The Start of the Winter Rains?

Our resident kangaroo on the 15th hole



The much cooler temperatures and the 50mm of rain of the past few days is hopefully the start of our normal winter weather pattern. We are currently sitting at @100mm of rain less than our average for this time of year, this obviously means that we need above average winter rains to recharge the bore aquifers and refill our dams in preparation for next summer.

The rain we have recieved has thouroughly washed the recent fairway gypsum application into the profile. Greens have received an application of fungicide to target an outbreak of Dollar spot and Anthracnose that has flared up due to the high disease pressure caused by the warm temperatures and high humidity during the last month.

All greens, tees and surrounds will receive applications of liquid fertilizer and iron in the coming weeks. These scheduled monthly applications are to help to maintain acceptable nutrient levels, colour and aid with disease suppression throughout the winter months.

A second application of pre-emergent product will be applied to fairways to give us further Poa annua control over the next 12-14 weeks. Poa annua that is present will also be targeted with a post-emergent product.

April Course News

	April 2013	April 2012	average
Rainfall	42 mm	44.5 mm	54 mm
Year to Date	103.5 mm	192 mm	141.5 mm
No. of rain days	7	6	-
Average Temp.	23.5°C	22.1°C	-
Average Humidity	64.2%	61.6%	-

Once again April provided us with a very similar weather pattern to the previous two months; a very dry start to the month with above average temperatures giving us the warmest April in the last seven years, and then some much needed rain at the end of the month which significantly boosted the total for the month. The 25mm of rain that fell on the 21^st of April was the biggest single day rainfall that we have received since the 17^th of August last year, a period of approximately eight months.

In lieu of a full autumn renovation, this year greens were mini-tined and fertilised with an application of a biologically enhanced organic fertiliser; this will further improve the health, vigour and condition of the sward prior to the start of winter.

Further landscaping works to continue to improve the area at the 11^th/15^th tee paths have been undertaken, with a large number of positive comments being received from members.

A significant amount of staff time has again been spent on clearing the storm debris generated from the strong winds we received throughout the month.

 Gypsum applied to 1st fairway

An application of @8 tonne/Ha of Gypsum was applied to all fairways using our own machinery and labour. The dry weather at the time of application also meant that we were able to dragmat the gypsum into the fairways straight away meaning less impact on play than in previous years.

Tasmainian Blue Gum at clubhouse prior to maintainence pruning

After maintainence pruning