2019 Course Renovations @ Nikanti Golf Club
The last week of March heralded the start of the annual course renovations at Nikanti Golf Club. This year would see a much more aggressive program for the greens on account of the soil organic matter levels rising despite the work we did last year; which you can see here, or the work we completed in 2017 which you can also see here.
This was the 2nd year of our #OM246 organic matter testing journey and so we are still calibrating the cultural programs in order to reach our target organic matter level in the greens. Once we have enough data accumulated, we should be able to predict the organic matter accumulation rate and the amount of sand needed to dilute it down to our target level.
We do not yet know what that target level will be, we only know that the current organic matter concentration is too high and we need to reduce it. We will be establishing our target level by measuring infiltration rates, surface firmness, and soil moisture levels. Once our ideal surface firmness is achieved and there are no issues with infiltration rate and soil moisture, we know that we will have found our target organic matter level; or at least a starting point.
A step-by-step look at the 2019 course renovations.
Below is a listed summary of the full program completed this year on all surfaces. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions.
Greens
Vertical mow at -5mm in 2 directions, up and back on the same line
Double cut at 3mm up and back on the same line
Heavy topdress
Aerate with 12mm solid tines in 2 directions; 1.5” x 2” spacing
Brush in the sand by hand with brooms
Heavy roll (Fred Flintstone)
Fertilise with 16-0-16
4-days later
Vertical mow at 0mm in the same direction
Aerate with 6m solid tines; 1.5” x 2” spacing
Roll
Tees
Mow at 5mm
Heavy topdress
Aerate with 12mm solid tines; 1.5” x 2” spacing
Level Lawn until smooth and holes are filled
Heavy roll (Fred Flintstone)
Fertilise with 21-7-14
Approaches
Vertical mow at -5mm in 2 directions, up and back on the same line
Double cut at 9mm up and back on the same line
Heavy topdress
Aerate with 16mm coring tines; 2” x 2” spacing
Steel drag mat when cores are dry
Blow off organic material
Heavy roll (Fred Flintstone)
Fertilise with 21-7-14
Fairways
Circle cut at 7mm
Graden (scarify) at -20mm
Mow at 7mm
Topdress
Aerate with 16mm coring tines; 2.5” x 2.5” spacing
Heavy roll (Fred Flintstone)
Fertilise with 21-7-14
Rough
Mow at 20mm
Aerate high traffic areas with 16mm coring tines
Fertilise with 21-7-14
Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions with regard to this years’ program, would like to chat about your cultural programs, or if you’d like to submit any #OM246 organic matter samples for analysis.