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From the Shed:
Greenkeeper Simon Wright's
Quarterly
Report
Since the
inception of the Golf Club Web Site we have featured
a monthly comment from the Greenkeeper.
Experience has shown that through the year there
are a number of months when the work is of a very
routine nature. Accordingly it has been
decided to replace the monthly item with quarterly
reports. These will be aligned with the seasons.
The autumn report will contain material up to the
end of May the winter report to the end of August,
spring to the end of November and summer to the end
of February.
Autumn 2010
During the period the fairways and tees were sprayed
with Tordon Brushkiller to counter weed growth
before fertilising with Sports Fert No 3, a mixture
with an NPK rating of 14-3-7.
Greens were
sprayed with Amistar as a protectant against
Persistent Disease.
The Clubhouse
switchboard fault in April caused a major blow-out
in the shed when the irrigation decoder interface
was burnt out. This put the system out of action,
fortunately at a time when we were past the driest
part of the season. The unit was totally written off
and we are awaiting a replacement from the UK.
During May I
attended the South Island Fine Turf Seminar in
Queenstown. While there I enjoyed course walks on
the Jacks Point, The Hills and the Millbrook
courses. A highlight of the seminar was the address
by the guest speaker, Martin Greenwood,
Superintendent of Australia’s Kingston Heath Golf
Club. Martin spoke about the challenges he and his
staff faced in preparing the course for the 2009
Australian Masters which was won by Tiger Woods.
During my time
in Queenstown I acquired a roller from the
Queenstown Golf Club. This was used on our greens
prior to the May Tournament which resulted in
smoother and faster surfaces for the event.
January 2010
Routine maintenance tasks have been the main feature
of work in January. Reasonable rainfall (60mm) and
below average temperatures were features of the
month.
The benefits of the fertilisation of
the whole course in October are now showing with
strong grass growth meaning a regular mowing
programme is required.
During the month the practise nets
behind the Clubhouse were shifted to make room for
the new cart shed. The nets will eventually be
established in the area adjacent to the women’s 10th
tee.
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A recent addition to the Shed
is a utility trailer for use with the Honda
Motors sponsored motor bike. The trailer was
constructed by the Grounds Convenor, Barry
Hill, seen here with the trailer. He donated
the stub axles and hubs, the frame came from
George Leslie, the wheels from Alastair and
Colleen Gibbs and the paint from Geraldine
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Late last
year the Club purchased a John Deere 3235
self propelled fairway mower. Its reel
cutting attachments give a much better
“dressed” appearance to the fairways than
that which could be achieved by the old
tractor-drawn gang mowers. The John Deer was
originally employed at the AMI Stadium in
Christchurch and had recorded only 780 hours
service when bought. Here Greenkeeper Simon
Wright is seen operating the mower. |
July 2009
July was recognised as one of the coldest months for
some years. It was also very dry with only 33mm
being recorded. The ground temperature at a
depth of 100mm was only 3 deg at the end of the
month, still too cold to encourage grass growth.
There was little maintenance work
to be done on the course during the month but a
contractor was hired to dig soak holes in the
carpark to alleviate flooding and behind the
clubhouse to drain rainwater from the roof.
He was also used to remove a row
of stumps from behind the machinery sheds.
June 2009
In the prevailing cold weather there is little work
to be done on the course although during the month
the greens were sprayed with Sulphate of Iron, the
aim being to harden the turf to help it better
withstand the winter conditions.
Late in the month volunteers
helped with the felling and cutting up of the old
pine tree half-way up the 11th fairway.
This tree was badly damaged in the last big snow
storm.
Some members may have noticed
marks which resembled a disease on the 18th
green recently. Samples from these areas, along with
photographs, were sent to the NZ Sports Turf
Institute for analysis. In the event the
problem was put down to a different strand of Brown
Top which had become stressed. The problem
will rectify itself in due course.
May 2009
Main emphasis in the work programme for May was
centred on the preparation of the course for the
annual Sponsored Tournament. Considerable
effort was concentrated on the greens which, by the
tournament, were running at 9.5 on the Stimp meter.
Many thanks to all the volunteers
who helped get the course into immaculate shape for
the tournament.
With winter now upon us the
greens mower has been lifted to 4mm and mowing will
only be done once a week.
During the month the greens were
sprayed with Lorsban to counter Porina caterpillars.
April 2009
During the month a general turf fertiliser, Sports
Turf 3, was applied to all fairways to stimulate
grass growth before the onset of winter.
A broken irrigation system
control cable on the fourth fairway needed
replacement and this was mole ploughed in during the
month.
The large Bluegum stump adjoining
the 12th fairway was removed.
In preparation for the Spring
coring, Jeremy O’Connor of Turf Services was hired
to screen the necessary soil. This is now
drying in the new soil shed.
Observant members will have
noticed a new pattern to the fairway mowing.
This has come about through the use of a John Deere
self-propelled reel mower the Club has been
trialling.
March 2009
The main activity this month was the autumn coring
of the greens which, on this occasion, was hampered
by a misty drizzle which settled in on the actual
day of the work (Wednesday 18 March). As a result it
was not possible to spread the earth on the greens
until the following day thus prolonging the period
of course closure.
As usual the actual coring was
undertaken by contractors, Turf Services, but the
rest of the work was done by volunteers. As
usual we are grateful to those members and others
who provided machinery to assist with the task.
The day before coring the greens
were Verti-drained, a procedure designed to aerate
them to a greater depth than achieved by coring.
During the month the new mounds
around the 5th green were seeded with Fescue grass
and all tees were fertilised.
Greens were given the first of
two sprays with Amistar as a protectant against
Persistent Disease.
All fairways were sprayed with a
general weedkiller Archer, a product which has the
same active ingredient as Versatill, and this is
showing good results against daisies, dandelions and
yarrow.
February 2009
After a particularly dry January, the weather change
as February progressed was dramatic. A total of
150mm of rain was recorded at Denfield during the
month and as a result the whole course is once again
lush and green. None-the-less the irrigation system
proved itself throughout the hot dry weeks of
January maintaining the tees, greens and fairways in
good condition.
In February those greens
experiencing some dry areas were sprayed with a
wetting agent to assist water penetration.
The new soil storage shed was
completed during the month and is about to come into
service as we get ready for greens coring later in
March.
A digger was used
to remove the large gum tree stumps on the side of
the 16th fairway and at the same time the
opportunity was taken to clean up the area around
the pylon between the 5th and 16th
fairways. This area will be planted in Tall Fescue
grass. The seed was kindly donated by member Roger
Slater who has also provided another load of straw
for use on the shrub plantings along the Orari Back
Road frontage of the Club
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The
recently completed soil storage shed. |
January 2009
January was an exceptionally dry month with only 8mm
of rain recorded on the course. This meant
quick action was required when the electric motor on
the irrigation pump burned out during the New Year
holiday period. A replacement motor was
located and installed with the result that there was
little interruption to the vital watering programme.
During the month approval to the
building plans for the new earth storage shed was
received from the district council and construction
is now well underway. The shed is to replace
one of the bays in the older sheds which has been
used in the past. The new shed will allow for
the dry storage of a greater amount of screened soil
used for greens coring. Apart from allowing
easier access by today’s bigger machinery, it will
also free up the existing bay to provide better
secure storage of our plant. The greens will
be cored again on Wednesday 18 March.
During the month the greens were
sprayed with Lorsban to counter an infestation of
Porina caterpillars.
Also in January an Arborist,
Bryce Robb (a nephew of the late David Webb) scaled
the lofty heights of the pine trees at the left of
the approach to the 2nd green and removed
the last few overhanging branches.
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Work on the new soil
storage shed is progressing well. This shot
shows the concrete pad and the erection of
the surrounding block walls.
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Geraldine Blocklayer,
Ross Vincent. works on the last blocks of
the walls of the new soil storage shed.
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December 2008
December’s weather was only average with a total of
91mm of rainfall being recorded on the course. This
contributed to a calendar year total of 671mm’s for
2008.
During the month the greens were
sprayed with a fungicide to counter dollar spot
disease and the spraying of Round-up around the
trees and along the fence lines to control weed
growth was begun.
Work was carried out to prepare the
new mounds at the 5th hole and it is
planned to have the area sown in Fescue in February.
A polite reminder to players: please
leave rakes in the bunkers and repair divots and
pitchmarks during play.
November 2008
The installation
of new adjustable sprinklers on the first nine
greens on the course was the main undertaking of the
month. The purpose of the change is to allow the
sprinklers to be adjusted so that much more water
can be directed onto the dry areas surrounding the
greens.
The old sprinklers turned through 360
deg which meant it was impossible to concentrate
water on the green surrounds. The ability of the new
sprinklers along with other work should go a long
way to improve the poor condition of the surrounds.
Although November was a relatively
dry month, the irrigation system is coping.
And regular mowing is an ongoing task.
Maintenance of the irrigation system is another
priority task at this time of the year.
The green surrounds were sprayed
with Versatill to counter clover.
All machinery is in good condition
and working well.
Simon wishes Members a Merry
Christmas and a Happy New Year.
October 2008
This month marks
the first anniversary of Simon Wright’s employment
as the Club’s Greenkeeper. He took up his position
on the Tuesday following Labour Weekend last year.
October’s activities were
dominated by the coring cycle when the greens were
once again Verti-drained (Vertically drained) and
cored. This operation gives a temporary setback to
the condition of the greens, but they quickly
recover and with the present warm weather they
should soon be back to top class condition.
The whole exercise is designed to
break up thatch and to open up the soil to improve
both drainage and aeration. The Verti-draining
involves the use of a set of solid tines to punch
holes to a depth of 150mm. This is accompanied by a
“kicking” action which aims to loosen up the
sub-soil.
The actual coring was again
undertaken by Turf Services with the bulk of the
labour being supplied by Club volunteers. This year
the contractors also cored the collars of the greens
to help with water absorption.
Immediately after coring the
greens were cut with the mower set at 4mm but from
now on the cut will be reduced to 3.5mm.
In an apparent first, all the
fairways on the course were cored during the month.
This work was carried out by the use of a Tumbler
Corer. This machine, operated by our new tractor, is
capable to taking cores up to 50mm deep depending on
the state of the ground . The aim of the exercise is
again to allow water into dry areas and air into wet
areas. It is intended that this coring will be an
ongoing exercise and, coupled with the recent
fertilisation and prudent use of our automated
irrigation system, should go a long way towards
improving our fairways.
During the month the greens
received the first of two rounds of spraying to
counter Star Weed and the fairways and tees were
sprayed with Tordon Brush Killer to take out a range
of weeds. The effects of this latter spraying on the
Dandelions is now clearly apparent on the fairways.
September 2008
The onset of warmer spring weather in
September has brought on the expected grass growth
and consequently a change in his work patterns with
mowing again making up a large part of his tasks,
Greenkeeper Simon Wright reports.
The greens are now being cut with the
mower set at 3.5mm and from now on, throughout the
warmer months, the greens will be mown five or six
days a week.
An opportunity was taken on the
recent very wet Saturday to fertilise the fairways.
A product called Sports Fert No 3 with an NPK rating
of 14-3-7 with trace elements was spread across all
fairways and this should provide good grass growth
for the season.
During the month all the tees were
cored to improve aeration to both counter the
effects of thatch and to improve grass growth.
A commercial digger was used to
remove stumps left from the winter tree felling
programme and at the same time the opportunity was
taken to remove the mound on the left side of the 5th
green. The shape of this mound made it almost
impossible to groom and its construction was such
that is was difficult to get grass to grow on it. A
new reshaped mound will be constructed in its place.
New rubbish bins, constructed by the
Grounds Convenor Barry Hill, have now been placed on
the tees.
Members are reminded that the annual
spring coring and verti-draining will be carried out
over the period 20 – 22 October and the course will
be closed on those three days.
August 2008
The passing of August will hopefully mark the end of
winter and the arrival of the spring growing season
for Green Keeper Simon Wright. Most of his
efforts during the month of August centred around
the felling and cutting up of trees for firewood as
well as a little pruning around the course. He was
well supported in these endeavours by a ready band
of volunteers.
In preparation for the anticipated spring growth
Simon has sprayed the collars and surrounds of the
greens with wetting agent to assist water
absorption. This is the first step in a
planned programme designed to greatly improve these
thatch-affected areas which detract from the
appearance and playing condition of the course.
Commenting on the unusually thick mat of moss across
the course, Simon said it came about because of the
unusually dry autumn during which there was very
little grass growth to keep the moss under control.
Other courses in the area had experienced similar
conditions. He will be fertilising the fairways in
the near future to encourage strong spring grass
growth which should overtake the moss.
Members are probably aware that new long overdue
lunch room accommodation has been constructed in the
shed incorporating the small office and computer
room. With little green keeping activity in
July, Simon reverted to an earlier life when he
profitably filled in time stopping the new gib board
lining and painting the interior of the new room.
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The long overdue lunch room
accommodation which has been constructed in
the greens shed. This is the first time hot
water has been available in the area!
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The office and computer room
in the shed. This computer controls the
fully automated course watering system.
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June 2008
The results of
trials on the control of Poa Annua grass in sports
turf was one of the subjects covered at the South
Island Fine Turf Seminar which Greenkeeper Simon
Wright attended in Nelson in late June.
Most golf courses in New Zealand
have a degree of Poa Annua in their greens. The
tests confirmed that the grass is very difficult to
kill out but it can be controlled by encouraging the
growth of Brown Top.
Another paper presented at the
Seminar detailed trials on the effect of different
fertilisers on the growth of Brown Top. Conducted by
PGG Wrightson’s agronomist, Bill Walmsley, the
trials clearly demonstrated that the best results
could be obtained by using sulphate of ammonia.
A forum on the renovation of
turf, led by David Howard and Paul Averson from the
NZ Sports Turf Institute demonstrated that the
control of thatch was the main aim of renovation
and that the key to success was an ongoing and
regular programme of work.
Back at Denfield the planned tree
pruning was almost completed in June but tree
felling would be continued in July.
The new John Deere 4720 tractor
was delivered in June.
During the month new distance
marker blocks were placed in the fairways. The red
blocks indicate 90 meters from the centre of the
greens.
The Grounds Convenor, Barry Hill has been working on
the construction of a fitting to mount a brush on
the front of the greens mower. Although there is not
a lot of growth in the winter months, the grass
that does grow tends to stay flat on the ground.
Mounted on the front of the
mower, the brush attachment should raise the grass
making for more effective mowing.
Photo: Ground
Convenor Barry Hill, watched by Greenkeeper Simon
Wright, makes adjustments to the brush system he has
devised to assist with winter-time greens mowing.
May 2008
The main focus of
activity from the Greeenkeeper’s perspective in May
was the final preparation of the course for the very
successful 36-hole tournament and to have it ready
to face the colder winter months now with us, Simon
Wright reports.
In the run-up to the tournament
the greens were being mowed six days a week with the
blades set at 3mm. This produced a very challenging
surface and on the first morning of the event the
greens were running at 9ft on the Stimp Meter.
Since then the blades have been
set back to 4mm and the greens mown only once a
week, treatment dictated by the cold frosty weather.
Just prior to the tournament new
cups, pins and flags were placed on all greens.
Simon expressed his appreciation
of the efforts of the many members who came along to
clean up leaves and twigs from the course and to
those who provided ride-on mowers to assist with the
rough tidying.
All-in-all the course was
extremely well presented for the annual event.
Towards the end of May work on
tree pruning was commenced and this work, along with
the removal of the trees approved by the Management
Committee recently (see under Headlines on this
site) will be carried on over the
winter weeks .
April 2008
The main effort of the April work schedule was
centred on care of the greens preparing them for the
transition from the warm summer and autumn
conditions to the harsher ones of winter now with
us, Greenkeeper Simon Wright reports.
Following the recent coring he has sprayed the
greens with a wetting agent to enhance water
absorption during the particularly dry season we
have experienced.
In addition they have been sprayed to counter Dollar
Spot, a disease which shows up in the form of small
dry patches on the greens’ surface. This disease is
primarily a summer condition but again its life
cycle has been extended by the dry conditions
experienced this year.
The second round of two sprayings to counter
Persistence Disease, mentioned in last month’s
report, has been carried out.
The greens are still being mown daily with the mower
set at 3.5mm and this will continue until the May
tournament after which the cutting rate will be
reduced and blade height raised for the winter
months.
New cups, flagsticks and flags have been ordered and
when these are in place prior to the May tournament,
they will do much to enhance the course.
Although it was originally intended to spray the
fairways with a general purpose weed killer in the
autumn it has been decided to delay this work until
the spring.
Now that frosts are with us Simon wants all members
to be aware that no play is allowed on the course
until 10.30am on frosty mornings. The usual sign to
this effect will be displayed as a reminder.
March 2008
Continuing dry conditions are hindering the recovery
of the greens following the recent verti-draining
and coring operations, Greenkeeper Simon Wright
reports. He was happy with the work undertaken but
points out that in such conditions as we are having
at present it will take longer to get back to really
good putting surfaces than it does following spring
coring. He is sure however that autumn coring this
year will stand us in good stead in the future.
Greens have been sprayed with a fungicide called
Amistar as a preventative measure against
Persistence Disease. This disease, which we have
experienced in the past, makes its presence felt in
April and leads to bad scarring patches which cannot
be countered in the winter months.
A lot of green surrounds have suffered through the
coring and they are so dry that little can be done
as a quick fix. Soaker hoses will be used in these
areas during the colder months with the aim of
boosting the natural water which is received in the
winter. The aim is to achieve a thorough soaking of
these areas to a depth of at least 150mm. Such
treatment should assist with the recovery of these
areas in the next growing season.
Several working bees have completed the re-earthing
of the many tree stump holes around the course and
these will now be seeded to take advantage of the
moister weather we should soon be receiving.
February 2008
Reasonable rainfall throughout February has done much to help green up the
course and replenish the soil moisture levels, Greenkeeper Simon Wright reports.
A total of 69 mm of rain was recorded at Denfield during the month.
The obsolete tee
irrigation decoders mentioned in the last report
have now been replaced and are working perfectly.
This means Simon can now programme the system to
give ample water to all tees.
A fungicide spraying
programme has been carried out on the greens. This
was designed to counter dollar spot and fusarium
patch diseases. Observant players would have
detected these problems which show up in the form of
small round dry patches and pinkish circular
markings respectively.
In the second week of
March it is intended to carry out verti draining of
the greens, an operation which is designed to aerate
the sub soil layers.
This will be followed by
coring and re-soiling of the greens and coring of
the greens collars. This latter treatment is aimed
at relieving soil compaction and encouraging grass
growth.
January 2008
Dry
conditions throughout January have been a feature
since he commenced work at the Club late last year,
reports our Greenkeeper Simon Wright. In all only
32 mm of rain were recorded at Denfield during the
month.
This
has required constant use of the irrigation system,
and after a few initial setbacks this is proving to
be generally effective. One exception is the system
servicing the tees. Simon has found that about half
the decoders are incompatible with the effect that
he is unable to provide sufficient water to maintain
growth. Replacement decoders have been ordered and
when installed should rectify the problem.
The
greens are now being mown six days a week with the
mower set at 3.25mm. As part of general maintenance
they were recently Verti-cut and sprayed to combat
Porina caterpillar.
In a
departure from the past, the greens will be cored
again in March. This is part of a programme to
combat the thatch problem we have, thereby improving
the general playing properties of the greens.
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