Weather Data and Watering Update

	January 2013	January 2012	average
Rainfall	25 mm	25.5 mm	25 mm
Year to Date	25 mm	25.5 mm	-
No. of rain days	3	4	-
Average Temp.	29.3°C	32.2 °C	-
Average Humidity	55.6%	48.2 %	-

The current watering situation had a significant effect on January's work scheduling. Obviously, the main emphasis for January was using the available water as efficiently as possible, this January we only used @ 37% of water through automated programs compared to last year. A far greater than normal amount of hand watering has been carried out to ensure that we get water to the areas we are specifically targeting and also maximum benefit from its application.

The 13.5mm of much needed rainfall we received on the last day of January brought us some welcome relief and brought us up to the monthly average total. This doesn’t tell the whole story as to date the last five months have been particularly dry, and the unusual thing about this year’s weather pattern compared to other dry years is that we have only received three rainfall events in excess of 10mm since September 7^{th –}

·         October 11^th – 24mm

·         January 13^th – 11mm

·         January 31^st – 13.5mm

This has meant that there has not been the usual relief from the need to irrigate because of regular rainfall events. This has the twofold effect of not being able to rest the bores or pump additional water into the 15^th holding dam like we have been able to do in more typical years.

	February 2013	February 2012	average
Rainfall	13.5 mm	42.5 mm	22.3 mm
Year to Date	38.5 mm	68 mm	47.4 mm
No. of rain days	3	5	-
Average Temp.	29.5°C	28.5°C	-
Average Humidity	61.2%	54.6%	-

February was another month of low rainfall, with the 11mm that fell in the last week of the month boosting the months total to 13.5mm. Although the average temperature for the month has been consistent with previous years, both the second and last week of the month have been cool enough that we were able to harvest water into the holding dam.

The water that was harvested (@3-4 ML) during the first cool spell was drained down and mainly used to water in the wetting agent and pre-emergent Poa annua control applications. All fairways received three full irrigation cycles over a five day period (@2.14 ML) which gave them a much needed boost. The water that was harvested during the second cool spell was drained down at the start of this week and is currently being utilised over the next few days to water in the fairway fertiliser application which was applied yesterday.

Irrigation Update

Irrigation Update

Further to the information provided last week here is some additional information briefly outlining the Irrigation Management Practices that are in use here at Blackwood Golf Club.

Our irrigation practices are based on our Department of Water licence allocation to water the measured area of ‘irrigated turf’ on the golf course. This total area is @24.5 Hectares, which is broken down into three areas –

1. Elite – Greens/surrounds and tees.
2. Premier – Fairways.
3. Turf – Roughs and carries.

The golf course is irrigated using a fully automatic, constant pressure system with the majority of sprinklers on the course being electric valve in head which allows for greater individual control.

The average irrigation cycle throughout the hotter months uses @ 1,000000ltrs (1 ML) of water/night using a combination of some of the 61 programs that are run through the dedicated irrigation computer.

The water we use for irrigation is a combination of water from the main dam and the water that we extract from the main three metered bores located on the course (13^th/14^th/15^th).  The bores are activated when we move into full course watering and not at a pre-determined date, typically this is around mid- October. This is because they are a finite resource that has to be managed carefully to ensure that we have enough water to see us through to the autumn.

Water from all sources is pumped into the 500,000ltr holding tank alongside the 15^th fairway and then pumped out onto the course.  To achieve the average 1,000,000ltr cycle already mentioned, it is necessary to pump from all sources to make sure that the input into the tank exceeds the required output onto the course. Currently, we are in a situation where because of the low levels of the dams it is not possible to be able to complete a 1,000,000ltr cycle. Therefore it was necessary to make the decision to start to conserve water until such time that I have sufficient resources to allow me to resume full watering (as explained in the Course Conditions update in last week’s e-news). 

Part of the overall watering process in a normal year is that when there is reduced demand due to favorable weather conditions, water is pumped into the tank and the excess out through the overflow into the holding dam at the 15^th green. This water is then manually drained down into the main dam where it is re-cycled back into the irrigation tank for use on the course. Assuming no rain and current bore levels we are still several weeks away from being able to raise the level in the main, and thus complete a full irrigation cycle.

To date this year has been particularly dry, and normal watering on all areas was implemented up until late December when it was necessary to make the decision to conserve water. The unusual thing about this year’s weather pattern compared to other dry years is that we have only twice received rainfall events in excess of 10mm since September 7^th.

Obviously since this decision was made, this has led to the fairways drying out. However, at this current time although the fairways are very dry and not aesthetically pleasing to the eye, there is still full grass coverage. The couch grass is not dying; its natural response in times of drought stress is to go into dormancy and will recover with minimal damage when normal watering recommences. A perfect example of this recovery are the lush green areas on the 2^nd and 7^th fairways which were inundated with water from the burst to the irrigation mainline which occurred last Saturday.

The height of cut on fairways has been raised to further protect the couch and as soon as we are in a position to do so they will be targeted with wetting agent and fertiliser applications to increase their health and vigour as we head into the autumn period.

In our current situation greens and tees are naturally the highest priority for receiving available water and the current bore levels are consistent with previous years which would indicate that there will not be an issue with keeping up with demand to maintain these areas.

December Statistics

	December 2012	December 2011	average
Rainfall	13 mm	26.5 mm	37.5 mm
Year to Date	838.5 mm	807 mm	841 mm
No. of rain days	3	3	-
Average Temp.	27.3°C	29.7 °C	-
Average Humidity	58.9%	52.4 %	-

As can be seen from Decembers statistics, we have had another dry, warm month with less than average rainfall. Last Sunday brought us a very welcome and much needed 11mm of steady rainfall. This is only the second time since September 7th that we have received a rainfall event of more than 10mm. Our average for the period from September 1st  through to the end of January is 254.5mm, and we are currently sitting at 110.5mm. That is only @43% of our average rainfall in what has been a unusually long dry spell for us here in the Adelaide hills.

I am in the process of preparing a detailed report that will provide further information for members about our current situation regarding the dryness of fairways, our irrigation procedures and the strategies we have in place to bounce back from these very trying conditions we are currently undergoing.

Merry Christmas!

A busy week in the lead up to the Christmas period with greens and fairways receiving applications of fertiliser. Greens, tees and fairways have also received an application of wetting agent to help with water infiltration over the coming weeks. Bunkers have been edged and most areas of the course have been cut in preparation for the short Christmas week.

The men's 15th tee is now open for play, along with the new concrete path down to the tee and  the anniversary path leading up to the 16th tee. The new concrete path alongside the 11th tee will be opened for use once we have landscaped along both sides of the path.There are still a number of smaller jobs that need to be completed before all of the project work is complete but we can finally start to see the light at the end of the tunnel. 

 

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

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Major Project Work Almost Complete

A number of people have asked me recently about why there has been an abscence of blog posts over the past two months. The simple answer is that as well as all of the regular course maintenance tasks, we have also been exceptionally busy with all of the additional project work going on around the course and I have found it very hard to justify spending time in front of the computer to carry out the numerous administration tasks needed in my role as Course Superintendent. Having said that, now that the project work is almost complete my aim is get back in the swing of again producing regular blog posts.

	October 2012	October 2011	average
Rainfall	27.5 mm	33.5 mm	62.5 mm
Year to Date	812 mm	759.5 mm	765 mm
No. of rain days	4	7	-
Average Temp.	22.6°C	21.4°C	-
Average Humidity	64.8%	65.6%	-

	November 2012	November 2011	average
Rainfall	13.5 mm	21 mm	38 mm
Year to Date	825.5 mm	780.5 mm	803 mm
No. of rain days	4	7	-
Average Temp.	26.3°C	27.1°C	-
Average Humidity	60.2%	58.3%	-

As can be seen from how quickly the course has dried out and from the data above, the past two months have been exceptionally dry. This year's total spring rainfall has only been 86.5mm, compared to our average of 192mm. this has meant that this has been our 6th driest spring since we started keeping records in 1970, a period of 42 years.

As I have already mentioned, as well as trying to balance all of the jobs needed for the general maintenance of the course, the main emphasis for the course staff over the past two months has been focused on major projects and working with contractors to complete the various works and numerous additional tasks needed to complete the works around the course. I would also like to take this opportunity thank all of the volunteers who have helped throughout the duration of the works.

                                    

 Irrigation installation - 15th fairway

Below is a list of tasks that were completed during the irrigation installation, re-building of the tee and re-shaping of the approach on the 15th hole -

• @1300m² of sod was harvested from the 15^th approach prior to the re-shaping work and re-laid on -
• 6^th tee (625m²)
• 5^th mounds (315m²)
• 15^th pumpshed mound (360m²)
• @1100m² of sod was harvested from the practice fairway and re-laid on –
• 15^th tee (420m²)
• 15^th dam bank mounds (400m²)
• 15^th pulley path end (180m²)
• 9^th path end (100m²)
• Install drainage lines to 15^th approach (x3)
• 2000m² of imported sod was laid on the re-shaped 15^th approach.
• 6^th tee enlarged and re-levelled (including retaining wall edge and irrigation upgrade).
• 15^th tee rebuilt (including retaining wall edge).
• Re-shape and sod path ends on 9^th and 15^th holes
• Mound soil alongside new concrete path from 9^th tee in preparation for sodding

 Drainage installation to the 15th approach

 Looking back from the 15th green at the 15th earthworks

Laying the sod on the 15th approach

 Looking back at the finished article from the green

Storm Damage, Spring Renovations and Stumps

A quick apology for the absence of posts over the past month, the growing season has started and we have been exceptionally busy trying to keep on top of the many tasks that need to be undertaken to maintain the golf course at this time of year.

Red Gum limb - 1st fairway

The month started with the exceptionally high winds which caused damage across the majority of the state. Considering the strength of the winds we experienced I think we got away fairly lightly losing only one large Red gum limb on Wednesday 5th and the Cypress pine that was uprooted in the early hours of Thursday 6th. 

Fallen Cypress pine - 6th tee

The weather then cleared perfectly in time for us to undertake Spring greens renovation. Greens were fertilised prior to coring to speed up the recovery process, they were then scarified on the Monday to a depth of 25mm, cored with 19mm hollow tones to 100mm depth over the next two days using a closer pattern than previous years to impact a greater surface area. They were then sanded on Monday/Tuesday, with the 18th green 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 @100 tonne of sand was used this year compared to @70 tonne in previous years to complete the renovation process). The sand on the greens was worked into the core holes using a rotary brush and dragmats and received their first cut at 4.5mm one week after coring. They were then reduced back to their normal height of 3mm in stages over the next week. I am extremely pleased with the speed of their recovery and also the fact that we were able to achieve this with what I believe to be minimal disruption and inconvenience to the membership.

Stump munching contractor at work

A number of stumps around the course have been ground out by contractors, cleared and refilled by both BGC staff and Volunteers. These areas will be turfed in the coming weeks using surplus turf harvested from other areas of the course. The garden bed by the sand bin at the clubhouse has been cleared by BGC staff and then replanted by volunteers from the course beautification group with more appropriate native species so as to match the other garden beds around the clubhouse.

Newly planted clubhouse garden bed

Greens have been sprayed with fungicde to target some small areas of disease that have flared up after coring. Fairways have been sprayed to eradicate the Poa annua that has germinated since the last application of product.