PROJECTS PROJECTS
Bairnsdale Golf Club is undertaking a two-stage project too physically remove couch and kikuyu from its greens and replace with new bentgrass
Bairnsdale Golf Club Course: Bairnsdale Golf Club, Vic. Superintendent: Danny Hack. Summary of works: To eradicate all couch and kikuyu encroachment in the course’s greens.
In our continuing look at minor project work being undertaken by AGCSA members, Bairnsdale Golf Club superintendent Danny Hack looks at his club’s efforts to remedy couch and kikuyu encroachment in their greens. 50
Bairnsdale Golf Club is located approximately three hours east of Melbourne in the Gippsland region of Victoria and is a small yet proud club. We currently have just three greenkeeping staff, including myself, who look after the 18-hole course along with two Tifdwarf bowling greens. To put things into perspective, the course budget for 20152016 is $72,000. Aside from our daily course maintenance duties, we undertake numerous projects throughout the year to keep the course in the best possible condition. One of the biggest projects recently started to improve the condition of the course is the eradication of couch and kikuyu encroachment in the greens. The aim of the project is too physically remove all infected turf areas and replace with new bentgrass around each green, where possible reinstate original greens shapes and too create bentgrass greens, collars and couch surrounds. Couch and kikuyu was installed around most greens many years ago and unfortunately was let go too far and it started to get into the bentgrass areas. As any superintendent knows once this happens it only gets worse over time. Despite many different techniques and chemical experiments to remedy the issue, these were
AUSTRALIAN TURFGRASS MANAGEMENT 18.2
ultimately unsuccessful and the problem kept getting worse and worse each year. It was put to the club that the only way to get some control back and completely eliminate the problem was to spray out the infected areas, remove and relay new turf. After a few years of knockbacks, the go ahead was finally given and plans were put in place to begin what could easily be described as a major undertaking for a small club with a small budget.
SCOPE OF WORKS The project is in its first year and it is hoped to be completed over a two year period. The first challenge was to find a time during the year within the golfing calendar that would suit to undertake these works. The club hosts its annual Pro-Am event in April followed by its club championships and it wanted to have the course in a good shape without any interruptions around this time. There was also the Christmas period to think about, turf availability and the weather conditions to consider. While arguably not the ideal time to grow in new bentgrass, it was eventually decided to complete stage one in December/January 2016 over a six week period, which was then broken up into week blocks to complete a section at a time. The club had committed to budget to buy in 480m2 of turf from Anco Turf in Melbourne. This is half the amount required to complete the project. The plan is to do the same again next year subject to budgets. The worst case scenario is that if the club doesn’t budget for new turf then the on-course nursery will be the source of turf for stage two. This however will mean the project may take three years to complete.