The dry winter weather has been great for course condition
and also for getting some work done on the course. Some of our winter projects have
been to trim all low branches to make mowing easier and to allow better access
for golfers. We have been leveling sprinklers around greens and auditing the
tee sprinklers to ensure optimum performance.
After the construction of the new maintenance shed, we have
sorted and cleaned up around our sheds, allowing better access to equipment.
The biggest project we have recently undertaken is the
fairway irrigation on the 1st fairway.
Fairway irrigation is an important ongoing project, as it
makes the course better for both golfers, and staff members.
On fairways without irrigation, we have to drag long hoses
out and these obstruct play for days on end. It takes days to water some
fairways, as the sprinklers only throw 10 meters and we have to have them in
the same spot for up to two hours in summer. Since it takes about a hour for a
staff member to do a complete lap of the course, moving all the sprinklers,
this means a staff member is tied up for the best part of two or three days,
unable to assist in normal day to day operations. With fairway irrigation, we
can apply water to the whole fairway in one hit, during the night, meaning that
the watering does not interrupt play at all
This also helps with chemical application, as some chemicals
and fertilisers need to be washed into the root layer to be properly effective.
We are currently putting the finishing touches on the 1st
fairway irrigation. The fairway has been separated into two sections for
pressure and flow management. The green half of the fairway has been completed
and activated, while the tee end, just needs to be bolted into place to be
operational.
Bad weather holds up bolting the main line into the tee
half, as the pit that the fittings are in, becomes muddy, and we do not want
any of this sludge to get into the main lines as this could potentially clog up
sprinklers around the course.
Luckily, the rain also means that we do not need the
irrigation for the first fairway just yet, and after it clears up, we will have
plenty of time to finish this project.
The heavy rain recently, has filled the dam to capacity, meaning that we have plenty of water after this rain all clears up.
