Happy New Year

Snow on the old 9th green - circa 1970

A Happy New Year to all

The hottest December in five years, combined with the second driest December in ten years has meant a lot of hand watering over the last month. The reason for this is that the grass species that we have here on our greens are a blend of Creeping bentgrass and Poa annua, which are cool-season grasses found on golf greens throughout the world. Optimally, these grasses maintain their maximum growth rate at temperatures ranging from 15 – 24°C for shoots and 10 – 18°C for roots. Turf quality of Creeping bentgrass and Poa annua can, and often does decrease when temperatures exceed the optimal levels for extended periods of time. Growth inhibition, and even death, can occur at extreme temperatures.  From data collated by myself and from a local weather station, it is known that both air and soil temperatures often exceed these optimal ranges for prolonged periods during the hotter months of the year in our particular location.  

The water management practices in place here at Blackwood are designed to keep our surface air temperature and soil temperature as close to the optimal ranges as possible. Water usage is closely managed to meet the moisture needs of the grass, but not to exclude oxygen from the soil. Irrigation schedules and rates are based on evapotranspiration rates and the water holding capacity of the soil. Frequent syringing and hand watering also serve to moderate the surface temperature during heat stress periods.

With the heat of summer now here, when the forecast temperature for Adelaide is for 38°C and above, there may be a need to run a 3-5 minute syringe cycle on the greens and surrounds during the late afternoon, the purpose of this is to reduce the evapotranspiration rate of the turf by lowering the temperature and increasing the atmospheric water vapour content surrounding the leaves during these potentially damaging heat stress periods.

13th green - Another temper divot - 28/12/11

Merry Christmas

Looking back up the 10th fairway

A warm end to the week has seen us madly watering all areas in preparation for the Christmas long weekend, which fortunately is now not predicted to be as hot as was originally forecast at the beginning of the week. Work has continued on the 4th fairway mounding, with final shaping being completed and rootzone material being spread over the mounds nearest the green. A large proportion of staff time this week has been spent on preparing the course for the busy holiday period, as next week we only have a very short working week. Greens and tees have received applications of fertiliser, tees have been edged and all areas of the course have been cut and tidied.

Fox urine damage to the 16th green

Recently foxes have taken to playing in the bunkers around the 16th green and the above photo shows the damage that can be caused when they decide to relieve themselves on the surface of the green.

I hope I get some new wheels for Christmas!

I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone who takes the time to read the weekly blog updates a Merry Christmas from all of the course staff, and if you are finding these weekly course updates informative and the photos interesting please tell your friends and playing partners.

Merry Christmas!

4th Fairway Mounding

New mounding on the righthand side of 4th fairway

This week has seen staff starting to form some low mounding in the rough on the righthand side of the 4th fairway. The mounds are being formed using the excess soil from the new irrigation installation on the 4th and 5th holes as a sub-base, they will then be capped with rootzone material and grassed with Santa Anna couch to provide a much improved lie compared to the bare dirt and tree roots that were abundant through the area.

Greens have again been mini-tined this week and also sprayed with an application of fungicide to control some areas of disease that appeared after the rainfall and high humidity we received over last weekend. Greens and tees have also been sprayed with wetting agent to aid with water infiltration over the Christmas period.

Course Beautification BBQ

Course Beautification Christmas BBQ at the greensheds

Well it's that time of year again where we all sit down and wonder where the past twelve months have gone! Today was the last course beautification meeting for the year, where once again some more invaluable work was carried out by this small dedicated group of volunteers in less than perfect conditions. The Christmas BBQ is a an annual event that allows the course staff and the group to get together at the greensheds and celebrate the good work that has been carried out over the past twelve months. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the group for the work that they carry out, which in turn takes some of the pressure off of the staff, allowing them to concentrate on their scheduled course maintenance. If anyone would be interested in joining the group to help out around the course, the first meeting of the new year is scheduled for Friday 20th January, meeting at the clubhouse at 9.00am.

Sheep alongside the 12th tee

All this week we have been having visitors from the neighbours paddock. Every morning we have been herding them back next door, and then repairing the fence only to find them back again the following morning, having gained entry through a different spot in the fence. Just one of the more unusual tasks staff have to carry out as part of their daily maintenance!

A Productive Week

Building the current clubhouse


This week the remainder of fairways received their scheduled application of wetting agent, and all fairways have received their first application for the season of a balanced granular fertiliser, this will aid with improving their health, vigour and condition over the summer months. The 9th green has been mini-cored, overseeded, fertilised and topdressed as this was not done at the same time as the other greens during the September renovations. This reason for the late renovation was because of the need to allow for the establisment of the sod that was relaid during the minor re-shaping works carried out to the green during October.

Mini-coring the 9th green

The 13.5mm of much needed rain we received over the past week more than doubled the monthly total for November -

	November 2011	November 2010	average
Rainfall	21 mm	27 mm	39 mm
Year to Date	780.5 mm	784.5 mm	803 mm
No. of rain days	7	7	-
Average Temp.	27.1°C	25.2°C	-
Average Humidity	58.3%	64.2%	-

Irrigation Stage 1 Completed

New sprinklers operating on the 4th fairway

Sorry for the lack of updates over the past couple of weeks, the reason for this is because I had to take some time off and fly to the UK for family reasons. In the time that I have been away stage one of the irrigation upgrade has been completed, with only a practical completion walk-through to be carried out on Thursday next week. As you can see the centre row of sprinklers on the 4th fairway have good pressure and provide excellent coverage. The new pump station and improved sprinkler layout will give us much greater flexibility with our watering of the holes completed, as well as providing less stress on the old system and more even pressure across the rest of the course.

Course staff have been very busy in my absence with the Vardon and numerous trade days to prepare for, as well as working with the irrigation contractors to complete stage one. Today has brought us some much needed rain which has enabled us to spray the majority of fairways with an application of wetting agent to aid with water infiltration over the coming weeks. The remainder of fairways will be sprayed early next week to complete the process.

One of the strange things you get to see on a golf course!

The start of summer?

Looking back towards the Clubhouse from the 1st green - circa 1966

A warm end to the week and higher temperatures forecast for the weekend have given the course some much needed warmth. The couch is now starting to show more signs of active growth, giving us good definition to fairway edges and the rough is growing faster than we can cut it! . Fairways will be fertilised in the coming weeks with a balanced granular fertiliser to further improve their health and vigour.

The Irrigation works are continuing with the 5th fairway being completed as I type. Next week will see work progress around to the 4th hole, with the 5th tee and 4th green scheduled to be completed early in the week, before work continues down the 4th fairway. The picture below is a typical repair to the old system with the t-piece at the bottom of the photo springing a leak and having to be replaced which is not as simple as it sounds. The new pumps and the way they operate will mean that these type of repairs will become more infrequent over time.

Irrigation repair - 18th green

To finish I'll share with you some of the weekly tasks staff carry out as part of our routine maintenance over the summer months -

• Greens cut every day (including Saturdays and Sundays)
• Greens rolled 2-3 times a week
• Holes changed a minimum of three times a week
• Bunkers raked 2-3 times a week
• Tees and surrounds cut 2-3 times a week
• Fairways cut twice a week
• Rough cut as growth dictates - every day at the moment

Wildlife on the Course

Koala and baby - 7th fairway

Red bellied black snake - 18th dam



Both of the above pictures were taken by keen eyed members of staff during the past week. The koala and baby were spotted by Cathy crossing the 7th fairway on Monday morning and the black snake was spotted sunning itself on Thursday afternoon by Nick and Lee.

The work on the new irrigation installation has continued on the 5th hole, with the green complex and the first four laterals across the fairway completed. The 5th hole has been brought back into play for the weekend and will be taken out of play again on Monday morning to allow the contractors to continue unhindered. The remedial works to the left-hand side of the 9th green have also been carried out by staff this week. This involved the removal of the sod, re-contouring of the profile to facilitate better water movement off of the green surface and then re-laying of the sod. A number of fairways have been sprayed with product to eradicate broadleaf weeds, with the remainder to be completed early next week.

Irrigation mainline installation

Contractors starting to trench the irrigation mainline across the 16th/17th fairways

Work has now started on the 1st stage of the new irrigation system, with contractors installing the new irrigation mainline from the pumpshed over the dam wall and across the 16th and 17th fairways. Work has so far progressed to the rear of the 5th green which will allow us in the coming weeks to continue to install the irrigation to the 5th, and then, 4th holes.

Course maintenance over the last two weeks has also seen staff busy preparing the course for the upcoming club championships and a busy two months of trade days. Greens and surrounds have been fertilised, and fairways are now starting to show signs of Spring growth. The rough is growing at an alarming rate and the rough mower is being used all day, every day to keep on top of things. The weather has certainly been changeable, with a mixture of strong winds, high and low temperatures and rain all within the last seven days.

Another victim of the strong winds

On a lighter note it would be remiss of me to mention the long-serving member of staff who on Ladies Pink Ribbon day made a special effort and looked resplendent in a full length pink dressing gown - a great effort!

Routine maintenance

After coring of greens and tees in the last few weeks, this week was a more normal week maintenance wise with all areas of the course being cut and bunkers being raked and returned to normal after last weeks heavy rainfall. The rainfall pattern for the month of September was unusual in the sense that 66% of the total fell in the last three days of the month.

	September 2011	September 2010	average
Rainfall	100 mm	111 mm	90.5 mm
Year to Date	726 mm	712.5 mm	698 mm
No. of rain days	10	14	-
Average Temp.	19.1°C	16.3°C	-
Average Humidity	64.1%	76.4%	-

As this has been a relatively quiet week I will take the opportunity to enlighten you on some of the finer points of bunker raking

• Before exiting a bunker, a player should carefully rake over all signs of play in the sand, and then leave the rake with the handle pointing toward the tee of the hole being played.
• In the bunker, the teeth of the rake should be used to repair the floor of the bunker and only the flat reverse side of the rake should be used to smooth any damage to the bunker faces/sides.

Step by Step Guide  

1. Your entry into the bunker matters - always enter the bunker at the lowest point. Stepping in and out on a steep face causes unnecessary damage and pushes sand off of the face into the bottom of the bunker. Plus, it's much easier to rake flat areas of sand.
2. Begin raking over the signs of play from the sand - the area where your club made contact with the sand and your footprints. Pull the teeth of the rake toward you as you begin moving back to the edge of the bunker.
3. Be careful not to pull too much sand toward you. The idea is to restore an even surface to the sand without displacing too much sand. If you are pulling too much sand toward you, try pushing the teeth outward a few times. All the while, you should be progressing back to the edge of the bunker.
4. If required, rake other affected areas. Use only the flat reverse side of the rake to smooth any damage to the bunker faces/sides.
5. Do not pile sand at the edge of the bunker. To complete raking, step out of the bunker and push back any excess sand using only the flat reverse side of the rake.
6. When you have finished, the sand's surface should be evened out, with no signs of divots or footprints, and no excess sand having been pulled toward the bunkers edge. There will be little furrows left from the teeth of the rake.

Before you step away from the bunker, the most important thing is that the sand be in as good or better condition than that which you found it in. Make sure golfers following behind you have a good quality bunker from which to play any necessary shots.

Thank you for your co-operation, as the more care you take when raking bunkers means the less time staff have to spend on repairing damage, which in turn means more time spent on other essential maintenance work.

An interesting week weather wise

2nd fairway mid-morning Friday

The contrast in the weather this week has been quite incredible. Tuesday saw us reach a high of 27.5°C which came as a bit of a shock to the system. This was then followed up by 59mm of rain over the next three days and a high of 12.9°C on Friday. The rainfall has not only been great for the course in general terms, but also has had the added bonus of accelerating the recovery of the greens after last week's renovations. I am extremely pleased with the speed of their recovery and also the fact that we were able to achieve this with minimal disruption and inconvenience to the membership.

3rd surround mid-morning Friday

Finally to the member, who in a fit of temper during Wednesday's competition, took the divot shown in the photo below from alongside the hole on the 2nd green, this is not acceptable golfing etiquette and I hope that you are proud of yourself!



Divot - 2nd green

Coring Week

16th Green after sanding

Greens renovations took place as scheduled this week, with the weather and machinery breakdowns having a slight impact on the overall timing of the operation. Greens were scarified on Monday to a depth of 25mm, they were then cored to 100mm over the next two days. Due to the 16.5mm of rain we received overnight on Monday sanding of greens took slightly longer than normal. The majority of greens were sanded on Monday/Tuesday with the last four greens completed in front of the field on Wednesday, with some greens then receiving a top-up of additional sand on Thursday morning (a total of @70 tonne of sand is used throughout the renovation process). The sand on the greens has been worked into the core holes using a rotary brush and dragmats and are on schedule to receive their first cut early next week..

Fallen limb - 13th Ladies tee

The strong winds of last weekend also saw numerous branches brought down around the course with the largest falling across the Ladies 13th tee on Sunday night.

Irrigation System Upgrade

The new pump station being transported to the pumpshed

This week saw the club start on the first stage of the irrigation system upgrade. A new packaged pump station incorporating multi-stage variable speed pumps has been installed in the pumpshed. These new pumps will reduce the strain on the existing system and extend the serviceable life during the installation of the new system.

New plantings at the rear of the 5th tee

You may have noticed the temporary shade cloth screen at the rear of the 5th tee, this has been put in place while the new plantings of the hedging plant Syzygium australe - Hinterland Gold establish and grow to an acceptable height to provide a permanent screen from the road.

Don't forget that next week is coring week. Weather permitting, the front nine greens are being cored and sanded on Monday and the back nine greens on Tuesday. All greens are also being scarified as part of the process, with this operation being carried out by a contractor throughout the day on Monday. While every effort will be made to keep disruption of play to a minimum on the in-play back nine greens, your co-operation will be required to help this operation run as smooth as possible and this may be a good opportunity for you to consider using your Club Advantage card.

Spring Tees Renovation

The first family of Black Ducks this Spring

This week all tees have been cored using 19mm hollow tines to a depth of 75mm to remove some of the thatch that has built up since the autumn renovation. Thatch in turf is defined as
an accumulation of living and dead organic matter that occurs between the green vegetation and soil surface. Thatch development is a natural process and is composed primarily of turfgrass stems and roots. Hollow tine aeration (aka coring) is the physical removal of unwanted organic matter from the upper portion of the rootzone; this process also relieves soil compaction and increases air and water movement into the soil.

The majority of tees have also been overseeded and sanded, with four tees still to be completed at the start of next week to finish the renovation process. Greens have received an application of a biologically enhanced organic fertiliser, prior to the start of renovations, to promote active growth to aid with the recovery process.

 

Goodbye to Winter

Another dry week has seen us bring Winter to a close by actually having to run two reduced irrigation cycles on greens and tees. Overnight we have used the water in the irrigation holding tank on the course so as to empty the tank to allow for it to be cleaned by contractors. This has involved the removal of the sludge build-up from the base of the tank(@250mm), pressure washing of the walls and flushing of the tank with clean water.

As you can see from the table below we have had a much drier and warmer August than last year and it will be interesting to see if we continue this trend throughout the coming Spring.

	August 2011	August 2010	average
Rainfall	102.5 mm	181 mm	112.5 mm
Year to Date	626 mm	601.5 mm	607 mm
No. of rain days	12	21	-
Average Temp.	15.9°C	12.5°C	-
Average Humidity	73.9%	82.4%	-

A Return to Greenkeeping

What a difference a week of good weather makes! This week saw us return to a more normal program of course maintenance which involved cutting all areas of the course as well as the additional tasks listed below -

• Mini-tine greens/Roll greens (x2)
• Fertilise greens and tees
• Hedging of Cypress pines at 1st tee
• Removal of dead wood from some Tasmanian Blue Gums

Verti-drain in action mini-tining the old putting green

Mini-tining of greens is a monthly practice carried out throughout the year. A 6mm width tine is used to punch holes 250mm deep to help relieve compaction, encourage deeper root growth, aid with water infiltration and to promote gaseous exchange. It takes @30-40 minutes to complete a green depending on size, the green is then rolled to return the surface to normal so as to cause minimal disruption to play.

Contractors at work on the Cypress pines at the 1st tee