Greenkeeper’s Report September 2015

Our Greenkeeper Scott Dunkerley updates members on what the on-course team are working on. We will also have a public viewing next to the putting green one upcoming weekend of the magnificent new mower.

Renovations:

The plan for renovating is now firmly set for the 12th of October (the day after the club champs finishes). This will be a mini tyne coring and a topdressing of sand and seed. This is the first of 2 or maybe 3 similar treatments over the next 6 months. The mini tyne coring has a much shorter recovery time than normal coring. This will allow the greens to be back at full performance in time for the City of Wellington.

Surrounds:

At the same time as coring the greens (12th Oct) we will also be looking to do the parts of the surrounds that need doing. We will not be doing complete surrounds as it’s not necessary in places. We will also be seeding these areas and keeping them watered using the soaker hoses that we purchased last year.

Trees:

We have been pruning up trees over the last month that had become well overgrown. I think it has made the course look a lot tidier in the areas that have been done. We are not done yet, but heading into the growing season we will find it difficult to find time to do much more work on them. We will be looking to get back into it over summer once the growth has slowed down again.

Also last month I mentioned about getting some trees cut down, this is NOT a pressing issue as the sun is now over the trees that were in question, but we would still like to get this done sometime before winter.

New Machinery:

The 2 pieces of machinery that we have got have made us look forward to coming to work and using them. They run smoothly and most importantly do the job better than the previous machines were.

The greensmower (apart from the slight hiccup at the start) has been wonderful. It cuts a lot better than the old one and is a more powerful machine which gives us much more traction driving around the course making it a lot safer.

The fairway mower is a beast. It’s wider than the old one and drives slightly faster increasing our productivity. The quality of cut is similar to the old one, but there is more life left in the reels than in the old one.