I am pretty sure this year marks the fourth year in a row where our greens renovation was hampered by rain which is frustrating to say the least.  As with previous years the forecast from the weather bureau was pretty much spot on for Tuesday this week although not sure if they predicted 135mm!!  The courses needed some rain after a very prolonged dry spell but 24 hours later would have been perfect.  We had to adjust the renovation process which meant that not as much as was needed was done due to virtually losing a day.  We were able to get a hollow tine done which means pulling a core which is a great way to remove the thatch in the top surface.  The back 9 River greens are now 26 years old and the front 9 range from 25 to 45 years old so with those ages there is some serious thatch build up.  We still sanded the greens on Tuesday in amongst the rain and topped them up on Thursday then followed with some fertiliser which took till Friday to get it all out.  We are hopeful of a first mow on Tuesday and if all goes to plan the greens should be back down to normal mowing height by COB Tuesday.

Monday was certainly an uncomfortable day with the shed compound recording 37 degrees with not much breeze and it was a credit to the crew to punch out a 12 and a half hour day in those conditions.

The bunkers copped another hiding with the volume of rainfall on Tuesday and the wind blowing debris everywhere.  Once again a great effort by the crew to restore them to a playable condition this week which seems to have been a continual theme for some time now. 

We did have a similar run of weather with a very dry September / October in 2023 and then it started raining and has barely stopped since.  A number of weather websites are predicting rain to start ramping up in November and continuing on into next year.  Let's hope they are wrong.

We took delivery of some new machinery today with a new fairway mower and two tees / collars mowers being delivered.  Getting machinery just prior to, and post Covid, was a difficult task but fortunately things have returned to normal again.  We do run quite a modern fleet which is expertly maintained by our mechanic Mitch who is not often seen on course but makes sure everything is in tip top operating condition in the shed.  Thanks to the Club's Board for their support in ensuring we have such a good reliable fleet too.

 

New fairway mower.

One of the new tees mowers.

 

Four weeks away and only a couple of millimetres of rain.  Maybe I should have gone away earlier when it wouldn't stop raining!!  It's amazing just how fast the courses dried out and the roughs have all but burnt off.  The trees are shedding leaves in the dry conditions and the almost months worth of constant north winds has a lot of debris on the ground.  We have been constantly clearing the main play areas which does leave a lot of leaf debris in the roughs.

The strong southerly wind change on Thursday certainly blew some material down and the bunkers did what they do so well and acted as leaf collectors which means a huge amount of work to get the leaves out.  With the final round of the championships on Saturday the River course was prioritised on Friday and they should be completely clear come the start of play.

6 inches deep in 15R greenside!!

The constant wind and dry conditions has given the new irrigation system a baptism of fire and it has performed very well.  The coverage on the greens is outstanding and likewise the fairways.  There are some areas on the fairways that look dry and they are and that is caused by the soil / sand profile that is completely water repellent.  We have always had these types of areas and then there are fairways like 13R that are just sand mounds and no amount of irrigation water will keep them moist.  It has been a steep learning curve for our Assistant Course Super Simon who has been heavily involved in the complete system installation process as it has been for me upon my return this week.  We don't have an unlimited supply of water so allocating what is available to get the best return is critical in conditions such as these. 

Water repellent dry patches 7W fairway.

 

One of the components of the new pump station is two dosing pumps which means that we can inject a range of products into the water as it leaves the pump shed for distribution across the courses.  The most common material that is injected thru irrigation systems is wetting agents which help enhance water penetration into the soil profile, overcome water repellent soils and help with re-wetting the profile.  We already apply such products to the greens but the new system will allow us to treat all the irrigation water applied to benefit the turf.  Obviously cost will be a determining factor of just how much we treat but anecdotally all other clubs who dose have found major benefits.  Watch this space.

The River greens renovation starts next Monday and for the first time in three years we have a good forecast with only a chance of some rain via a storm on Monday which would be most welcome at around 7pm!!  It's a huge two days for the crew with 2 x 12 hour days on the cards so it's not something we do to deliberately interfere with your golf but a vital operation for the ongoing health of the greens.  With the volume of play we receive the greens really do need a break and a rejuvenation.