Dear members
We had some significant rainfall early in May and this coincided with a very noticeable drop in temperatures to remind us that winter wasn’t too far away. The second half of the month albeit cooler was relatively dry and as a result the course for early June is still in really good shape.
As is always the case we now hope for drier than average weather over the next few months to help keep the course as playable as possible and the one positive over the past few years is that the experts are suggesting that we are in for a drier winter and spring than we have seen in many years.
GREENS
The air2g2 machine came in on May 21st to help aerate the soil beneath our greens and this was much needed. Prior to this I was seeing evidence of some of our greens draining really poorly which was visible by water sitting on the surface much longer after a rain event than I would like. Importantly there was a noticeable improvement in the greens drainage once the air had been injected and it continues to provide us with an excellent option in helping keep our greens as dry and firm as possible through the winter months.
Additionally our pro core machine finally arrived after a very long wait and Im excited by what having this piece of equipment will do for our greens along with other areas of the course moving forward. This machine not only cores greens but can also verti drain and we put it straight to work by punching some mini solid tines in the greens this week and the plan is to do this on a monthly basis moving forward. Doing this will provide much needed oxygen to the roots while also allowing water to move more freely which equates to better drainage, a healthier plant and a drier/firmer putting surface. These holes are very small and once rolled over have little to no impact on playability while having a really positive impact on the greens. This will be the first time that Drouin has ever aerated greens through the winter months and the long term impact this will have will be extremely positive.
FAIRWAYS/TEES/SURROUNDS
Our fairways have continued to perform nicely with the relatively dry weather that we received throughout May and this will likely continue provided the weather is kind to us.
As we did with our greens we also begun verti draining our tees with the goal to have these completed within the next week. Additionally we will also attempt to get over some our high traffic and wetter areas in our surrounds but this is likely to take a few weeks to complete due to the time needed to complete such a large job. Once again this is the first time that we’ve ever had the capacity to verti drain tees and surrounds at Drouin during the winter months which from my perspective is really exciting. Its not likely that we will see the benefits of this in the near future however by keeping to a consistent program in the years to come the benefits of such practices in the long term will be massive.
RIDE ON TRANSPORT
As we come into the wetter months it obviously becomes very important to protect our course from excessive traffic as best we can. We will do our best to allow ride on transport to move freely around the course but as conditions get wetter there will be the need to remove these forms of transport off the shorter grass areas. Although the fairways are often drier than the rough areas the sole intention in keeping transport off fairways and other short grass areas is to protect them while they are dormant. During winter grass naturally has a much poorer tolerance to traffic and the inability to recover quickly makes protecting it so much more important. When these rules inevitably come into play please adhere to them.
Additionally, as is always the case can I remind all members to keep any form of ride on transport off tees and a minimum of five metres from the greens at all times. I still see a large percentage of our members not following these two basic rules that are standard at most if not all courses in the world.
Lets hope this good run of weather continues and our course can stay in good shape for all of us to enjoy.
Ryan Hammond
DG&CC Course Superintendent.
Filed under: Members, Membership Level, Guests, Golf