Course update

Well what a difference from last week
Last week heavy rain restricted our work on the course as ground conditions were saturated.
This allowed us to get on with some tree work. We cleared the area right of the 1st green, any new growth from the base of trees and any broken dead branches hanging down.
We have prepped all we need to start trafficking the golfer round the course for the winter.
The restrictions will start with the Blue stakes being put out on fairways to mark were you must move your ball to the side from the start of  November.
There has been a ongoing issue with the pond at the 15th that hasn't caused that much of a problem as the weather has been so poor but during dry weather water has been escaping. We took the decision to completely drain the pond and will be trying to locate and solve the issue.

During the prolonged periods of rain there has been a few low lying areas with standing water around the 14th hole to alleviate this in the mean time we have hand dug channels to divert  the water away.

This week was much better arriving on Monday even after just a weekends drying was reassuring as ground conditions had extremely improved.
This allowed us to carry on with our scheduled fairway - semi rough verti draining and  by the end of the week we have only the par 3 areas to do. This procedure will be carried out again at the start of the season.

Temporary greens were also prepared for the colder weather that was forecast and all main playing areas were cut.
Leaf removal will be the main issue of the forthcoming weeks to keep the course as tidy as possible.

Aeration week

The better weather at the start of the week seen good ground conditions which allowed us to carry out all our planned aeration work to our greens. The focus after this was to improve the surface so extra rolling has been done and the ball is rolling good considering the work that has been carried out. There will be some more solid tinning done to the greens during the winter months to keep the surface open but that will not be as aggressive as work carried out this week.

Our latest soil analysis came back and we have had to bulked up on some nutrients as there has been some leaching due to the wet summer. This was applied after aeration was done to allow products into the green profile.

Over the next month or so main jobs will be to carry on aeration work to all areas of the course and leaf              removal.                                          

Autumn 2012

Good morning
Well its that time of year again grass starts to slow down and leaves are falling from the trees and aeration week is only 1 week away yes depressing I know.
I would love to be saying we had a long season but like 2011 the weather was very much against us.
If anything the weather only highlights the importance of a aggressive aeration program on all areas of the course to make them playable as soon as prolonged periods of adverse weather has passed.

We have much to get through this winter and on Monday morning I submitted my finalised course improvements for this coming winter.
The wet season has left us with a number of drainage issues that will be getting investigated, we will be carrying on with our bunker renovations and when ground conditions are favorable we will be carrying out aeration to all areas of the course to get water moving through the profile as quick as possible.
I have demonstrated a lateral draining machine that would compliment our existing equipment which was very impressive.
I have already done a number of areas on the course here is a link showing this type of the machine in operation
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzJKwEZmq8s&feature=youtu.be

I will be posting all project pictures on my flickr account http://www.flickr.com/photos/16068144@N08/collections/
updating course conditions if necessary and weekly sumeria of project work.
Roll on spring 2013
G Bruen