Another huge week on the West greens project with 4W only requiring the top layer of growing medium added and 8W excavated out.  4W certainly unearthed some nasty looking material which wasn't all that surprising as it has been one of the toughest greens to maintain, particularly as a bentgrass green.  That is one huge advantage that we now have is that the greens are very consistent with little difference in soil moisture levels and they all behave very similarly.  4W green had to be totally re-drained as the existing drainage had been badly contaminated by the "marine mud" that formed the base of the green.  8 on the other hand had probably the best and most functional drainage system that we have seen on any of the greens.

Both 2 and 3W were planted on Thursday which was a tough time given the gusty wind and rain squalls that came through.  Getting the growth mats down was quite an experience and achievement.  So that takes us up to 6 greens planted with only 9W untouched and that should start late next week so this will be the last Saturday comp played on bentgrass at Coolie Tweed!!

A short video above showing the base layer on 4W being rolled, watered and  the final trim by the Bobcat.  531 tonne of sand was needed to re-fill the hole that we excavated and that was on top of more than 100 tonne of drainage gravel and 150 tonne of the top layer sand blend will most likely be required.  The reason the staff are watering is to help compaction which is necessary to make sure the finished surface remains true to construction finished levels.  And speaking of compaction the River greens renovations are planned for November 20 and 21 when we will be relieving compaction in the greens.  We have a couple of new implements that are going to be used so we are planning on doing the 328 practice green next Thursday as a trial run.

The cooler temperatures we are experiencing are slowing the growth rate of the new greens down as we really need some warm temperatures to get the soil warm and the grass responding.  It is a bit more pleasant to work in and I must again commend my crew for their dedication to the task with impromptu overtime never being a concern as long as we get the job done.

4W green begins.

8W green being stripped.