Dear Members and Guests,

 

August will see the last month of winter behind us and I think we are all looking forward to some sunshine!

Recent rainfall totals are similar to rainfall trends of 10-15 years ago. The rainfall total for the year stands at 415mm, around 200 mm more than the same time last year – 22 of the last 25 days have involved rainfall. This lack drying weather is placing duress on both the golf courses, in particularly the St John Course. All golf carts will be temporarily banned from the St John Course, this is to reduce damage and protect the integrity of the golf course. This restriction isn’t too dissimilar to other golf courses around Melbourne at the moment.

The increased rainfall has also shown areas that require attention going forward that have often have been hidden by the lack of rainfall in recent years. Some correction work will commence in the near future with improvements to select bunkers & their drainage. While others will require planning and further approval before we can commence, this will include the improved rough conditions on the St John Course and further renovation to the bunkers.

 

When the rainfall does subside we will commence the works to improve the drainage in select bunkers on the St John Course. We haven’t been able to commence this work due to the soft conditions on the golf course. The plan is to expose & clean segments of the drainage that are causing the back up of water within the bunker. Additional drainage will be added where required and new drainage aggregate will be re-installed. The bunkers selected for this work are the greenside bunkers at #1, 4, 5 & 6.

As we inch closer to spring the golf courses will begin to change their characteristics. The golf courses will to dry out and become less reactive to rainfall, grass starts to grow and unfortunately so do the weeds, typically broadleaf weeds. This will be actioned in August. In the recent weeks we have been centering our attention on the control of winter grass or poa annua across both golf courses, in particular fairways and roughs, this program will continue going forward through August.

In 4-5 weeks time the green colour of the fairways and tees will commence their return, this will be enhanced by a foliar fertilizer application scheduled for late August to early September.

 

The continued rainfall has provided some advantages. It has allowed the quick refilling of the Henley Course lakes, this activity is 8-10 weeks in advance compared to previous years. While on course, it has allowed for some ‘other’ tasks to be completed. This includes the removal of couchgrass and wintergrass encroachment into the St John Course collars. While on the Henley Course, it has allowed the removal some of those often annoying bunker tongues that severely impact golf.

 

Other tasks scheduled for August include – the mowing of select pasture rough areas and the review of the irrigation system as we prepare for the summer that lies ahead.

 

The following programs are scheduled for the month of August:

St John Course

Greens:

• Dust greens (lightly top dress) –  August 17^th

-       improve consistency of the putting surface

Fairways/Approaches:

• Foliar Fertilizer application to fairways & approaches – commencing Aug. 30th

- improve quality of turfgrass

• Wintergrass Control – August 17^th

- improve quality of turfgrass

Rough:

• Wintergrass Control – August 19^th

- improve quality of turfgrass

Henley Course

Greens:

• Dusting of greens (light top dress) –  June 21^st

- improve the  consistency of the putting surface

• Moss control to greens – August 9^th

- improve quality of turfgrass

Fairways/Approaches:

• Foliar Fertilizer application to fairways & approaches – commencing Aug. 23^rd

- improve quality of turfgrass

Scheduling of these operations may change due to inclement weather conditions.

 

Please note the following dates for course closure:

St John Course – August Tuesday 17^th & Monday 30^th

Henley Course – August Monday 9^th & 23^rd

Please note, the additional day of course closure this month is to assist in the remedial work on the courses from the rainfall and prepare them for spring.

 

Regards,

 

Sam Myott

Golf Course Superintendent