In the lead up to the excitement of Spring we look forward to undergoing the all-important Major Spring renovations. The benefits which abound from the renovations ensures the course is in optimum condition and we all get to continuing enjoying playing the game we love over the ensuing months during the long-awaited warm weather.
Our Major Spring renovations will be taking place from Monday, 2 September for three days finishing on Wednesday September 4.
I understand that no one likes seeing the course undergo renovations, but these are important cultural practices which will ensure that we continue to improve on our turf surfaces for our members and guests.
Reasons for renovations on a golf course: Amend deficiencies / extremes in the soil profile. (Based on soil tests which are collected and sent to a laboratory) science is an amazing thing and the turf utilises nearly every element in the periodic table.
- Relieve compaction. Golf carts, machinery, people walking over turf surfaces 7 days a week.
- Rejuvenation of the turf.
- Allow gaseous exchange to take place in the soil profile.
- These are only a few reasons why renovations are conducted on a golf course.
Over the last week you would have seen the team slowly working through the fairways with a machine that is aerating the fairways. We are currently punching holes to a depth of 150mm below the surface. Due to the amount of surface area we need to cover, which is 8ha, this process takes about two weeks. As of 22.08 we currently only have holes 1,2,9 left to aerate.
In our best efforts to awaken the turf from dormancy we have been making regular nutritional applications to surfaces to enable the plant to have a food source to use once soil temperatures begin to increase.
Pre and post emergent applications of herbicide continue to be applied to all fine turf surfaces. These two applications help minimise the germination of weeds as well as treating weeds that are currently present on turf surfaces.
If any volunteers would like to assist in course renovations on Monday, 2 September your help will be greatly appreciated even if it is for an hour, we will also have a BBQ cooking to fuel all the workers.
Thank you, Luke Telford - Superintendent