Dear members,
The rain came to a screaming halt just prior to Christmas which saw just 19mm of rainfall from December 22nd through to February 1st. The course has handled the conditions really well and in fairness after such a wet winter and spring a good month of dry weather is what was needed to get the course in great shape. I feel now as we head into our busiest period of the year that the course is primed in preparation for some of our biggest events on the calendar.
GREENS
Both myself and the club are experiencing its first summer without a mechanic and ultimately our lowest staff levels in a significant amount of time which has caused some necessary shifts in our management practices.
The most obvious change relating to the golf course has been the need to apply more water from our sprinklers than in the past. Previously we would hand water the drier areas but we are now very limited to the time we can afford to spend on this. To ensure these drier areas stay alive we have applied more water than what is ideally suited with the sprinklers which has overall resulted in slightly softer greens. The dam level is probably at its lowest since it was re built in 2017 which is a clear indication of the extra water we have used.
Throughout the month we focused heavily on applying potassium at equal amounts to nitrogen to help with their strength and disease resistance through such a dry month. Normally nitrogen would be applied at double the rate of potassium however through the more stressful summer periods I’m a big believer that the Nitogen/Potassium levels should be similar. This method has proven to work at Drouin for some years now and as we are yet to encounter any disease issues this summer it’s proving to be working again.
As we head into club championships we will endeavour to get the greens slightly quicker in speed through rolling more frequently and applying growth regulator at higher rates. As always weather conditions will play a major factor on just how quick we will be able to get them. Importantly I feel that they are rolling very true and smooth at this current stage which after their health is the main goal.
I hope all would agree that the greens are currently performing very nicely and are in great shape for our major events coming up.
FAIRWAYS/TEES/SURROUNDS
The santa ana surfaces have seen significant improvement over the past month with the help of drier and warmer weather. As is usually the case for January they now have their density back which is resulting in improved playing conditions to play from.
The one benefit from watering our greens more with the sprinklers has been its impact on the cool season surrounds. Because these areas are getting more water than in years gone by we are seeing them in a very healthy state for late January, especially after a month of warm weather and very little rain.
Overall the finely cut playing surfaces are in a really good spot and I expect this to continue well into the Autumn months.
VOLUNTEERS
As usual our small band of volunteers have been hard at it helping out with a wide range of jobs which have included rough cutting, emptying rubbish and sand bins, tree clean up, garden bed maintenance and general weed spraying among other jobs. The reliance on volunteers has become more paramount this summer and their assistance as always is greatly appreciated.
We head into February with course conditions in great shape and I hope you are all able to come out for a frequent game of golf to take advantage of our great course.
Ryan Hammond
DG&CC Course Superintendent
Filed under: Golf, Members, Membership Level