80mm of rain on Wednesday wasn't really the preparation I was looking for with the Pro Am just 2 days away but the course took it well and the ground staff did a tremendous job again to get the course playable.  The 7 o'clock shotgun in the morning was a challenge but the staff stood tall and once again produced the goods.

A bit of tree trimming and removal of a couple of dangerous trees this week down the LHS of 3R opens the play lines up to make the hole much fairer.  The right side is earmarked for similar work in a few weeks.

The pipe for the new irrigation installation on the new West greens arrived this week which is another indicator of just how close the project is.  The temporary greens continue to develop and are almost growing too fast.

  

 Irrigation pipe.

Some sand will be added to bunkers next Monday and Tuesday which will replace some of the sand that has been played and blown out.  The bunker sand is trucked down from Caboolture and is widely used throughout SE Qld at the moment.  It is a blend of actual rated bunker sand and brickies loam which gives it some weight and water holding capacity and helps hold it in place.  We have been using this blend for some 8 years now.

And just for a laugh this was the actual grouping at last weeks Web.com tour in the USA.  Someone at least has a sense of humour!!

Have to laugh!!

I spent the first part of the past week at a conference in Tasmania that was held at Barnbougle and although the sun was out it was exceptionally cold although one of my playing partners in the golf was wearing shorts!! 

The daunting tee shot at Lost Farm #5

One of the presentations about communication with members had this as a final slide highlighting some of the tasks required of a modern day golf course superintendent which I thought showed the diverse range of tasks required;  

Environmental audits

Environmental reports

Environmental sustainability

Environmental compliance

Human resource plans

Human resource strategies

Human resource policies

Performance goals

Performance appraisals

Master plans

Capital works and budgets

OHS policies

Position descriptions even for apprentices

Strategic plans

Living documents

Staff induction

Professional development

Blogging

STP’s

SWP’s

IMP’s

EMP’s

KPI’s

When do we ever get time to smell the grass??

The temporary greens continue to develop and should provide an excellent alternative putting surface during the West course greens works.  Planning still continues with one of the next tasks to undertake some soil testing of the sand that has been stockpiled for the project.  Nearly 600 tonne of sand will be required for each green which even just transporting it in creates a logistical minefield.

 

 

Another great week of weather for the Veterans week of Golf with just a couple of spots of rain spoiling the perfect run late on Thursday.  It always amazes me the way the course is left after such huge player numbers and it's a credit to all the volunteers who come in and assist the organising committee. 

The temporary greens on the back 9 west received their first mowing today and look very good.  Unfortunately the ducks think they are looking good too and are grazing them daily.  Preparation for the greens works started back in April when the Board approved the works when the planning logistics of such a program started.  Labour, machinery contractors, staff, sand, fertilisers, irrigation and drainage materials as well as the grass itself are just some of the items requiring planning.  It is a big project to undertake and the bulk of the works will be done "inhouse". 

10W first mow.

The information below gives an outline of the proposed works;

  

METHOD;

• Spray out as much foreign couchgrass as possible prior to excavation.

• Excavate to a minimum depth of 400mm and a maximum of 600mm where couchgrass is present.  The greens will all be enlarged and 12 green will have minor surface adjustment to allow for fairer pin locations.  The surplus material will be either stockpiled for future use or spread in areas of tree roots in amongst trees close to the green being worked.  A select number of bunkers will be reduced in size.

• Find greens drainage and ascertain condition and functionality.  Replace / upgrade / flush as necessary.

• Green surrounds to be modified where required to improve water movement away from the green surface and surround.

• Remove and replace all existing irrigation, some of which is 30+ years old.

• Refill the green “well” with USGA specification sand, with the top 100mm being amended with various soil amendments.

• Greens to be stolonised with Tifeagle.

TIMELINE: 

 May - July 2016  

·           Temporary green preparation. Tick.

·           Stolons ordered and reserved.  Tick.

·           Growth blanket, irrigation, drainage, sand and machinery requirements ordered /   confirmed.  Tick

·           Advertise for two seasonal staff.  Tick.

·           Confirm excavation / construction contractors. Tick.

October 4, 2016 – Project starts.

·            Two greens to be planted at a time on October 17, 31, November 14 and 28.

·            Two greens back in play at a time on January 2, 16, 30 and February 13.

Timeline is totally dependent on suitable weather.

A great finish to the USPGA last week with an incredible effort from the grounds crew to keep the course playable despite the weather interruptions.  They do get a huge number of volunteers to assist (which is an effort in itself to manage the numbers) but the playability of the course was superb given the conditions.  Although Jason Day finishing pin high on the 550yd par 5 last with 2 x 2 irons on a rain softened course may hint toward the ball traveling a bit too far!!  

There has been a very good seed strike on the temporary greens on the back 9 West and the plan is to let them grow then mow them back down slowly.  The finished putting surface should be very good, especially if we can stop the ducks grazing on them!!  The greens have been oversown with a mix of Bentgrass and a grass called Poa trivialis which is the most common turf type used for oversowing Couchgrass greens.  Both these cool season species are expected to die out once the warm weather really arrives around Christmas and there should be a smooth transition as the Couch underneath emerges.

The weather certainly took a turn for the worse this week but fortunately we didn't get the volume of rain that fell further south with many areas receiving 250mm+ which is too much.  What we did get virtually closed the courses on Thursday then had buggies off the West course on Friday.  When I see damage like this it really makes you wonder why I worry so much about the decision on keeping buggies off.  Maybe they need to be off until both courses are bone dry again?

Frustrating damage on 5R....Idiots.

And I saw the following photo on a Twitter feed that I follow.  Could you imagine that happening in this day and age??

Single file please!!