The dry continues but it really isn't much different for this time of year with the last two years almost carbon copies.  Last year the dry continued through till December which was a blessing for the greens re-surfacing program and I would certainly like the same this year although a little precipitation would be good.  As with other years the constant wind makes irrigation mostly inefficient so fairways are generally not programmed on nights where the wind is forecast to continue.  As I have mentioned before, I use "WillyWeather" as my most reliable source of weather information as they have a very good and simple graph system to follow and are very accurate.

Another thing that tells me it is a normal season is the need to apply some growth regulator to the fairways to control seedhead formation on some of what I call the "mongrel couches".  I call them mongrel because they are varieties that cause a lot of problems and sending up a stalky seedhead is at the top of the list.  Their seedhead is normally very purplish in colour and is very difficult to mow and reforms very quickly following been mown off.. Fortunately the growth regulator we use prevents seedhead formation.  This application has taken place in the 3rd week of September since 2003 which shows the consistent nature of the weather events.

That was one thing that struck me the first time I toured golf courses in the US of A way back in 1988.  At one of the courses that I visited the Superintendent told me that a particular type of tree had started flowering which meant is was too late to apply a certain product to his course.  I don't think we really have a lot of that type of information available in Australia and seem to rely more on calendar timing.  Although there is a Jacaranda tree that I drive by on my way home which is always the first to flower and that happened early this week.  It's weird though as the Jacaranda in my front yard can be a month behind it!!

And speaking of America friends that I recently visited in Naples are still in the recovery process from Hurricane Irma  and have only just had power restored to their homes and the water is only just returning to a drinkable quality.  Weather in Naples at the moment compares to February here which would be very uncomfortable without power and fresh water.

This coming Monday we sort of start the front 9 West greens conversion to TifEagle with the six inch irrigation mainline together with power and irrigation tubing being re-located further away from the green to allow for the green to be enlarged by some 4.5 metres to the left allowing for greater pin placement area.  The temporary green will be in play on Monday whilst we carry out this work.