This time of year the weather has a big impact on course maintenance
programs. Periods of heavy rain can leave the course saturated for extended
periods of time, restricting the equipment we are able to put on the turf. This
significantly effects work scheduling.
With the coming of winter, we can expect more bad weather.
We still have plenty of work to do in the rain. It makes a perfect time to
catch up on housekeeping, gardening and paperwork jobs, which the summer
workload does not allow sufficient time for.
Over the last month, we have been continuing with the path
program, constructing new granite pathways and turfing to blend them into the
surrounding turf.
We have decided to put a row of Couch along the paths, since
Kikuyu has a tendency to quickly overgrow paths, leading to higher maintenance
requirements. Couch is also more wear resistant, allowing for the high traffic
the edges of the paths receive.
The most recent path to be completed was the 2nd
hole. As well as removing the old mulch path, opening up more playable turf
below the ladies plates on the 3rd, creating a firm base and
loosening compacted soil around the path, we created a diversion hump below the
back tee at the 3rd to force the run-off water from the 3rd
tees to flow through the gardens into the dam instead of on to the 2nd
fairway.
The existing granite path around the 7th green has been extended to the front of the green, creating a much smoother route up to the 8th tee. We also repaired a number of worn patches in the rough left of the green.
The path on the left of the 8th green extends
from the left bunker to the 9th tee. This took a bit extra time
since we had to remove quite a bit of sandstone which was just beneath the
surface. The removal of this sandstone will allow the new turf to thrive with a
deeper soil profile.
The 14th path is the longest of the granite
paths, going from just below the 14th tee, all the way to the
fairway along the tree line of the 18th.
These new paths are making huge difference to the course.
Not only do they improve the aesthetics of the course, creating a better
looking and smoother journey around the course, it also greatly aids in the
reduction of wear on the turf and the golf carts.
