Grounds Update

6^th Green

The green itself is in extremely healthy condition. Ideally if we could get a few more sunny days this will help immensely as we managed 3-4 days last week and then the weather came in cold and overcast again which really slows the growth back down. Preferred lies will continue to be in place for anything off the putting surface.

10^th Path

The fence running down along the path will be installed this week. We went with a nice merbau post that we have varnished up and will then run a nice thick rope through it. Once completed this should be a nice improvement to the area.

14^th Ladies Tee

The back of this tee has been roped off for the time being with smaller stakes as we will look at planting this area out with a nice low growing shrub. I am hoping work will commence on this area around mid-October (after greens renovations).

Kikuyu spraying

All fairways have now been completed, spraying of tee tops and tee surrounds has commenced. Tees will be sprayed prior with DSMA to knock the kikuyu back a little and better highlight it for spot spraying.

Fairways

Fairway scarifying has been completed directly after the Women’s Championships. Fairways have been 4x scarified and then shaved down to 6mm. A wetting agent application will follow, and a granular fertiliser will be applied on the 12^th of October.

Greens renovations

Greens renovations are being completed. In the past we have started on the Sunday to get a head start but this year we got most of it done within the 1 day. We borrowed another coring machine from Busselton GC to help speed up the process. This year we will be doing a 17mm hollow core on our older greens (2,3,5,7,8 10,11,13,14,17,18). Once these greens are sanded, we will then go over them with a 19mm solid tine to help drive fresh sand down into the profile.  On the newer greens (1,4,9, 12,15,16 we will give these greens a single 19mm solid tine and sand. A granular fertiliser and gypsum will be applied directly after sanding. The greens collars and approaches will also be completed later this week.

Tees

Tees will also be added to the list during “renovation week”. Tees will undergo a double scarification and 6mm shave followed by a 19mm hollow tine. Wetting agent and a granular fertiliser will be applied directly after.

I am happy with the time of year we are now doing our renovations, previously doing them in September the weather has been less then favourable for a quick recovery.  By doing them at this time of year allows us to do our warm season (couch) surfaces at the same time and helps us to complete our coring in the space of a week.

Caravan Park

Resident encroachment has been addressed.  The area between the 11^th tee and caravan park has been fully sprayed and are now waiting for the standing water to subside before screen planting can occur. Brush screening is also being considered to be installed along the full length of the tee

Pipeline projects

We are currently looking at options for upgrading both the 11^th men’s tee and the 1^st. The 11^th men’s will address the shade issue and a resurface. The 1^st tee will include a new wall plus a limestone sand bin built into it. An extension of the path from in front of the tee for carts crossing over to 10 and the addition of landscaping along the edge of the carpark path down to the shed access road.

We are also looking into a suitable nursery for our warm season grasses. Currently we use the back of the range, but this area constantly hammered by the range cart and after harvest the area becomes quite bumpy and damages the ball collector. We are looking at a site between the back right corner of the range and the 9^th fairway. This area is close to our irrigation mainline and already clear of trees so minimal site work is required. We will look at fencing this area off to keep the range cart from driving over it.

Staff

Connor Butlion has accepted a position on the grounds staff at The Australian Golf Club in Sydney. This is great career advancement opportunity, and we wish Connor all the best for the future. Connor has recently completed is apprenticeship and will finish at BGC at the end of the month. Connor’s initiative commitment and passion for the industry will be greatly missed. Connor is also looking at a 1-year visit to the US for an internship through Ohio State University.

 

Regards

Dave Brennan

Course Superintendent