We have to apologize for our absence with regards to the blog. We have been busy, busy, busy here at the Meadow. Things have been as dry as I have ever seen here on the Island, and especially in our neck of the woods. How dry has it been? Well going back to 2001, we average 183 mm over the months of June and July. This year (still being a week shy of the end of July) we have had a grand total of 68 mm (keeping in mind that the records are taken from the airport, and there was more than one rain event that conveniently skipped over Stratford )So we are well below half our average for the past 10 years, and there is not much rain in the forecast.
That's looking back to #4 tee
Looking back down #13 fairway
So during times like these I am usually asked about our watering practices, and more to the point, how much water do we use. Interestingly, I was interviewed by CBC on that very topic about 2 weeks ago. Basically they wanted to know what we were doing differently to conserve water during the dry spell. I thought about it for a while before hand and came to the conclusion that we really aren't doing things that much differently than normal.Of the approximately 200 acres we maintain between the golf course and the academy, we actively irrigate about 7-10 of them. We also have been moving steadily away from constant irrigation schedules over the past couple of years, and instead relying on deep and infrequent watering practices, along with natural rainfall. For instance, last season we did not purposefully irrigate the fairways at all. We turned on the system a couple of times for testing, but because of the adequate rainfall last season, it just wasn't required. Now this season we have watered more so, but we still only water about 25% of the total fairway acerage. We aim to only put water where it is needed and let things dry out as much as possible. This provides a healthier, more resilient turf, and also a great playing surface. I have not heard to many people complain that their drives are rolling an extra 30-50 yds lately.
So really this weather is not that big of a problem. It has kept the normal turf diseases at bay, and also has saved us quite a bit on fuel lately as we have mowing a lot less. This has allowed us to also get a lot of other jobs completed because of the labor that gets freed up.
Here are some of the things we have been working on:
The new range tee is coming in nicely
The other main project we have been working on
is covering the liner on #2 pond. The water level sits
about a foot below the top of the liner, and just doesn't
look quite right.
We borrowed an idea from Architect Ian Andrew (he used it for bunker edges) and tried using burlap bags filled with topsoil to create a stable lip to sod into. The bags hang down over the edge of the liner.
The next step involved wetting the bags, and then affixing the sod down over the lip. It was a tedious process indeed.
Here are the boys in action. Notice the look of the sod against the water's edge...the look we want.
Here is the pond yesterday with all the heavy lifting complete. As of yet it still does not have the finished look we are hoping for (the dry weather caused the pond to drop another foot...go figure) but once the sod knits, and some seeded areas grow in, things should start to come together. We also took the liberty of trimming the inside of the bank down, which should help with lost balls.
PS
I was fortunate enough to tag along with Halifax Seed salesman, Scott Shanks on Wednesday of this week for a round at Crowbush. What a treat! Nancy Pierce and her crew have the course in wonderful condition and playing really well. There is no other golf course I can think of that continually beats me up (i struggled to a 94 with a 40-50km north wind) but I leave with a smile on my face. The course is really tough, but the routing takes full advantage of the dunes and the views keep reminding you that you are simply standing in one of the most beautiful places on earth.
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