here is the latest link to our association web site for how other clubs are going and a link to some photos of golf courses in the area ....pete
http://www.agcsa.com.au/news/2011/jan/queensland_flood_update_%E2%80%93_tuesday_25_january
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Week 4 2011 update
Well for being only week 4 in the year we have packed in more than I thought possible in several months.
The flood clean up is going along ahead of schedule as of this morning we have opened up the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th 6th, 7th (temp green), 8th, and 9th.
These holes being open will be dependent upon the weather. If it rains the 2nd and 3rd will be a safety issue as the mud will get slippery again, thus no play on these hole if that happens.
The temporary greens on 7th,14th and 17th are ....well....challenging but it lets up get up 17 holes the 7th green should be ok to use late next week but 15 and 17 are a good 2 to 4 weeks away.
Hopefully by the end of today we will have one pump up and running to supply water to the irrigation system thus enabling us to get some water on to the greens which are getting pretty dry with this hot weather.
I have also just organised for some more bunker sand and possibly next week or early the week after we will hold another working bee to spread the sand out in the bunkers.
Well that is about all, we have plenty of mowing and still cleaning up debris as well as treating the greens and tees to flush the salt and sediment through the growing profile whilst also adding chemicals to encourage root growth as the turf recovers from recent events...but so far so good with the turf health coming along nicely, and once the 15th and 17th catch up we will start to lower the heights and get the surface back to where it should be.
Thanks again to all the help and kind words of encouragement please support the club in any way possible it all helps and is much appreciated by all. so till next time ...keep swinging pete
The flood clean up is going along ahead of schedule as of this morning we have opened up the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th 6th, 7th (temp green), 8th, and 9th.
These holes being open will be dependent upon the weather. If it rains the 2nd and 3rd will be a safety issue as the mud will get slippery again, thus no play on these hole if that happens.
The temporary greens on 7th,14th and 17th are ....well....challenging but it lets up get up 17 holes the 7th green should be ok to use late next week but 15 and 17 are a good 2 to 4 weeks away.
Hopefully by the end of today we will have one pump up and running to supply water to the irrigation system thus enabling us to get some water on to the greens which are getting pretty dry with this hot weather.
I have also just organised for some more bunker sand and possibly next week or early the week after we will hold another working bee to spread the sand out in the bunkers.
Well that is about all, we have plenty of mowing and still cleaning up debris as well as treating the greens and tees to flush the salt and sediment through the growing profile whilst also adding chemicals to encourage root growth as the turf recovers from recent events...but so far so good with the turf health coming along nicely, and once the 15th and 17th catch up we will start to lower the heights and get the surface back to where it should be.
Thanks again to all the help and kind words of encouragement please support the club in any way possible it all helps and is much appreciated by all. so till next time ...keep swinging pete
Friday, January 21, 2011
course update 21st Jan
Well things are moving along well with our flood damaged areas. A special point to make again is that we can not rush bringing back into play flood and salt damaged greens. For the fact that it now looks like we will be able to save the greens to then open them up to play to early and totally destroy patches on them is not acceptable.
The working bee was very successful and we will be having a few more down the track when the areas that need work are safe to work on. At the moment the ground is so slippery it is too dangerous to walk or work in some areas.
Ill go hole by hole to update where we are at as of today
1st - tee is good and is able to be mowed
fairway cleaned of debris but too wet and slippery to mow
green cleaned up and is being mowed
2nd - tee is good and being mowed
fairway to wet to walk on , started to remove mud from worst areas ( 2 weeks out )
green cleared of mud and washed down turf very fragile and no play on surface for 2 weeks
3rd - tee cleared of mud and washed down turf very fragile possible need over sowing out for 4 weeks
fairway very dangerous and out of play until further notice as per duty of care issues. mud started to be pushed off where we can get bunker bike into
green cleared of mud and washed down turf very fragile ( 2 weeks out)
4th - tee cleared but not able to be mowed as equipment impossible to get to area to mow (1-2 weeks)
fairway very wet too wet to mow or walk and is a safety concern until dried out and mown (1-2 weeks)
green mud brushed off and washed down turf and had a light cut and is still about 1 to 2 weeks away from play
5th - tee cleared from debris and light mud, not mowed as cannot get equipment to area to mow 1 week away
fairway growing well still very wet and not able to be mowed at this stage will need to be nipped then lowered and equipment not able to access area (1-2 weeks from play)
Green mud broomed off and had a light mow turf under stress and greens mower not able to access this side of the course (1 - 3 weeks)
6th - tee cleared but not mown as not able to get mowers to area to mow (1 to 2 weeks)
fairway OK but not able to be mowed as access to available
green mud broomed off and had a light mow turf under stress and greens mower not able to access this area (2-3 weeks )
7th - tee OK but not mowed as no access to this area to get mowers to
fairway very wet and slippery and a safety hazard some area to have mud pushed off when we can get bunker bikes on to the area (3 to 4 weeks out)
green mud pushed off and hosed down green area very slippery and green under stress (3 to 4 weeks out)
8th - tee men's OK ladies not OK will need a new top as this tee was qld blue and is dead. not mowed (men's 1-2 weeks ladies 5+ weeks)
fairway safety hazard still very wet and slippery well need some mud pushed off when machinery can get on to it then mowing (3-4 weeks)
green mud pushed off broomed and under a little stress (1-2 weeks)
9th - tees OK but not mowed as to dangerous to attempt as slippage towards creek, and access to tee not available as too wet (1-2 weeks)
fairway very wet not possible to mow to dried out ( 1-2 weeks away)
green mud broomed off and had light mow under a little stress (1 to 2 weeks out)
10th - tee fine and being mowed
fairway some mowed and rest needs to be dried out
green fine
11th - tee fine
fairway a little wet most has been mown
green mud broomed off and being mowed is ok
12th - tee to be mowed next week
fairway has been mowed and ok
green fine
13th - tee fine
fairway alittle wet some mown
green ok
14th - tee ok
fairway top half good and mowed in gully mud to be pushed of gully is hazardous to walking and machinery too slippery to work mud off to side ( 2-3 weeks gully out )
green mud of green but still to be pushed off surrounds green under light stress (1-2 weeks)
15th - tee mud pushed off and tee hosed down still under much stress (3 to 4 weeks out)
fairway duty of care hazardous area alot is still unsafe to work safe areas have had mud pushed off and is very slippery to walk on (3 to 4 weeks out)
green mud pushed off 3 times , hosed off but under immense stress (4 to 5 weeks out)
16th - tee mud pushed off and hosed down turf under great stress (3 to 4 weeks out)
fairway ok
green ok
17th - tee ok
fairway very wet some areas around green been pushed off still more to go (3 to 4 weeks out)
green mud pushed off twice and hosed down turf under immense stress (4 to 5 weeks out)
18th - tee mud pushed off and hosed down turf under great stress (3 to 4 weeks out)
fairway very wet to wet for equipment to get on (1-2 weeks)
green mud broomed off and had light mow green ok
So there is the current position of the course please note that the groundstaff have been putting in a huge effort into getting the course open to play, and going above and beyond the call of duty.It is a unfortunate situation where in alot of instances we cant use volunteers as it is too dangerous or with operating machinery not holding a ticket along with the fact that alot of places are simply inaccessible.I believe that alot has been achieved in 7 days.
We would all like things moved along as quickly as possible but the fact remains that if forced to move along quicker than what we are currently doing, it will put those areas under stress at risk of dying back and undoing all the good we have done so far, resulting in areas having to be rebuilt at greater cost and longer time out of action.
Pete
The working bee was very successful and we will be having a few more down the track when the areas that need work are safe to work on. At the moment the ground is so slippery it is too dangerous to walk or work in some areas.
Ill go hole by hole to update where we are at as of today
1st - tee is good and is able to be mowed
fairway cleaned of debris but too wet and slippery to mow
green cleaned up and is being mowed
2nd - tee is good and being mowed
fairway to wet to walk on , started to remove mud from worst areas ( 2 weeks out )
green cleared of mud and washed down turf very fragile and no play on surface for 2 weeks
3rd - tee cleared of mud and washed down turf very fragile possible need over sowing out for 4 weeks
fairway very dangerous and out of play until further notice as per duty of care issues. mud started to be pushed off where we can get bunker bike into
green cleared of mud and washed down turf very fragile ( 2 weeks out)
4th - tee cleared but not able to be mowed as equipment impossible to get to area to mow (1-2 weeks)
fairway very wet too wet to mow or walk and is a safety concern until dried out and mown (1-2 weeks)
green mud brushed off and washed down turf and had a light cut and is still about 1 to 2 weeks away from play
5th - tee cleared from debris and light mud, not mowed as cannot get equipment to area to mow 1 week away
fairway growing well still very wet and not able to be mowed at this stage will need to be nipped then lowered and equipment not able to access area (1-2 weeks from play)
Green mud broomed off and had a light mow turf under stress and greens mower not able to access this side of the course (1 - 3 weeks)
6th - tee cleared but not mown as not able to get mowers to area to mow (1 to 2 weeks)
fairway OK but not able to be mowed as access to available
green mud broomed off and had a light mow turf under stress and greens mower not able to access this area (2-3 weeks )
7th - tee OK but not mowed as no access to this area to get mowers to
fairway very wet and slippery and a safety hazard some area to have mud pushed off when we can get bunker bikes on to the area (3 to 4 weeks out)
green mud pushed off and hosed down green area very slippery and green under stress (3 to 4 weeks out)
8th - tee men's OK ladies not OK will need a new top as this tee was qld blue and is dead. not mowed (men's 1-2 weeks ladies 5+ weeks)
fairway safety hazard still very wet and slippery well need some mud pushed off when machinery can get on to it then mowing (3-4 weeks)
green mud pushed off broomed and under a little stress (1-2 weeks)
9th - tees OK but not mowed as to dangerous to attempt as slippage towards creek, and access to tee not available as too wet (1-2 weeks)
fairway very wet not possible to mow to dried out ( 1-2 weeks away)
green mud broomed off and had light mow under a little stress (1 to 2 weeks out)
10th - tee fine and being mowed
fairway some mowed and rest needs to be dried out
green fine
11th - tee fine
fairway a little wet most has been mown
green mud broomed off and being mowed is ok
12th - tee to be mowed next week
fairway has been mowed and ok
green fine
13th - tee fine
fairway alittle wet some mown
green ok
14th - tee ok
fairway top half good and mowed in gully mud to be pushed of gully is hazardous to walking and machinery too slippery to work mud off to side ( 2-3 weeks gully out )
green mud of green but still to be pushed off surrounds green under light stress (1-2 weeks)
15th - tee mud pushed off and tee hosed down still under much stress (3 to 4 weeks out)
fairway duty of care hazardous area alot is still unsafe to work safe areas have had mud pushed off and is very slippery to walk on (3 to 4 weeks out)
green mud pushed off 3 times , hosed off but under immense stress (4 to 5 weeks out)
16th - tee mud pushed off and hosed down turf under great stress (3 to 4 weeks out)
fairway ok
green ok
17th - tee ok
fairway very wet some areas around green been pushed off still more to go (3 to 4 weeks out)
green mud pushed off twice and hosed down turf under immense stress (4 to 5 weeks out)
18th - tee mud pushed off and hosed down turf under great stress (3 to 4 weeks out)
fairway very wet to wet for equipment to get on (1-2 weeks)
green mud broomed off and had light mow green ok
So there is the current position of the course please note that the groundstaff have been putting in a huge effort into getting the course open to play, and going above and beyond the call of duty.It is a unfortunate situation where in alot of instances we cant use volunteers as it is too dangerous or with operating machinery not holding a ticket along with the fact that alot of places are simply inaccessible.I believe that alot has been achieved in 7 days.
We would all like things moved along as quickly as possible but the fact remains that if forced to move along quicker than what we are currently doing, it will put those areas under stress at risk of dying back and undoing all the good we have done so far, resulting in areas having to be rebuilt at greater cost and longer time out of action.
Pete
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
flood update tuesday
lots of people are asking how other courses are going ...so here is a link to our association page with updated info on the Brisbane golf clubs and how they are fairing follow the link http://www.agcsa.com.au/news/2011/jan/qld_turfies_begin_tortuous_cleanup_after_floods
a special thanks to all the volunteers and members who showed up today, we had 75 plus, it was great to see and in half a day saved us about a weeks worth of work thanks again to everybody involved ..pete
a special thanks to all the volunteers and members who showed up today, we had 75 plus, it was great to see and in half a day saved us about a weeks worth of work thanks again to everybody involved ..pete
Monday, January 17, 2011
flood update monday night
Well another big day today, and more mud pushed off , these last few days have been similar and you forget what day it is,
The main point to this blog today is to let everyone know that we intend to have a working bee tomorrow, thats Tuesday 18th at 8.00 am, registration will be at the club house, (so if every member brings themselves along with 5 friends that would knock it over pretty quick) The main jobs needing attention are a debris cleaned up and placed in piles so we can mow with out dodging chairs, tables, and logs. and also the thin skim of dried mud scraped out of the bunkers and placed out of the bunker to be picked up, so if you have a garden leaf rake and some old shoes come along.
As to the course we have now got all the greens clear of the thick mud, we still have to wash down the 7th, 3rd, 15th and 17th greens.
we have mowed most areas where we can get the mowers with out getting bogged, and we want to get as much mowed before we get any rain as this will make it slippery again.
special thanks to all the other golf courses,company reps, consultants and friends calling in with offers of help and their best wished as allot of these guys are in a similar situation to us.
to Michael thanks for all the support (and taking our lunch orders ) to all of us on the course its been a real life saver just when we needed it thanks ....
well see you all tomorrow bright and early.....pete
The main point to this blog today is to let everyone know that we intend to have a working bee tomorrow, thats Tuesday 18th at 8.00 am, registration will be at the club house, (so if every member brings themselves along with 5 friends that would knock it over pretty quick) The main jobs needing attention are a debris cleaned up and placed in piles so we can mow with out dodging chairs, tables, and logs. and also the thin skim of dried mud scraped out of the bunkers and placed out of the bunker to be picked up, so if you have a garden leaf rake and some old shoes come along.
As to the course we have now got all the greens clear of the thick mud, we still have to wash down the 7th, 3rd, 15th and 17th greens.
we have mowed most areas where we can get the mowers with out getting bogged, and we want to get as much mowed before we get any rain as this will make it slippery again.
special thanks to all the other golf courses,company reps, consultants and friends calling in with offers of help and their best wished as allot of these guys are in a similar situation to us.
to Michael thanks for all the support (and taking our lunch orders ) to all of us on the course its been a real life saver just when we needed it thanks ....
well see you all tomorrow bright and early.....pete
Sunday, January 16, 2011
flood update sunday night
Well the last several days have been a hard slog,emotional,physicaly and mentally draining, special thanks to the boys (ground staff) for coming in and doing 12 hour days trying to save the greens, as you have seen from the news and media the mud is everywhere, we still have to get to the 17th green, but the way thing are at the moment its looking like the 2nd and 15th greens might not survive and the 17th now being covered in mud and salt water for 6 days in not looking good, with only 6 staff we have been concentrating on trying to save the greens and as yet only a few tees have been attended to, as we just dont have the manpower to do the lot.
Tomorrow we will attempt to get the mud off the 17th green and also 18th and 15th tees
removing the mud just takes so much time, the 14th which is our smallest green took over 6 hours to get the mud off then 5 or more hours to wash it down.
The course is still very wet and slippery and just getting around has been very trying... hopefully the ground will be ok to collect and pile up debris on Tuesday so if you have any spare time feel free to come and help at 10.00 am.
The bunkers have to be scrapped out and dry mud collected , and mud removed off several fairways.
Another major problem is we don't have electricity which hampers repairs and maintenance of equipment
The pump stations went completely under so we have no way of getting water to any part of the course in the foreseeable future, with the temperature rising and some hot days coming the greens that came out of the flood ok now will need water and normal maintenance (fertilising, spraying ect.) which is going to be a struggle to provide.
The greens once having the mud removed and the surface washed down after a few days rest will need to be flushes and chemicals added to assist in the flushing of salt out of the root zone. this will require some wizardry,a miracle, extremely good luck or good management or a combination of all to achieve
Needless to say there will be no golf this week and im not sure when some holes will be available to play.
well that is where we are at till next time take care...pete
Tomorrow we will attempt to get the mud off the 17th green and also 18th and 15th tees
removing the mud just takes so much time, the 14th which is our smallest green took over 6 hours to get the mud off then 5 or more hours to wash it down.
The course is still very wet and slippery and just getting around has been very trying... hopefully the ground will be ok to collect and pile up debris on Tuesday so if you have any spare time feel free to come and help at 10.00 am.
The bunkers have to be scrapped out and dry mud collected , and mud removed off several fairways.
Another major problem is we don't have electricity which hampers repairs and maintenance of equipment
The pump stations went completely under so we have no way of getting water to any part of the course in the foreseeable future, with the temperature rising and some hot days coming the greens that came out of the flood ok now will need water and normal maintenance (fertilising, spraying ect.) which is going to be a struggle to provide.
The greens once having the mud removed and the surface washed down after a few days rest will need to be flushes and chemicals added to assist in the flushing of salt out of the root zone. this will require some wizardry,a miracle, extremely good luck or good management or a combination of all to achieve
Needless to say there will be no golf this week and im not sure when some holes will be available to play.
well that is where we are at till next time take care...pete
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Flood update
At the height of the flood waters the only parts of the course above water were the clubhouse, machinery shed and the 12th,10th 13th and 16th greens. we managed to get all we could to the highest ground around the 13th green and machinery shed and thankfully they stayed dry.
many residence would have seen us out late on Tuesday night doing this.
To all the locals who had and have flood water through your places our thoughts are with you and we wish you all the best in the clean up effort and if there is anything we can do to help just sing out.
Today with the water receding the 18th and 1st green became accessible to clean up, and we have removed debris and mud from these surfaces, we will attend each green as soon as it becomes accessible.
Our task once the top foot or so (root zone) dries out, is to replace the potassium levels in the plant as these are extremely low after the plant has been submerged under water for more than a 6 to 12 hour period the plant actually expels this element as part of a survival mechanism thus it is critical that we get this back into the plant structure so the turf can function properly and take any wear and fight off disease and fungi which is about with these conditions
please be patient as we get the plant back to a healthy state as looks can be deceiving, in that if play or stress of any kind is placed on the turf before it is ready to handle it will be disastrous.
We are very lucky in that we keep and hold our turfs health as a priority and our thatch removal strategy has placed us in a good position to get the course back into play as quickly as possible.
the heights of cut will be high 5.5mm to start of and very slowly lowered over the next few weeks so as to not place the plant under any undue stress again this will be a slow process as the mowers have to be kept extremely sharp so as to not rip the leaf and lots of time put into height adjustment and sharpening of bedknives to achieve the results we want.
well that is all for today tomorrow brings new challenges .....till next time keep swinging pete
many residence would have seen us out late on Tuesday night doing this.
To all the locals who had and have flood water through your places our thoughts are with you and we wish you all the best in the clean up effort and if there is anything we can do to help just sing out.
Today with the water receding the 18th and 1st green became accessible to clean up, and we have removed debris and mud from these surfaces, we will attend each green as soon as it becomes accessible.
Our task once the top foot or so (root zone) dries out, is to replace the potassium levels in the plant as these are extremely low after the plant has been submerged under water for more than a 6 to 12 hour period the plant actually expels this element as part of a survival mechanism thus it is critical that we get this back into the plant structure so the turf can function properly and take any wear and fight off disease and fungi which is about with these conditions
please be patient as we get the plant back to a healthy state as looks can be deceiving, in that if play or stress of any kind is placed on the turf before it is ready to handle it will be disastrous.
We are very lucky in that we keep and hold our turfs health as a priority and our thatch removal strategy has placed us in a good position to get the course back into play as quickly as possible.
the heights of cut will be high 5.5mm to start of and very slowly lowered over the next few weeks so as to not place the plant under any undue stress again this will be a slow process as the mowers have to be kept extremely sharp so as to not rip the leaf and lots of time put into height adjustment and sharpening of bedknives to achieve the results we want.
well that is all for today tomorrow brings new challenges .....till next time keep swinging pete
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