It's hard to believe it's the same golf course that I toured last Saturday afternoon after the rain had stopped when you look at it today.  A great effort by the crew to restore the course with the amount of wash that was around coupled with the bunkers almost requiring to be rebuilt.  Not to mention the amount of mowing needed now that the grass has well and truly jumped.  You literally can almost watch it grow.  We also had a metre deep 150mm irrigation repair to cope with on 4W fairway that occupied a lot of time as well.  It was one of those weeks when you wonder how all the required work will get done then sit back on Friday afternoon and thank the crew for their efforts over the week.

150mm irrigation repair on 4W.

 

The roughs are really starting to move especially the Kikuyu areas.  We mow roughs with outfront rotary mowers that are fitted with "mulching blades'' which as the name suggests mulch up leaves and sticks to leave a tidier appearance in the roughs, which given our tree population is rather important.  They don't mow as well as a traditional blade but are of great benefit for us with the finished result.  The top photo shows a brand new mulching blade on top and a worn one underneath and the next photo shows a ''normal'' blade.

 

Mulching blade.

 

 

Normal mower blade.

 

The fairways were treated with a growth regulator last week which was nicely timed given the arrival of the rain, heat and humidity.  Unfortunately one of the motors that operate the nozzles burnt out during application which meant that the product ran in a line rather than being broadcast out causing a burn.  The sprayer is a shrouded one which means the nozzles are encased which is great for spraying in the wind but not so good for seeing if they are all operating.  It is always tested before and also during spraying.  The photo below is of 6R fairway where the line from the faulty nozzle is clearly visible as indicated by the bottom arrow.  What is also visible next to the upper arrow is the amount of growth in that line where there was no growth regulator applied and the turf is scalped.  

 

6R fairway.

 

 

The photo below is of 13W fairway which missed being sprayed last week due to time constraints and the amount of clipping that was left after mowing which once again demonstrates how good the growth regulator is.  Years ago this was a common sight on fairways.

13W fairway.