Hi all, the club has a new website that will now be hosting the Greens and Grounds news that I will be continuing to update with course information. Below is the link to the new site. The page can be found under the News menu.
Cheers
Simon
http://www.murrumbidgeegolf.com.au/category/greensgrounds/
04 March 2015
24 February 2015
February Update
Some unexpected rain last night. Had somewhere between 10 and 15 mm of rain at the course last night. Although had 33 mm at my place only a kilometre or so away and over 40 mm recorded in some areas of Weston Creek. Anyway, should be good for the course and add a little to the dams.
Greens to be renovated next week with a contractor coming in to verti-drain the greens (solid tines, no cores to be collected). Our boys will do the remainder of the work including scarifying, fertilizing and top dressing. This is the minor renovation and the green should be back in good condition within a couple of weeks.
Tees and short surrounds areas have been sprayed for summer grass which has been very noticeable this year with the periods of wet weather. These will be renovated also and reseeded as the summer grass will go dormant through the cooler months.
The paspalum on the shortly mowed areas is being spot sprayed by volunteers. This will need a follow-up in the next couple of weeks and then the paspalum will start to die off. This is done each summer once the plant has become active to keep the amount of paspalum in the fairway, tees and surrounds to a minimum. We will not be able to eradicate this completely as the weed is thick throughout the rough and surrounding areas.
We have also had a large filter installed on the intake to the main pump near the 18th tee. This will help stop sprinklers and valves becoming blocked that are irrigated from this pump and reduce the occurrence of valves getting stuck on which happens from time to time. This will also reduce the amount of time spent cleaning out valves and sprinklers that become blocked.
We are also trialling a bank of 6 new sprinklers on the 14th hole around 200 metres from the green. These sprinklers are gear driven and able to throw the full distance to the adjacent sprinklers which are spaced at around 20-22 metres apart. The current sprinklers are a knocker variety and in with the current set-up and conditions are able to throw around 17 metres.
Greens to be renovated next week with a contractor coming in to verti-drain the greens (solid tines, no cores to be collected). Our boys will do the remainder of the work including scarifying, fertilizing and top dressing. This is the minor renovation and the green should be back in good condition within a couple of weeks.
Tees and short surrounds areas have been sprayed for summer grass which has been very noticeable this year with the periods of wet weather. These will be renovated also and reseeded as the summer grass will go dormant through the cooler months.
The paspalum on the shortly mowed areas is being spot sprayed by volunteers. This will need a follow-up in the next couple of weeks and then the paspalum will start to die off. This is done each summer once the plant has become active to keep the amount of paspalum in the fairway, tees and surrounds to a minimum. We will not be able to eradicate this completely as the weed is thick throughout the rough and surrounding areas.
We have also had a large filter installed on the intake to the main pump near the 18th tee. This will help stop sprinklers and valves becoming blocked that are irrigated from this pump and reduce the occurrence of valves getting stuck on which happens from time to time. This will also reduce the amount of time spent cleaning out valves and sprinklers that become blocked.
We are also trialling a bank of 6 new sprinklers on the 14th hole around 200 metres from the green. These sprinklers are gear driven and able to throw the full distance to the adjacent sprinklers which are spaced at around 20-22 metres apart. The current sprinklers are a knocker variety and in with the current set-up and conditions are able to throw around 17 metres.
29 January 2015
January Update
January has been a very wet month with around 140 mm at the Tuggeranong weather station. This is well above the average of around 50 mm. This has encouraged the rough to grow and help keep the course a little tougher (although the daily course ratings seem to be below the scratch rating for most comps).
This rain has encouraged the growth of a number of weeds across the course. In particular the summer grass and paspalum seem to be thriving. Below is a photo of the 14th tee showing a clump of paspalum mixed in with the summer grass. The wet weather has encouraged the summer grass this year. This grass will die off once the cold weather sets in and can be sprayed with a selective herbicide. As the grass is spread throughout the tees and fairways this would required a large amount of chemical and would be very costly.
The summer grass spreads quickly by sending runners across the surface and by spreading seed and it is a prolific seeder. Continual mowing will reduce the generation of seed and slow the spread of the grass a little.
The paspalum you can see from the photo forms a clump and can be spotted easily. Over the past few years we have been spot spraying the paspaulm from the fairways and the tees with good results. This is being done gain this year to reduce the amount in the short playing surfaces. This can be broad sprayed also but would be very costly. As you have probably noticed there is paspalum spread every where throughout the rough and we will never be able to eradicate it entirely.
This year's Greens and Grounds committee is Simon Miels, Cam Griggs (Superintendant), Rob Bendle, Rod Drayton, Elaine Wilson, Heather Millar and Les Giovinazzo. If you have any questions or suggestions please feel free to talk to any of the committee members or send us a line. You can comment at the bottom of any of these posts with suggestions for topics that might be useful for the members.
Also, spread the word about about the blog so we can get more members reading.
Below are a couple of links if you want find out more about these weeds.
Summer grass
Paspalum
This rain has encouraged the growth of a number of weeds across the course. In particular the summer grass and paspalum seem to be thriving. Below is a photo of the 14th tee showing a clump of paspalum mixed in with the summer grass. The wet weather has encouraged the summer grass this year. This grass will die off once the cold weather sets in and can be sprayed with a selective herbicide. As the grass is spread throughout the tees and fairways this would required a large amount of chemical and would be very costly.
The paspalum you can see from the photo forms a clump and can be spotted easily. Over the past few years we have been spot spraying the paspaulm from the fairways and the tees with good results. This is being done gain this year to reduce the amount in the short playing surfaces. This can be broad sprayed also but would be very costly. As you have probably noticed there is paspalum spread every where throughout the rough and we will never be able to eradicate it entirely.
This year's Greens and Grounds committee is Simon Miels, Cam Griggs (Superintendant), Rob Bendle, Rod Drayton, Elaine Wilson, Heather Millar and Les Giovinazzo. If you have any questions or suggestions please feel free to talk to any of the committee members or send us a line. You can comment at the bottom of any of these posts with suggestions for topics that might be useful for the members.
Also, spread the word about about the blog so we can get more members reading.
Below are a couple of links if you want find out more about these weeds.
Summer grass
Paspalum
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