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

March Weather Data

	March 2013	March 2012	average
Rainfall	23 mm	79.5 mm	39.9 mm
Year to Date	61.5 mm	147.5 mm	87.3 mm
No. of rain days	5	6	-
Average Temp.	27.2°C	24.7°C	-
Average Humidity	61.5%	62.1%	-

The weather in March followed a very similar pattern to the previous month, with a very dry start to the month and then 19.5mm of rain falling in the last week to give us the monthly total of 23mm. The average temperature for the month was also the warmest in the last six years.

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

Autumn renovation of tees has been completed with all tees being fertilised, cored to a depth of 75mm, oversown and then sanded to complete the renovation process.

Fairways were fertilised at the begining of the month with their second application for the season of a balanced granular fertiliser and thoroughly watered in using the water we were able to harvest at the end of last month. This has significantly boosted their overall health, vigour and condition leading into the Autumn/Winter period.

Greens were fertilised on Thursday with an application of a biologically enhanced organic fertiliser this Thursday, which will further improve the health, vigour and condition of the sward prior to the start of winter.

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