Taking in some great golf on an amazing golf course. My interpretation of a good conference is one that can give you some ideas to take back to your own course and tinker with your operation to the betterment of the golf course and that is certainly the case this year. This will be the last blog post for a little while as I am heading to the first Australasian Turf Conference in Wellington next week and will then be taking 4 weeks annual leave. If they can match with a new trolley then even better! If your friend can easily pull the it from your hands, you’re gripping it too lightly. It has been a major problem in the southern States of Australia now for quite a few years and once it has developed there is no way back other than a change of chemistry and that can take a long time to happen and sometimes there is no alternative. One of the most interesting things was the spike marks on the greens years ago when players still wore steel spikes. Make your cat the most fashionable one in the town.
One of the amazing aspects of life in Australia is the weather and it is why it is so predominant in the media and daily discussion. Peter was a Life Member at Victoria GC in Melbourne where I spent 15 years and I had many dealings with him on and about the golf course. The greens were originally Tifdwarf and were then changed to Mini Verde for a few years and then converted to TifEagle 2 years ago. You then hear about 260mm falling on Mount Wellington in Tasmania, most of which runs off the mountain and down through Hobart itself. Poa annua is the plant that has been one of the hardest plants to control in fine turf situations and is the one that is causing concern down south. Blows it all back down again although the winds of the last few days are nothing compared to last week end. Hoffman later said his message was misinterpreted – he said he alluded to the Saudi league only “so the media would catch it, so I would prove my point on the rules side.” There are multitudes to L’Affaire Hoffman, but what’s your read on how it played out?
When you aim to shave an extra point or two off your score or dedicate yourself to improving your performance on a particular hole, you are setting challenges for yourself that you will strive to achieve subconsciously. This week for us saw some really bleak weather early clear in to two magnificent days to finish the week off. As an aside I think I saw at least 12 golf courses but not one person playing given the weather, despite nearly 24 hours daylight being available! No matter, what are your problems while playing this game, be it an issue with monogrammed golf balls-swing or any other problem, online lessons are one stop and easy-to-avail option. One of nature’s finest gentlemen who never had a bad word about anyone. Sam Snead, considered one of the greatest golfers ever, encouraged people to imagine the golf club was a bird, and to hold on just tightly enough to keep the bird from escaping. And speaking of Poa, not everyone considers it a weed as evidenced by the greens at Shinnecock Hills last week and arguably some of the best greens in the world at courses such as Oakmont, Pebble Beach and The Olympic Club.
As I mentioned last week the Supers I know who were there couldn’t believe the quality of the turf and surface in the previous week and even though the greens didn’t look very good on TV they still putted exceptionally well. Another very busy week on the courses that started with a massive clean up following the very strong winds from last week end, particularly Sunday night. While such courses may have charming and alluring landscape, they are over your abilities. The greens were generally always oversown but since the switch to TifEagle they haven’t been but that may change next year with the March date. That isn’t the case this year but will be next year when the tournament date moves back to March which is a much cooler time of year. It’s pretty hard to keep your spirits up when the wind just comes back. So the upshot at Cool Tweed is that we will be trialing a couple of different options for Poa control this coming season. At Cool Tweed we are now experiencing some resistance with a “crop” of Poa at the rear of 6R green that is now unable to be controlled either pre or post emergence with our current chemistry.
