June Course Report

Dear members

What an incredible first month of winter we’ve just had with unseasonably dry conditions keeping the course in great shape for all of us to enjoy. As we head into July we can only hope that these conditions continue and as the days begin to get longer we can start enjoying more time out on course.

GREENS
Weather conditions plays a huge part in how greens perform in all seasons but this is particularly relevant during winter. With our greens constantly battling to drain away water efficiently it becomes massively beneficial when conditions stay dry. In our current situation we have found ourselves with greens that have remained firm, smooth and rolling beautifully which has been aided greatly by perfect winter weather.
We also applied a water penetrant during the middle of the month which aids in the downward movement of water and with the addition of air injection we are doing all we can to help keep the surfaces as dry as possible.

We have not punched any holes into the surfaces since April and we will look to undertake this job sometime in mid July to continue assisting water movement and improving root health. The negative of this is a softer surface for up to a week after it’s completed but the pros definitely out weigh the cons.

SURROUNDS/TEES/FAIRWAYS
With prolonged days of light winds this has enabled us to get some key spraying tasks completed which can prove to be a challenge this time of year.

In the past three weeks we have sprayed for winter grass, kikuyu and broadleaf weeds in all the Santa Ana surfaces which has seen these areas looking clean and performing well.

Additionally we are yet to experience the dreaded worm castings that appear during winter which has been extremely beneficial in keeping the playing surfaces drier and giving them a much more appealing appearance. I still expect the worms to cause some issues before winter is done but it’s been nice to get this far without them being a nuisance.

ROUGH
The rough has continued to grow at a steady rate which has kept the rough mower busy over the last few weeks.
With the broadleaf weeds becoming quite prevalent we have spot sprayed a few of the key areas where they are at their worst. It’s a large and costly job to get over the entirety of our rough grass areas so at this stage we haven’t sprayed the entirety of the course but we will plan to complete these works as the weeds in other areas become more widespread.

BUNKERS
After a busy spring with lots of golf there was a need to apply some added sand to our bunkers with the natural occurrences of wind and golf shots causing sand to leave the area. We topped up every bunker on course with additional sand while also moving sand from the backs of the bunkers where golfers rake to and moving it more forward to help keep the sand depth as consistent as we possibly can throughout the entirety of the bunker. This is an impossible task to get perfect but you can be assured we are endeavouring to get the best consistency we can.

Let’s hope the good weather continues

Ryan Hammond