It wasn't the easiest week just gone with very low staff numbers.  Two apprentices were summoned to trade school for the week, one staff member was on annual leave and there were two sick each day which made things very tight but we got through and both courses look pretty dam good going into the weekend.  And just on the staff, one of our very experienced qualified greenkeepers will be leaving us shortly to take up the position as Assistant Super at Ocean Dunes on King Island.  I travelled there a couple of times during construction and I haven't seen a more challenging environment in which to work on a golf course but it's a great opportunity at what is one of the best courses in the world.

The cold mornings have obviouly arrived and the effect on the turf, particularly the greens is quite noticeable.  The greens on both courses had been producing quite a bit of leaf growth for this time of year but that certainly came to an abrupt halt this week.  A change in leaf colour to almost a purplish colour also accompanied the cold spell.  With less leaf growth during the day the greens produce a very tight fast surface which is what is happening at the moment.  The photos below don't really do the change in colour justice but it's surely there.

8R green Friday afternoon.

3W green Friday afternoon.

At least we have dried out to the extent that 10mm of rain shouldn't have too much of an effect on the courses.  Another few weeks of the dry weather should have us just about back to ''normal'' conditions.  The irrigation install continued this week with 2R being completed.  There was a lot of underground infrastructure such as power, a town water line and a telecom line that needed to be worked around on this fairway.  Despite the wet conditions the contractors are pretty much on schedule.  If the amount of rain we had for the first five months of the year fell at the previous course they were at they wouldn't have been able to get on the courses to work at all.

And they still lost the ball??!!

 

A pretty good sign??