Superintendents Report – September 2013

We had 72mm of rain for the month of September and recorded 6 days of rain.

Most of the rainfall was followed by very strong westerly winds which quickly evaporated the moisture from the surface of the grass; the strong wind also caused two large trees and several branches to blow down.

Greens

We verti cut the greens in late September and they have been pretty smooth with a little bit of speed, they have held up well in the winds and should be good for the men’s club championships in October. Our dusting program will continue after the champs.

Tees

I have applied the selective herbicide to control the rye grass and the winter grass in the couch tees with great results, the couch is in great condition as we enter the growing season.

Fairways

Pretty much unchanged from last month. We will be carrying out renovations to the fairways with either spiking or scarifying, this will help to smooth out some areas and encourage a tighter growth.  The height of cut has been reduced from 14mm in winter to 10mm for the summer months, this will be closely monitored and reviewed as the weather conditions change, the frequency of cut will increase to twice a week and the use of a growth regulator (herbicide) will be used in October.

Bunkers

I will be hireing an excavator to remove several large stumps from around the course, and if there is any quality excess sand, we will use it to top up the bunkers on the 3^rd and 6^th greens.

Over the next couple of weeks we will be relocating a lot of sand from the sides of the bunkers back into the playing zone, this sand is often removed from the desired area through incorrect raking techniques from golfers, wind, irrigation and rainfall, this job is very time and labor consuming as everything needs to be shoveled and compacted by hand.

Machinery

The old Ford tractor that we use for running our wood chipper is back up and running after having a major overhaul of the cooling system, all other machinery is in good working order as we enter the growing season. (Touch wood)

Trees and Gardens

We removed two large corals from the 16^th, as well as several large branches from around the course; a large pine tree was also removed by contract tree removealists from the rear of the green keepers shed.

All gardens continue to be mulched and trimmed and are in good shape.

The Agapanthus are about to flower so it will be good to see some colour around the 1^st tee area.

Pathways

It’s difficult to find the time with the winds forcing our focus onto tree maintenance, however when time permits we will continue the concreting on the 3^rd hill pathway.

Vandalism

Only the odd flag removed from the 10^th green.

Other projects

-          Garden work, trimming and mulching.

-          Western car park retaining wall

-          Round up spraying under pine trees, gardens, course boundaries and dams.

-          Tree maintenance.

-          Pathway repairs.                          

Thank You / Mark Yates

Superintendents Report – July 2013

We had 57mm of rain for the month of July and recorded 6 days of rain.

We received 47mm on the 30^th of July so the rest of the month was relatively dry.

We have had a lot of positive feed back from the golfers directed to the green staff when they are carrying out their daily duties, this feedback is great for staff moral and a general appreciation of what we are achieving on the course.

 Greens

As I write this report we have just completed the renovations of the greens (coring), this involves the use of hollow tines which remove a small plug approx 100mm x 12mm from the green, this allows better surface drainage, better root development, removal of mat and thatch, we can incorporate any soil amendments while the core hole are open and relieve excess surface and soil compaction, so despite the interruption to play it is necessary for this type of maintenance to be carried out on a yearly basis.

Tees

The couch tees have again been sprayed to control the kikuyu encroachment, the rye grass and wintergrass will be sprayed out at the end of August, which will put us in a great position going into the warmer months to be potentially weed free.

I might look into returfing the 9^th and 16^th tees with Kikuyu as the couch originally selected for these tees simply does not perform throughout the cooler season.

Fairways

The fairways still have a good surface and the Fusarium disease from the June rainfall has shown some strong recovery considering the reduced growth.

We will be in great condition leading into spring with full turf coverage and only a handful of areas that require a bit more TLC.

Bunkers

Normal bunker maintenance as required although the wind has displaced sand around the bunker.

Trees and Gardens

The tree work has been completed on the 12^th tee and replanting with native plants will commence shortly

Pathways

We have concreted a pad on the walkway up the 3^rd tee; we hope to continue this work as time allows concentrating on the problem areas.

Vandalism

Only the odd flag removed from the 10^th green.

Other projects

-          Garden work, trimming and mulching.

-          Round up spraying under pine trees, gardens, course boundaries and dams.

-          Tree maintenance.

-          Pathway repairs.                           

Thank You

 Mark Yates

Superintendents Report- June 2013

For the month of June we received 302mm of rain. 276mm of this fell in 10 days to end the month. The course held up extremely well. The worst impacted area was the bunkers which we had to make GUR for 4 days to give us time to fix the washed out areas and to allow the remaining water to drain away.

Greens

I have started a dusting program for the greens which has seen two applications of sand this past month. Dusting is an on going program and the most important practice for optimal green health. The benefits are a break down of the accumulating mat and thatch layer (over extended time) which improves root growth, pest control and fungal pathogens as a direct result of a healthier plant. Dusting also causes little to no disturbance to playing condition as it requires light frequent applications rather than heavy infrequent.

All other greens maintenance has remained the same with fungicide applications as required and greens being cut 3 times a week before competition days.

Tees 

Tees mowing has been reduced to once a week. We over sowed the couch tees with rye grass which has seen an improvement in colour. Now the rye has had time to establish we will resume with applications of drive to help with kikuyu control.

Fairways

Fairway mowing has considerably reduced. Currently it is around once a month. This is due to successful control of winter grass. The cutting performance of the machine has also improved with a changing of the front rollers and bottom blades. Due to the large volume of rain we received some of the fairways have winter fusarium present. This is easily controlled and should not affect play.

Bunkers

Bunkers suffered the most due to the large amount of rain we received. After being GUR for 4 days we were able to repair all wash outs and maintenance has resumed as normal. The renovated bunkers on the 11^th and 17^th have grown in well and we will look at removing the black mesh supporting the turf soon.

Machinery

Machinery operations have decreased due to the cold weather and lack of growth of the turf. Our cylinder grinder requires a new cylinder drive. This part is $1000. Once replaced, the grinder will be fully operational.

Trees and Gardens

We removed four corals trees near the net on the 14^th. These trees were a risk of falling and damaging the net. Two dead pines trees have also been removed at the 12^th tee. This area is priority number one with only one more pine needed to be removed before the area can be leveled and planted. Helen has continued her work on the gardens around the course which are coming along nicely.

Vandalism

Two flags sticks have been stolen from the 10^th green and thrown over the fence. Both times they were recovered. This is why we continue to leave old flag sticks on the 10^th green.

Other Projects

-          Trimming and mulching

-          Round up spraying under trees will commence again soon

Thank you, Dave Sutherland, Assistant Superintendent

Superintendents Report – May 2013

We had 97mm of rain for the month of May and recorded 4 days of rain.

All the rain fell in the last week of the month and between the end of April and the middle of May we had a stretch of 31 days without rainfall.

The course is in good condition although I would like the greens to be a bit firmer.  

Greens

We will be aerating the greens with solid tines on the 17-18^th of June, and we will be using mini hollow tines on the 1^st and 10^th greens. There will be some surface disturbance; however it is important that we carry out this work.

In early June we applied the second application of the selective herbicide to control the Kikuyu encroachment onto the greens; this has been very successful with no damage to the desired turf grasses.

Tees

The couch tees have been oversown with rye grass seed, and due to a slow germination of the seed we have stopped cutting them for a couple of weeks the cutting will resume shortly.

Fairways

Fairways are being cut every 3 weeks. This is mainly due to the success of the wintergrass eradication program and that the kikuyu growth has significantly reduced due to the cold weather.

Bunkers

With the assistance of a dedicated garden party, we were able to reshape the bunker entry points on the 11^th and 17^th bunkers. I would like to thank all the volunteers for the continued support. (Photos of the re shaping will follow shortly.)

Trees and Gardens

The gardens are all looking good and all the hedges have been trimmed and mulching and weed spraying will continue.

Pathways

No pathway work has been carried out.

Vandalism

We have had very little damage to the course, maybe it’s to cold at night for the person/people.

Other projects

-          Garden work, trimming and mulching.

-          Round up spraying under pine trees, gardens, course boundaries and dams.

-          Tree maintenance.

-          Pathway repairs.                          

Thank You

 Mark Yates

Superintendents Report – March 2013

We had 36mm of rain for the month of March and recorded 4 days of rain.

As I write this report we have come to the end of daylight saving, we are having cooler mornings and nights. There has been a decrease in turfgrass growth although our cutting frequency has not changed.  

Greens

Greens are running ok at the moment, they are a bit softer than I would like.

Towards the end of April I will verti- drain the greens with a solid Tyne followed by a light top-dress and fertiliser, this should give us good surface drainage and grass coverage going into to the winter months.

Tees

We are cutting tees twice a week.

The round up trials are continuing  with more work on the 2^nd and 8^th tees and most noticeable on the 9^th tee where we seem to have found the right chemical rate for the control of the kikuyu in the couch tees.

Fairways

Unchanged from last month

Fairways are being cut twice per week.

There is a small amount of disease in the heavily trafficked areas, and these areas have been treated and traffic controls are in place.

There has not been any wintergrass germination as yet and I will be applying a pre emergent herbicide to all closely mown areas of kikuyu, this includes fairways and green surrounds.

Bunkers

Bunkers have all been trimmed in preparation for the Kiama Open.

Bunkers are being raked on Wednesdays, Thursday, Saturday and other competition days including Veterans golf days, pennants and corporate days.

Machinery

The machinery cylinder grinders that were donated by the veteran golfers have been delivered and installed and we are now just awaiting some specialist training for the operation of the machine.

We have recently purchased a set of second hand greens mower cutting cylinders, these will be used as a back up set for the greens mower and the tees mower and will be beneficial when we start a regular greens dusting program.

Trees and Gardens

Helen has been busy planting several species of plants around the clubhouse and first tee; the majority of these plants have been donated by members.

Roundup spraying under trees continues when time permits.

Vandalism

The main problem on the course is the Corella birds with a recent attack on the 10^th green on Wednesday 3.4.13. Green staff repaired the damage the following morning and the recovery has been good. This problem is very difficult to police and I would ask all members to help in scaring the birds away from the greens or any closely mown surface.

Other projects

-          Garden work, trimming and mulching.

-          Round up spraying under pine trees, gardens, course boundaries and dams.

-          Tree maintenance.

-          Pathway repairs.                          

Thank You  Mark Yates

Superintendents Report – February 2013

We had 131mm of rain for the month of February and recorded 9 days of rain.

We had a damaging storm the 24^th of February, resulting in a lot of debris and tree branches down on the golf course. It took approximately 5 days of solid chain sawing and wood chipping to get the debris cleaned up, this along with general maintenance has taken up all allocated time.  

Greens

Greens are on the slower side due to consistent rainfall and growth.

There has been some disease “dollar spot” present on the greens, however this disease has been treated and is under control.

 Tees

We are cutting tees twice a week.

The roundup trials on the 12^th tee, showed some goods results but the Kikuyu recovered over a 3 week period, due to the storm clean up no further trials have been conducted.

Fairways

Fairways are being cut twice per week.

There is a small amount of disease in the heavily trafficked areas, and these areas have been treated and traffic controls are in place. There has not been any wintergrass germination as yet and I will be applying a pre emergent herbicide to all closely mown areas of kikuyu, this includes fairways and green surrounds.

Bunkers

The storm damage forced me to reprioritize the bunker maintenance.

We refaced several of the bunkers and relocated approximately 20 tonnes of sand back into the playing zones of each bunker, this job alone took 2 staff 2 days to complete.

Machinery

The machinery cylinder grinders that were donated by the veteran golfers have been delivered and installed and we are now just awaiting some specialist training for the operation of the machine.

The cutting units on the greens mower have just received a complete overhaul.

Trees and Gardens

As a result of the storm damage from last month we have removed several trees on the course, including a coral on the left hand side of the second fairway and the tea tree on the 9^th tee, Roundup spraying under trees continues when time permits.

Pathways

With the assistance of the garden party at the beginning of March we were able to top up some problem areas on the pathways on the holes 6, 7,10,13,15, and 17. Thank you again for your help.

Vandalism

The main problem on the course is the Karrela birds that are digging up the fairways and the occasional green in search of food. If possible could the golfers please take the time to scare the birds away from the playing areas.Also we have had several of the small white stakes that I use for traffic control stolen from the 7^th and 16^th holes, these stakes cost $11 each to replace.

Other projects

-          Garden work, trimming and mulching.

-          Round up spraying under pine trees, gardens, course boundaries and dams.

-          Tree maintenance.

-          Pathway repairs.                          

Thank You  Mark Yates

Superintendents Report- December

We had 42.5mm of rain for the month of December and recorded just 4 days of rain. The total rainfall recorded for the year was 992mm. The dry summer is continuing however the course is holding up well considering the dry warmer weather. As I write this report the mercury is tipped to surpass 40 deg

Other courses in the Illawarra are struggling with the drought conditions and a lack of water to keep the grass healthy; this includes Port Kembla who has turned off all fairway irrigation for the past 6 weeks.

We are now 20 weeks into a period were we have had minimal rainfall, including the last 11 weeks were we have recorded just 66mm of rainfall. I have spoken to many members that make the comment, “I have never seen the dams this empty in 30 years of playing golf here at Kiama”. 

Greens  Greens have been on the slower side, however nearly all the comments I receive are that they are still smooth and consistent.

Unfortunately we need to irrigate regularly to ensure the health of the grass over green speed. My growth regulation is continuing well and we are applying the chemical every 3 weeks. We are definitely in the peek disease season and my programs are working well and we currently have no disease problems on greens.

Tees  We are cutting tees twice a week, the Kikuyu encroachment on the couch tees has recovered from the herbicide applications however we have eliminated a lot of the kikuyu from the actual playing area. This control will continue.

Fairways We are cutting fairways twice a week; the growth regulation program is working well and giving the golfer a nice tight lie. I will take this opportunity to suggest that the fairways are in their current healthy condition even in these drought conditions mainly due to my wintergrass control program that I started nearly 3 years ago, the kikuyu is healthier and has less competition, and also the wintergrass would have been struggling in the summer heat.

Bunkers We are currently relocating the sand back into the playing part of the bunker, we try to achieve a flat base with steep sides, I will be making entry and exit points in the bunkers to allow easier access for our golfers, this will continue over the next few weeks, please do not walk up the steeper faces of the bunkers.

Machinery Our new Jacobsen Fairway mower has arrived and we are very impressed with all of its operational features, including easier setting adjustments, easier cleaning, cruise control and overall a better cut.

Trees and Gardens We have removed two large corals and one large pine tree from the right hand side of the 12^th fairway, this is a very time consuming job and is not always a maintenance priority.

Pathways We have enough road base to top up one more pathway, and again this is not a maintenance priority at the moment.

 Vandalism There are only a few burn marks on the 10^th fairway after the New Year fireworks, apart from this we are going well considering we are in the holiday period.

 Other projects

-          Garden work, trimming and mulching.

-          Round up spraying under pine trees, gardens, course boundaries and dams.

-          Tree maintenance.

-          Pathway repairs.                          

 Thank You  Mark Yates

Superintendents Report – November  2012

We had 24mm of rain for the month of November and recorded just 4 days of rain. The dry start to summer is continuing however the course is holding up well considering the dry warmer weather.

Greens

We have been verti-cutting and dusting the greens on a fortnightly basis to maintain a smooth consistent surface. The growth retardant is working well in suppressing the winter grass growth.

 Tees

Tees are being cut twice a week and are relatively weed free after being sprayed with a selective herbicide to eradicate the rye and winter grass, the Kikuyu has shown some recovery after the initial herbicide application and another application will take place in mid December.

Fairways

Fairways are going well with good recovery in some of the bare areas, frequent light fertilizing and growth retardant is continuing to improve the overall surface. Fairways are currently being cut twice a week

Bunkers

We have completed some bunker reshaping on the three bunkers near the 7^th green, this is to allow better access into the bunker for the golfer. More bunkers will be renovated in the future.

Machinery

The board of directors have decided to allocate funds for the purchase of a new Jacobsen fairway mower valued at $50,000, this machine will replace the current Toro mower that is nearly 10 years old and would need several thousand more dollars spent on it to keep it in reasonable working order.

The purchase will ensure a quality cut on the fairways and will be a valuable defense against future disease outbreaks because the grass will be healthier.

Trees and Gardens

We are concentrating on garden maintenance leading into the warmer months; this includes weeding, spraying, mulching and watering. There have been a number of trees and large branches come down over the Past month including a large coral on the 12^th.We have trimmed a lot of lower hanging branches on the 10^th dam, taking the opportunity while there is not a lot of water in the dam.

Pathways

We have completed the concrete pathway extension on the first tee, this will enable us to have better machine access to the tee and practice green.

Vandalism

There has been no reported damage to the course and only two flag sticks and rakes have been placed in the 10^th dam.

Other projects

-          Garden work, trimming and mulching.

-          Round up spraying under pine trees, gardens, course boundaries and dams.

-          Tree maintenance.

-          Pathway repairs.                          

Mark Yates

Course Superintendent

Greenkeepers Blog - October

Greens

Currently are in good condition. The wintergrass seed head is noticeable due to the dry conditions. When the winter grass becomes stressed it will throw out it’s seed heads. This isn’t a great concern it just makes the greens look a little off.

They have been fertilised with a soluble fertiliser and our primo spraying has begun. This will be done every 21 days until mid march. Currently cut at 3.5 mm with the walk mowers and 2.8 with the triplex

Tees

Are looking good for this time of the growing season. They have had two applications of a selective herbicide to take out the rye and winter grass. It also knocks the kikuyu around. We will be trying to eradicate the kikuyu out of the couch tees this summer. Currently mowed at 7.5 mm which is the same as the collars.

Fairways

As you may be aware the barer areas of the fairways are finally starting to grow in. They have just received there second hit of primo and fertiliser for the season. This will be repeated every 28 days as well as a foliar feed of soluble fertiliser. A second application of broadside will be going out on the 19^th of this month. Currently we are mowing the fairways with the triplexes at 7.5mm. We are doing this as our fairway mower is under repair and are for parts from America. That heght of cut is the equivalent of 10.5mm with the fairway mower.

Machinery

Fairway mower is awaiting parts. They should be here by next week or the next. We have had an expensive month in machinery repairs. All our cylinders have been sharpened in the past 6 weeks. This should hold us through till the new year. Cylinder sharpening is the best way to extend the life and quality of the cylinder. As I say, “sharp mower, sharp golf course”.

1^st tee Pathway Widening

Concrete has been pored and retaining put in place. Garden will be extended along the length of the path.

Yours in Golf

Will

Superintendents Blog – September  2012

 We had 9.5mm of rain for the month of September and recorded just 3 days of rain.

The last 3 months have been very dry with a total of 57mm of rain falling over the 111 days from mid June to the first week in October. However the drought broke in the first round of the men’s club championships with a steady drizzle all day producing 17mm.

Greens

Greens are not too bad at the moment with full cover and are reasonably smooth. There is a fair bit of winter grass seed at the moment but I am controlling this problem with regular use of turf growth retardants.

 Tees

Tees are being cut twice a week mainly due to the rye grass growth.

All couch tees will be sprayed with a selective herbicide to remove the rye grass and encourage the couch to be the dominant grass throughout the warmer months. Expect some discolouration of the tees over the next 3-6 weeks, it should not interfere with overall playing conditions.

Fairways

With the recent rainfall and with temperatures on the rise we should start to see some growth in the Kikuyu grass and recovery in the bare patches.

Fairways are currently being cut twice a week.

My growth retardant program will start shortly when I believe there is enough growth to promote horizontal growth. If you have any questions regarding the use of growth retardant products please do not hesitate to ask me for more information.

Machinery

We have recently purchased two milling machines for our work shop; this includes a metal lathe, and a pedestal drill/miller. This purchase will allow Justin (mechanic) to do more of our repairs in-house resulting in time and money savings.

Trees and Gardens

We are concentrating on garden maintenance leading into the warmer months; this includes weeding, spraying, mulching and watering.

Pathways

We will be concreting the pathway on the first tee on the 16^th of October.

Several other pathways have been topped up over the past month.

Vandalism

The only vandalism was from a disgruntled golfer near the cup on the 17^th green during the club championships, I can relate to his frustrations sometimes and I am sure it was just an accident.

Other projects

-          Garden work, trimming and mulching.

-          Round up spraying under pine trees, gardens, course boundaries and dams.

-          Tree maintenance.

-          Pathway repairs.                          

 Thank You  Mark Yates