top up 13 bunkers with more sand, and get rid of five bunkers completely. All of this is subject to weather, time and other factors, but we feel the plan is achievable.
The bunkers we have concentrated on are some of the most frequently used bunkers on the course, and the ones with the worst performance.
New Practice Putting Green
It is with great disappointment that we have not been able to open the new Practice Putting Green yet. Due to some factors out of our control (a bad batch of seed which didn't 'take' being the main reason) we have had to delay the opening of the new green up to now.
We have reviewed the condition of the new practice putting green and discovered that there are still some bare patches near the top half of the green which has prevented it from opening. After assessing the condition we agreed that mowing frequency would be increased to three times per week with a height of 7mm on the ride-on greens mower, starting this week. Two more applications of low-nitrogen fertiliser will be applied, and continual re-seeding on the bare areas will commence from this Friday, in order to hopefully open the green before November. Any thin areas at this point can be ‘cored-out’ using good turf from the existing putting green.
It is extremely important that the putting green is in the best shape possible before opening as it will receive a lot of wear, quickly.
Competition Tees on Holes 6 and 10
We will be opening the new competition tees on holes 6 and 10 this weekend for the club championship! Please pay attention to the warning signs on each tee, and also the new yardage which is on the scorecard.
Driving Range
We will be doing some repair work and also making some improvements on the driving range, these will include:
- 6,000 new range balls
- Four new mats
- Three new targets on the outfield
- Bay divider repairs and replacements
Conclusion
We would like to assure our members that we are working to the best of our ability to improve the course right now, but being a small club things take time to get right. With further hard work and effort this course is definitely going to continue and improve.