Member update – 16/1/2011

The wet weather just isn’t letting up!!! In the New Year we have received over 110mm (4 inches) with two rain event completely washing out bunkers on a Sunday afternoon to greet ground staff each Monday morning. Please see the before and after photos of the 16th greenside bunkers below to see how the heavy rain can damage these parts of the golf course. As a result of the washouts the silt washed off the faces mixes with the bunker sand which over time can create a real hard pan base which is starting to develop in some of our bunkers that continually washout.

19th green
The 19th green has been seeded and vegetatively propagated from cores however the storm last Sunday afternoon (7th January) which dumped 62mm of rain in around 1 hour washed a considerable area of the green away, we have since poisoned out the remaining areas of the green and will be regrading, levelling and seeding again later this week of next week depending on the weather for the rest of the week.

Ropes
With all the wet weather the course still gets soft and susceptible to damage from foot and vehicular damage. To try and combat this we installed some rope on the real wet areas and the areas that wear out considerably, even during summer. The ropes are there to help protect sensitive areas of the course.

4th and 14th Tee Resurfacing
This week we have started resurfacing both the 4th and 14th tees, both these tees are severely shaded and the turf suffers badly from this, if the weather is kind this week both tees will be completed by the end of the week. We will be using ‘Grand Prix’ couch grass which is the same turf we are using on the 5th ladies tee and the 8th championship tees which have seen to be performing well in our environment.

Collar Lowering
In the new year we will be started to lower some high collars that have gradually built up over time, we will be coring the first 2 foot of the collar with quite large cores as close and as deep as possible, removing the cores, watering and using a vibrating pedestrian roller to try and get the level down the green to minimise the step-up to the collar that is present in some of the greens. We will do this twice during the summer.

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Year period

Regards

Ryan Fury
Grounds Manager
ryan.fury@kgc.com.au

Workshop Activities

Morning everyone,

We are in the process of getting ready for spring and one of the things we need to do is ensure the equipment is ready to go for the long cutting season ahead. Our Mechanic Rod Smart has been busy grinding the cylinders on the fairway mowers to ensure they will be cutting as best they can througbhout the summer. He did a relief grind which takes the back edge of the cylinder blade, creating less drag on the unit and allowing a better cut to be achieved throughout the summer, then he spin grinds them which gives the sharp front edge to the blade providing the scything action to cut the leaf..

Rod has been using the new Bernhard grinders now for the last two season and they have more then paid for themselves with the amount of cylinder grinding we have been doing over that time. With both our fairway mowers nearkly ten years old Rod does a fantastic job in keeping the equipoment in top shape.

I have attached some photos of the grinders in action below.

the fairway mower after grinding and cleaning

Close up of the grinded cylinder

Finished product


Rod relief grinding one of the cylinders

these processes ensure our equipment is up to providing the best possible cut on areas of the golf course for the summer.

Regards

Ryan

Here are a couple of pictures from Kinloch on the shores of Lake Taupo.

Fantastic green compleex on the par 5 13th

The par 4 5th hole with plenty of bunkering down the LHS

NZ Trip

Morning everyone,

Last week I was lucky enough to visit two of new zealands best golf courses. A group of superintendents from sydney and canberra visited Cape Kidnappers and Kinloch, both on the north island of NZ. They were two of the finest golf courses I have had the pleasure of visiting and playing, the scenary and conditions were second to none and all who went got an invaluable insight into both these facilities. Below are some photos from the trip of Cape Kidnappers.

The 15th Fairway at Kidnappers with the 100m drop right off the edge of the fairway

One of the par 3 cliff carry holes looking back to the tee

The LHS bunker on the 15th green @ kidnappers

Regards

Ryan

New Sand Bins

Morning everyone,
The wet weather last week (almost 4 inches of rain) enable the course staff to build the below sand bins to go out on the course and replace the existing round concrete bins. they are made with the same material as the new 150m marker to try and keep all the accessories as uniform as possible. We have built four of these new bins and will continue to build them as the winter progresses.

9th tee

14th tee

we have also placed new bins on the 4th tee and between the 4th and 6th greens.

Regards

Ryan

New 150m Posts

Belwo are some photos of the 150m posts we made last week during the wet weather and course closure, they are 90mm*90mm hardwood posts cut to length with brass 150 screwed into the front, they are in the same holes as the old posts with a new sleeve inserted into the ground to allow the post to be removed when the roughs are mown.

Course Ropes

Morning everyone,
It is that time of the year when the course is very sensitive with wet soil conditions and a distinct lack of sunlight on the fairways and some greens and tees. we have now got rope up on all the sensative area to help protect them for the winter months, over the past 2 winters this has helped considerably in preventing turf loss on the fairways and this winter should be no different. It would help everyone out if all buggies and carts are taken around these ropes, I know it can be a bit difficult but the course will benefit, only 12 weeks until spring!!

Regards

Ryan