LINKS SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT
FOR SEPTEMBER 2011
WEATHER
September was a mostly typical month with an
average noon temperature of 15.5° C aided by an unusually warm three days at
the end of the month coinciding with the Dunhill Links Championship. Winds were generally light to fresh
predominantly westerly and rainfall was near normal at 63 mm, a welcome major
reduction from August.
WORK ON THE LINKS
General
Routine maintenance combined with
course preparation for both the Tassie at the beginning of the month and the
Dunhill Links at the end took up the majority of man hours for September.
Championship Course
Primo-Maxx
The usual bi-monthly spray of
this top growth retardant was applied to greens at the beginning of the month.
Fungicide
A preventative fungicide
application was made to greens as required early in the month.
Turf Repairs
Some minor turf repairs on one or
two tees, 10th green surround and 14th walkway were
carried out in the first half of the month.
Putting Green Gates
The practice putting green
entrance gates were repositioned to provide a more practical access coinciding
with the new pathway to the golf centre.
Seeding – Golf Centre
Further seeding was carried out
behind the new golf centre early in the month.
Scarification / Sand Injection
Scarification combined with sand
injection using the Graden machine was carried out on certain teeing grounds.
Bunkers
Sand top up was carried out as
required followed by rotavation of bunker floors as part of the usual bunker
maintenance procedures.
Pine Needles
Blowing and sweeper collection of
pine needles from the 9th green and fairway in particular was
required on several occasions. This
process applied locally to the other two courses as well.
Greens
Greens were rolled and brushed
allied to mowing as deemed necessary through the month.
Fertiliser
The turf nursery areas were
treated with an autumn fertiliser (6-0-12) towards the end of the month.
Craw’s Nest Tassie / Dunhill
Links
Both tournaments were held in
September this year and both proved very successful and popular with
players. The usual course preparations
were carried out for both events with attention to detail once again to the
fore.
Burnside Course
Fungicide
Greens were sprayed with a
preventative fungicide at the beginning of the month.
Minor Repairs
Minor turf repairs concentrated
on plugging rabbit scrapes round the course.
Standing Water
Removal of standing water was
again required from certain greens and approaches early in the month.
Drain Clearance
The drain line running down the
left side of the 6th hole was flushed out to maintain flow rates.
Irrigation
Irrigation system work involved
the construction of three concrete block chambers to house relevant bore hole
flow meters including meter installation.
Sprinklers were trimmed around on fairways and tees. The system was again not in use for turf
irrigation other than washing in applications like wetting agent sprays or
fertiliser treatments.
Aeration
Tees were slit tined during the
month to a 4” depth while certain tees were hollow tined followed by top
dressing.
Weedkilling
Certain greens were sprayed with
a selective weedkiller to control pearlwort development.
Fertiliser
Greens received a dressing of
Autumn fertiliser (5-5-11) near the end of the month while weaker tees were
treated with a nitrogenous fertiliser (8-0-0) with iron sulphate.
Overseeding Greens
All greens were overseeded as
usual following the Senior Open from Monday 19th of the month. The procedure involved the combined use of
the Graden Scarifier and hollow tining for thatch removal purposes prior to
seeding and working into shallow holes with the top dressing. Following brushing, greens were rolled
accordingly.
Buddon Links Course
Bunker Maintenance
Bunker maintenance included sand
topping up as required.
Greens
Certain greens were verti cut
followed by brushing whilst brushing and / or rolling was commonly employed for
greens preparation.
Fungicide
Greens were sprayed with a
suitable fungicide as a preventative measure early in the month as per the
other courses.
Fertiliser
A few greens including green
walk-offs were fertilised during the month where deemed necessary.
Wetting Agent
The usual monthly wetting agent
spray was applied towards the end of the month and included approaches.
Aeration
The verti drain was used on
flooded and other lower lying areas where required during the month. All teeing grounds were also covered using ½”
tines.
Environmental Work
Broom growth was sprayed with the
chemical Timbrel in relevant areas on the Championship Course whilst stronger
broom was strimmed back on certain holes on the Buddon Course.
The selective grass herbicide
Rescue was sprayed in rough pockets on the Championship Course and ditches were
cleaned out on both the Championship and Buddon Courses. Fallen branches were cleared within the 6th,
7th and 16th triangle on the Burnside Course and several
wind blown trees were removed for chipping on the Buddon Course.
John S Philp
Links Superintendent
