Summary of works
March brought with it 57mm of rain. The rain came at both ends of the month but was still way down on the average.
- March 2018 ……………Rainfall (Average 187mm)
- April 2018……………..Rainfall (Average 160mm)
The average temperature for March was 27 degrees 1 degree down on February. With most days around the 27 degree mark (except March 18th which was 40 degrees) and rain, all turf areas are growing vigorously. The morning temperatures have stayed around the 20 degrees mark, meaning the disease and insect pressure is still around but not quite as high. Looks like another 4 weeks or so before the pressure completely eases. The extreme heat, empty dams and drought conditions seem a distant memory.
At the start of March we decided to patch a few bare and weak areas on the greens. We did some patching on the 1st, 4th, 5th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 14th and 15th greens. On the 4th and 5th greens once the greens renovations are done towards the end of the month we intend to seed a few of our normal problem areas with PENN A-4 bent seed. Now we could patch these areas with turf from our nursery which is a Bent / Poa mix but we want pure bent turf there to help stop “Summer Decline” next year. Bent grass is a lot more disease and weather tolerant than Poa grass. We will over sow and repair the nursey green with PENN A-4 where we took plugs and turf to repair Corella damage during the season.
Once the patching had finished we started on hand spraying all the creeping Oxalis out of the greens. We sprayed out 32 litres of water mixed with the right chemical, which equalled to 1500m2 or 3 greens the size of the 2nd green. Creeping Oxalis is a difficult to control weed that spreads easy and quickly.
We then went around all the greens to hand spray out Mullumbimby Couch. Mullumbimby Couch excels in moist soils and humid conditions and is also very difficult to control in Bent / Poa greens. Repeat applications will be likely in 5 to 6 weeks’ time.
In early March, soil tests were carried out on 9 greens. The results came back very good, all key areas within the recommended range. What was disturbing was once again the Sulfur and Chloride levels were a direct reflection of our irrigation water quality. The Sulfur levels were 3 times as high as the recommendations for Bent / Poa turf, while the Chloride levels are a whopping 7 times higher. Salt level is a key indicator of the quality of dam water used for irrigation. High-salinity water causes an increase in soil salts and as soil salinity increases it becomes more difficult for plants to extract water from the soil. This is due to an increase in the osmotic pressure of the soil water, that is the salts ‘hold’ the water so strongly that plants cannot remove it and therefore appear to be under drought stress even when adequate moisture is present. Sodium and chloride are the most damaging ions, chloride being particularly toxic). Plants accumulate chloride to the exclusion of calcium, magnesium and potassium, causing nutritional disturbances. In addition to being taken up by the plant, chloride will cause direct injury to the plant as water dries on the leaf, particularly if irrigation is undertaken during the heat of the day.
Works undertaken during March
Greens
- Verti-drained greens once this month to relieve compaction and to help in the aid of fighting disease and summer decline, as well as allowing water to penetrate the surface. We use 8mm tines which go 100mm deep.
- Coring of greens, 12mm hollow tine which goes 100mm deep.
- Applications of herbicide targeting Creeping Oxalis.
- Applications of herbicide targeting Mullumbimby Couch.
- Applications of fungicide targeting Pythium prevention. 2 applications were put out.
- Applications of fungicide targeting Anthracnose and dollar spot prevention. 2 applications were put out.
- Applications of kelp products to aid in root development and disease resistance. 2 applications were put out 3 weeks apart.
- Applications of wetting agent to aid in water penetration, to dry thatch layer and help roots to search for deeper moisture. Applications applied every 2 weeks.
- Applications of gypsum applied directly to the plant, every 2 weeks.
- Applications of gypsum applied directly to the soil, every 3 weeks.
- Application of soluble fertiliser to aid plant health, every 3 weeks.
- Application of soil conditioner.
- Application of Magnesium.
- Application of insecticide.
- Greens are currently getting cut at 4mm, 4 times a week (most weeks during summer)
- Greens are currently getting rolled twice a week (most weeks during summer)
- Holes get changed 5 times a week.
Surrounds
- Surrounds are cut twice a week at 15mm.
- Apron cut around the green is at 6mm and done once a week.
- Surrounds were sprayed with insecticide.
- Green side sprinklers trimmed
Tees
- Tees cut twice a week at 15mm
- Application of liquid kelp fertiliser applied once a month
- Application of wetting agent applied once a month
- Tee sprinklers trimmed
- Tee markers moved everyday
Fairways
- Fairways cut once a week at 18mm.
- Fairway sprinklers trimmed
Bunkers
- All bunkers were edged and the grass edges were sprayed with a growth retardant.
- All bunkers are raked fully 3 times a week and on Saturdays all foot prints are raked out by hand.
Rough
- Rough cut when needed.
- Try and cut around Tees and Greens once a week.
Irrigation / Dams
- Dam water tested once a month for Salt / Sodium levels. 2nd dam clear, 15th dam clear
- 2nd dam full
- 15th dam full
Other
- Pathway repairs – 8 Tonne of road base was put out to repair pot holes around the course
Staff
Course Superintendent: Mr David Nicholls
Assistant Superintendent: Mr Craig Coleman
Senior Greenkeeper: Mr Mathew Smith
Greenkeeper: Mr Shaun Hill
Groundsmen: Mr Darren Orchard and Mr Peter Ceaser
Works Planned for April
Greens
- Verti-drain greens
- Applications of fungicide targeting Pythium prevention.
- Applications of fungicide targeting Anthracnose and dollar spot prevention.
- Applications of kelp products to aid in root development and disease resistance.
- Applications of wetting agent to aid in water penetration, to dry thatch layer and help roots to search for deeper moisture.
- Applications of gypsum applied directly to the plant.
- Applications of gypsum applied directly to the soil.
- Application of soluble fertiliser to aid plant health.
- Application of soil conditioner.
- Application of Magnesium.
- Application of insecticide.
- Greens cut at 4mm, 4 times a week.
- Greens rolled twice a week.
Surrounds
- Surrounds will get cut twice a week at 15mm.
- Apron cut around the greens at 6mm and done once a week.
- Surrounds sprayed with insecticide.
- Green side sprinklers trimmed around
Tees
- Tees cut twice a week at 15mm
- Application of liquid kelp fertiliser applied once a month
- Application of wetta soil applied once a month
- Tee sprinklers trimmed around
- Tee markers moved everyday
Fairways
- Fairways cut once a week at 18mm.
Bunkers
- All bunkers will be edged and the grass edges will be sprayed with a growth retardant.
- All bunkers will be raked fully 3 times a week and on Saturdays all foot prints will be raked out by hand.
Rough
- Rough cut when needed.
- Plan to cut around Tees and Greens once a week.
Irrigation / Dams
- Dam water tested once a month for Salt / Sodium levels.
- Excavator will be brought in clean out vegetation in dams on the 2nd, 3rd and 10th holes
Unfortunately the excavator company we had lined up to do the dams has pulled out, putting us back to square one. The search is on again to find the right size excavator (not as easy as it sounds) to do the job. This project remains high on our agenda, and we want it done before too long.