The greens recovered beautifully from renovations which saw them back to their best within a three week time frame. Id like to think that some of this was due to good management but it was assisted greatly by unseasonal warmth which got the grass growing much quicker than normal equating to a \u00a0faster process overall.<\/p>\n
We spent the last week of September watering greens on most nights due to the dry conditions and to put things in perspective it was Decemeber 22nd<\/sup> last year when our greens were first watered for the sole purpose of wetting the soil. It has been seven years since we were required to water greens at such an early time of the year.<\/p>\n As I write this we are expecting some significant rainfall over the next few days (upwards of 50mm) so we took the opportunity to once again punch some holes into the putting surfaces and apply a light dusting of sand. When such high rainfall is forecast it is always an opportunistic time to undertake such tasks as the rain assists greatly in washing the sand down into the thatch where it is wanted.<\/p>\n Our goal over the next few months will be to apply sand to our greens at light rates every 3-4 weeks which has many positive benefits. The main purpose is to dilute the thatch lying just beneath the surface which equates to better drainage and firmer\/smoother surfaces.<\/p>\n FAIRWAYS\/TEES\/SURROUNDS<\/strong><\/p>\n The warmer weather has seen the santa ana surfaces come out of dormancy and we find ourselves enjoying very good surfaces to play from already. As soil temperatures continue to rise these surfaces will continue to improve and by the beginning of summer I would expect prime conditions for us all to enjoy playing from.<\/p>\n We applied some wetting agent to our cool season turf and high traffic areas prior to this week\u2019s rainfall to help keep the moisture in the profile for an extended period. This should help assist these areas which typically dry out much more quickly when conditions become warm and dry and helps reduce the amount of irrigation needed to keep them alive.<\/p>\n FUTURE WORKS<\/strong><\/p>\n The board have recently approved some major works that we will be looking to undertake on course which excitingly is expected to begin over the summer period. The feedback from the members survey saw a constant theme with drainage and cart paths being high on the agenda of what was wanted and we plan to invest in these two projects.<\/p>\n As part of our drainage improvements we are looking to construct a small dam on the left side of the 17th<\/sup> fairway (near the 18th<\/sup> tee) to alleviate the large amount of water that backs up and\u00a0 spills out of the underground pits in this area. This dam will act as an overflow which will assist greatly in managing the large amounts of water that moves through this low lying area of the course and will have a significant impact on improving the drainage throughout this very wet area.<\/p>\n The other benefit of this dam will be to turn the 17th<\/sup> into a far more interesting hole than its current design. What is now a straight away short par four that in my opinion lacks any real strategy or visual appeal,\u00a0 the addition of this dam will make the tee shot \u00a0(especially for longer hitters) \u00a0far more interesting bringing added strategy and decision making to the hole while also improving the aesthetics of what is a very flat and mundane area of the course.<\/p>\n Lastly, by having the dam in this location it should see a restriction in golf balls being hit near the 18th<\/sup> tee by golfers playing from both the 17th<\/sup> and 6th<\/sup> holes.<\/p>\n I will continue to update all members on these projects as they are confirmed but for now I hope you are all getting out and enjoying the excellent condition we are currently experiencing.<\/p>\n Ryan Hammond<\/p>\n Dear members, September saw an incredible month of weather with above average temperatures, very little rain […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":41,"featured_media":2973,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[4,7,22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2972","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-golf","category-membership-level","category-members-slider"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.drouingolfclub.com.au\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/363428654_1025374198876350_8051401498341736720_n-450x600.jpg\")
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