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

Another Wet Week

15th Dam Overflow

A third consecutive wet week which saw us record a further 41.5mm of rain to take the month's total so far to 102.5mm. The 30mm of rain which we received on Tuesday night caused a large number of washouts to bunkers and pathways which staff have spent the rest of the week repairing. All of the drainage masterlines located across the course are flowing continuously into the small 15th dam, which as you can see from the photo above, is overflowing steadily into the main 15th dam. The level of the main dam is currently just below the level of the spillway and should start to overflow before too much longer.

Vegetation management work has continued on the righthand side of the 1st fairway and all but two of the on-course bunkers have been edged over the past week.

Vegetation Management

Last week's wet weather, when we recieved another 34.5mm of rain to take the month's total to 61mm, gave staff the opportunity to lift the lower branches on the Cypress pines on the righthand side of the 1st fairway and also the large Cypress pine near the Ladies 16th tee.

Friday also saw the Course Beautification volunteers in action. This small group of dedicated volunteers meets once a month throughout the year and undertake a variety of tasks which are a great help to the staff in maintaining the golf course. If you are interested in helping out please contact the main office for further information.

Finally to the member, who in a fit of temper during Saturday's competition, took a divot from alongside the hole on the 4th green, this is not acceptable golfing etiquette and I hope that you are proud of yourself!

Welcome to the Course Maintenence Blog for Blackwood Golf Club

This is the first of what will be a series of regular posts that will cover what happens out on the golf course. The aim is to help members understand why we do the things we do and what goes into preparing the course for play.

In the space of the last week we have gone from the hottest start to August on record to more typical winter conditions when we received 26.5mm of rain on Thursday, bringing us back to normality with a bump!. The rainfall we receive is recorded from the rain gauge located at the maintenance sheds and temperature and humidity data from a weather station located at Scott Creek. The following table is a summary of the weather for July here at Blackwood

	July 2011	July 2010	BGC average
Rainfall	125.5 mm	63.5 mm	130.5 mm
Year to Date	523.5 mm	420.5 mm	494.5 mm
No. of rain days	11	12	-
Average Temp.	13.3°C	13.3°C	-
Average Humidity	77.3%	85.2%	-

The weather pattern for July meant that for the time of year the course is exceptionally firm and dry. The bulk of months rain (102.5mm) fell in the first ten days. This was then followed up by lengthy cold, dry spells which helped to dry the course out. Friday 22nd also produced the heaviest frost seen for many years.