remember this ?

Well it doesn't seem that long ago when we had this water all around, allot has happened between now and then, today we opened back up the 7th green and the 15th should be right for next week then 17th the following week , the turf is coming back nicely on the fairways, but great care must be taken if and when these bare areas get wet as it turns real slippery very quickly.
Today we pushed off the last of the mud on the 15th fairway, and began fertilizing the couch to help quicken the speed of recovery.
The root system in the greens before the flood was around 25 cms deep after the water cleared ( 2 - 5 days) the effects on the plant were obvious in the root system degenerated back to only 2 to 3 cms and all the healthy white root hairs non existent.but after extensive applications of potassium, calcium, auxinone and chemical treatment to ball the clay partials and force them down through the profile we are seeing great success.Now the root system of the turf  is bouncing back with healthy and strong growth and starting to get some length ( about 7 cms) there is still along wat to go but we are heading in the right direction.
The greens Renovation will be altered so as to not stress the plant out thus we wont be scarifying this reno but we will have to verti-cut more often, we will be verti-draining the greens on Monday the 14th with a long thin solid tyne this will alleviate  compaction and have very little disruption to the turfs surface.
Just a quick note about temporary greens - we do not mow these regularly in fact we mow these as little as possible as after a few mows the little turf that is there at the start will no longer be there after a couple of mows  and turn to the surface back to dirt these are temporary greens and put in to use to enable some more holes to be played if these were not used we would still only have a few holes to play instead of 17 as is now the case and id say 17 is better than 7 .....just a thought.
well to next time keep swinging.....and thanks for the photos (Trev thoroughbred) pete

link to other clubs flood reports

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

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

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

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

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

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