Update for members April 2020

In early March the club hosted the New Zealand Stroke Play tournament, which seemed to go smoothly. The weather was perfect, and once again the best players showed they play a different game to most.

Thanks to all volunteers who helped out with this event. Special thanks to Kris Bower, Rob Brangwin, and Logan McLennan for their help prior to, and during the tournament.

On the Monday after the Tournament we renovated greens and greens surrounds. This involved verti-draining greens with 8mm tines to a depth of 200mm. We also put 12mm tines through the Putting green, chipping green, and the 3rd green. The reason for this is the extra traffic that the practice greens get, and also the fact that these 3 greens tend not to drain quite as well as others on the course. We also renovated the turf on collars around greens with the 12mm tines to a depth of 200mm. The verti-drain allows air movement into the profile, and water movement through the profile. Sand topdressing was carried out to continue the normal topdressing programme, but also to help smooth out the putting surfaces after the verti-drain disruption.

The following week we were in the process of bringing the course back to normal playing conditions when the Level 4 emergency plan for COVID-19 came into force. This caught us out a little due to the sudden step from Level 2 to Level 4. We had very little time to prepare the course for an extended shutdown.

At present we are unable to do any course maintenance work and haven’t done since Wednesday the 25^th March.

So, what is this going to mean for our course going forward? Well if common sense comes into play, we will get an exemption to return to work in a limited manner which may be along the lines of one staff member at a time to carry out limited maintenance. If not, then I am not sure what this means as we haven’t been through anything like this before. In fact the longest I can remember a course not being tended to would have been 3 to 4 days due to inclement weather; in this case we could be shut out for 4 weeks or more. There are obviously a lot we don’t know about the effects of a prolonged shutdown; however, what we do know is what we are seeing at present.

We were able to put down a preventative fungicide on the greens on Wednesday the 25^th, which will hopefully give us a 30-day window of disease protection. The greens will obviously continue to grow, and we still have the ability to remotely water the course as this will still be required from time to time. We had the greens in tournament mode so they have had very little fertiliser applied to them; therefore growth rate will not be excessive. We also know we are heading into cooler conditions so this is helpful. If this scenario had occurred in the months of January or February, then it would have been more serious.

The Fairways were due for a fungicide application on the week after shutdown meaning this was not applied. Inspection of the fairways on Friday 27^th showed the beginnings of disease presence. This means there is a high probability of a severe Dollar spot fungal attack in the fairways by the time we return. Dollar spot is a very common turf disease in Hawke’s Bay at this time of year. This disease attacks all turf areas and spreads quickly in dense turf, and is generated by weather conditions that are experienced in the months November to May. It can be very damaging, but once under control the turf responds relatively quickly.

The tees appear to be free of disease at present due to a preventative fungicide applied just before the stroke play, but the effects of this will surely run out prior to recommencement of work.

If we can get back in next week or two then we can recover things quite quickly with a change of cutting heights and then a gradual return to normal. Obviously not removing too much leaf with each break in cut will be important, and the large amount of clippings produced will be a problem. The further the shutdown goes the more difficult the recovery will be, but certainly not impossible. On the positive side the rain has freshened the course especially the dryer areas of fairways, and these have shown signs of recovery in the past 10 days.

So, to recap we want to get back as soon as possible, we hope this will happen quickly. Disease may be a problem especially if the 30 days is extended. Turf surfaces will take a while to return to normal due to stepping down of cutting heights and excessive clippings. We can, and will recover the course we had prior to this shutdown. It may take time and will require patience from members as we may have to keep the course closed for a period even when this Level 4 is lifted to allow us freedom to begin the recovery process. Cooler weather will help our cause slowing growth and limiting the disease spread.

Hope everyone stays safe and we look forward to seeing players using the facility again. It is a weird feeling to walk the course and not see players, without players it’s not really a golf course.

Gordon Trembath

Course Superintendent