Daves Diary

Time for another instalment of the diary and keep you all updated on what has been happening down the shed, out on the golf course and to give you a little insight as to what we do and why we do it.

Apart from the horrible weather it feels like we are forever having, life out on the golf course continues to kick on for us. Normally I have always preferred the winter months but the weather has been frustrating of late, cool overcast/wet and windy days don’t really do the place much justice and with the odd day of sunshine we have had the place lights up again and all faith is restored to the point Im now wishing away the winter and getting rather excited for the warmer weather to return and kick everything back into gear.

Usually over the winter is when guys take the majority of their holiday time as we can afford to be a couple of guys down at certain periods. Having said that we’re still kept busy performing basic course prep for competitions and keeping with set maintenance and nutritional programs that we have implemented along the way.

This winter we have also taken the opportunity to pull the bore pump out and give it a service. On average the pump should be pulled every 4 years and inspected but as records indicate the pump has remained in the ground since it was installed back in 2003. Primarily the motor is still in decent condition but there is a considerable amount of wear on the pump shaft and impellors which reduces the output and efficiency meaning longer run times to keep up with irrigation demands and increased power consumption and operating costs. For those of you who are unaware the bore is situated in the south west yarragadee aquifer which contains approx. 1,000 cubic kilometres of water and reaches a depth of 2km in places. For us our bore hole is drilled to a depth of 166m below ground and our pumps sits at a depth of 36m and by looking at water marks on the discharge pipe the pump and motor sit roughly 20m below water level and highest water mark is 5m below ground which indicates we have plenty of re draw within the bore hole.

For this time of year and the weather we have experienced the greens are still holding up pretty well with plenty of grass coverage. A few people have mentioned/ voiced concern on the poa (wintergrass) creeping into some of the greens, poa is a very hot topic amongst golfers now days and many clubs face an uphill battle including the karrinyups of the world to remove a grass that is very difficult to remove from within bent grass as there are no real chemical to fully remove it with out damaging effects on the bent grass. Growth regulators are used widely to contain the growth and allow the bent to grow back within it slowing reducing the size of the plant over time. Using this Plant Growth Regulator (PGR) also known as paclobutrazol has had positive results but also comes with its hidden risks as its also known as a root pruner and thinner of bent grass leaving the greens very vulnerable in low bent growth situations (high growth for poa) and again throughout the summer with heat stress and disease pressure. The issues we faced with the greens last winter didn’t help our cause as this opened the turf sward and basically invited the poa to jump in and with the low growth rates and thinning bent made chemical treatments difficult as this would of further pushed the bent back into decline. As result of this we changed a lot of our programs and the way we address how we handle the greens in certain periods of the year. This year with a good density of bent we have been able to use paclobutrazol when needed and have also begun applying the chemical Ethephon used for seed head suppressant, This herbicide is another PGR and again has detrimental effects on bent grass health and quality meaning it was difficult to use under last years conditions and allowing the poa to seed hence the increased population this winter.  Personally I’m not really concerned Im confident that our programs we are putting in place will further improve our putting surfaces but it all takes time and begins with basic turf health and conditioning. Come renovation time this is our major opportunity to start getting the wheels in motion so to speak , by opening up the greens we can incorporate soil amendments down into the profile to stimulate new root growth. This year we intend to really hit the greens hard come renovation time, we will begin with giving the greens a heavy topdress first before running over them with a 22mm solid tine punching a channel down 200mm. The greens will then be brushed to maximise the amount of sand down the channels before going over them in another direction with a 20mm hollow tine extracting a 100mm long core and with the vibrations further pushing fresh sand down into the profile. At present the greens hold too much moisture in the upper inch of the profile creating a perfect environment for poa to establish and also causing the bent to become shallow rooted.  By incorporating fresh sand and allowing oxygen down into the channels will further stimulate new root growth and allow the roots to chase moisture and nutrients deeper. By doing this then allows us to further manage our moisture over summer, promote healthier deep rooted greens which assists in producing a healthier and better putting surface that can better handle stress and out compete poa….. sounds so simple really!

Finally, below I have added a report from our apprentice Connor Butlion who back in May embarked on a journey to the US off his own back to assist with the running of a PGA Tour event. The sheer size of these events are mind blowing and Connor gives us an insight into as to what is involved in the behind the scenes action of preparing the course for that 1 week before they move it on to another venue the following week where it’s all to be done again for a different Superintendent and their crew.

After Connors report is also a little insight from our past Canadian employee in Chad Fauchoux about his time spent at the Bunbury Golf Club over the summer.

 

AT&T Byron Nelson 2018

On the 12th of May I found myself in Dallas, Texas, a week before this year’s Byron Nelson held at Trinity Forest. With this being my first time working at a PGA event and the first time the newly opened Trinity forest has held an event on this scale I knew I was in for a treat. When I first saw the course on Sunday the week before the tournament at the volunteers briefing I was just blown away and couldn’t wait to get out there.

After the briefing we were assigned morning and afternoon jobs for the week I met a few new people from all over America, funnily enough I was the only International. It really sunk in for me when we all rolled out of the maintenance grounds Monday morning and there was just machine after machine after machine going out there to do their assigned job. There were about 45 volunteers and 25 full time staff (a lot more than the 4 staff we have) The morning jobs mostly consisted of mowing, raking bunkers and course setup. My morning job was to mow tee boxes, approaches and green surrounds with a triplex mower. There were two teams, one for the back nine and one for the front. Each team consisted of three people and three mowers. The afternoon jobs were a little different and far more relaxed as the green speeds were really fast and fairways extremely firm, with minimal growth there was no need to cut them in the afternoon. We would once again split into teams for every job which included smoothing bunkers, hand divoting fairways, fixing pitch marks on greens, blowing off excess grass clippings on fairways and debris on greens and hand watering fairways. Although the first few days were relatively simple and more about getting to know the golf course, the last four days were all about perfection and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel the pressure of working on a championship golf course that would be on display for thousands of fans and countless television viewers but I would not have had it any other way.

I worked two shifts everyday Monday-Sunday of the tournament week. The morning shift would start at 4am and we were usually done by 8:30am. The afternoon shift started at 4pm and we worked until all the jobs were completed. On the Thursday the temperatures soared to 38 degrees which stressed the fairway turf, a handful of us stayed behind and hand-watered fairways until 10pm that night. Trinity Forest supplied a hotel where most of us stayed in downtown Dallas. We were fed breakfast and dinner every day by the golf club. The food would vary depending on who the sponsor was, I don’t think any one left hungry. We were transported by bus from the hotel to course everyday which was also supplied by Trinity Forest.

It was a very different experience working with zoysia and couch. The fairways, tees and approaches were all a new variety of zoysia, formerly L1F it is now known as Trinity zoysia, named after the golf course as its the first course to implement the new variety. It gave the fairways a really tight and firm appearance and although it did dry out through the day the brown colouring just added to the golf course’s character. I was really surprised with the champion couch greens. Champion Dwarf is a hybrid couch grass that gives a really firm and tolerable playing surface that did not dry out in the 38 degree Dallas heat.

I really wanted to go to America to experience the different turf management practices. I was not disappointed. I now have a better understanding of where I want to be in the turf industry and what it takes to get there. One of the biggest things that I took away from my trip was how Director of agronomy Kasey Kauff and Superintendent Chad Kuzawa organised all the staff and how smoothly everything was run. I also want to thank Bunbury Golf Club and Dave Brennan (superintendent) for giving me the opportunity to get over there as we have been very busy down here at the shed with our own tournament to attend.

 

Hopefully I’ll have another report to write next year, maybe in a new location.

-Connor Butlion

 

Chad Fauchoux

The last 6 months at Bunbury Golf Club have been unforgettable! For those of you who may not have gotten the chance to meet me, my name is Chad Fauchoux and I have been living and working at Bunbury Golf Club for the last 6 months. Coming from Saskatchewan, Canada, I was extremely nervous but also very excited for the opportunity I received – to work in Western Australia. I was greeted by Dave Brennan when I arrived on December 2, 2017  I knew that I had made the right choice after only a few minutes of meeting Dave.

The entire Bunbury staff welcomed me with open arms, from the first day to the last I felt a part of the team. I had been working at a municipal golf course in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan for the past 6 golf seasons. Living in Canada, the golf season runs from the months of May to October each year giving us a short window to golf. Because I had the winters off, this gave me an opportunity to complete my Turfgrass Diploma at Olds College in Alberta, Canada.

I am still very young when it comes to golf maintenance and I have learned a lot from my short time being here. But the thing that stuck with me the most is the teamwork shown around the golf course as a whole. Everyone knows everyone at the Bunbury Golf Club and everyone helps everyone. This is exactly why the Bunbury Golf Club received the Western Australia Regional golf course of the year.

I will be returning to Canada June 6th where I have accepted a new job as the Superintendent/ Head Greens keeper at Birch Hills Golf Course. I hope to instill the kind of “Teamwork” at my new job that everyone has shown me here.

Saying that I would like to thank everyone from the entire Bunbury Golf Club – mostly Dave Brennan and his staff Michael Newman (Spud), Connor Butlion, Barry McGill, and Will Shaw! You guys taught me how well and efficient a golf course should run with only a staff of 6 people. Yes I said 6!

 

Thanks for the memories Bunbury Golf Club!

 

Chad Fauchoux