Photo of the team turfing the surrounds of the new bunker with turf from our Turf Nursery
An Update from our Course Superintendent - Chris Posa:
GENERAL: This month has been very busy with the 12th Hole project commencing. Although we had Bay Shaping doing the earth works and shaping, our team assisted in the project which consumed 110 hours of labour. This is time which was taken away from the course. We are currently playing catch up with all parts of the course but we plan to up to speed in the coming weeks.
GREENS: The Greens are currently in very good condition heading into winter. I have applied a granular fertilizer on 22nd May which will help with the greens density as we enter winter. I plan on Verti-Draining and topdressing the greens on 10th & 11th June.
TEES: Currently in good condition. I will look to Verti-Drain the tees in June to assist in aeration and drainage through the winter months.
FAIRWAYS: I have applied the pre-emergent herbicides over our couch fairways for the control of poa. This will give 12 weeks control up until early August. I will then look to apply the appropriate herbicide to get us through spring.
BUNKERS: Unfortunately we have only being attending the bunkers once a week. With the 12th project complete and catching up on the course, we will be hoping to keep on top of them a bit more frequently.
12th HOLE PROJECT: We have completed as much as we can on the 12th project. We only have a "skim" of soil to remove on the bunker face before we add the sand into the bunker. We look to do this once the turf has taken on the bunker face and once the seed has established enough so we don’t get any potential soil washing down and contaminating the fresh sand. The hole will remain closed until the grass strike is sufficient to allow foot traffic. We don't want to undo all the fantastic work with people walking all over the area before it is ready. We will keep you updated on progress but in the meantime, enjoy the guaranteed 2 points (or more) :)
I have left the bunker as asked in front of the green, but have made it more playable, we have kept the style consistent with the other bunkers on course and of a "parkland" setting. We have also added a complex which will go around and in front of the bunker, we have added irrigation to this so we can keep the turf alive, healthy and playable all year round like the new 4th complex.
WORK COMPLETED - 12th HOLE:
- Strip and remove all turf
- Strip and stock pile top soil
- Cart additional 700m3 fill & shape bunker and complex
- Install Irrigation & bunker drainage
- Cart top soil & trim
- Turf bunker face with fine fescue from our nursery
- Final prep and seed of complex
UPCOMING WORK:
- Boundary & Tree spray
- Trim sprinklers, Valve boxes and Drains
- Plugging of surrounds
- Aeration of Greens & Tees
PLANT R&M:
We have our final payment for the Rough mower this month so I have been forward planning on our next purchase in line with our machinery replacement plan. This year we are due to replace our older greens mower which was purchased in 2011 and has 2700 hours on the clock. This machine is at the appropriate age to now drop down to a tees/surrounds mower and replace the older tees/surrounds mower which was purchased in 2003 and has 5900 hours on the clock.
I have researched suitable machines taking into consideration the club continuing to want improve the greens surfaces for members, so I recommend the Jacobson GP400 which is known for its quality of cut. I have added grooming attachments which will enable us to control lateral growth on a daily basis in growth season which will give us tighter, smoother and truer putting surfaces. (NB Club is currently applying for funding for this machine - if unsuccessful, we will finance the purchase)
TREES:
Observant members will notice that some trees have been removed from around the course this week. This work has been done with reference to Steve Marsdens Greens Report of 2018 :