I had the pleasure of playing Zwartenbosch...

perfect fairways and Greens

Hello everyone,

I had the pleasure of playing Zwartenbosch for the first time last Wednesday and I really enjoyed it.

It just always makes me realise that it is not where you play but what you make of the day. I had great company and my swing was on for the first 9...after that I just enjoyed the day and faced reality that golf always wins!

On the course last week we finished our last fertilising on the fairways for this year and I am sure we will have a nice lush course going through December, lets hope mother nature plays along and keep the heat down a bit for our cool season course.

The picture on the right illustrates the fertiliser granules at a rate of 200 kg/ha.

12 tee at the moment

The way we calibrate the fertiliser spreader is to add 20 kg of fertiliser to the spreader and apply this to the turf, we then measure the distance travelled and the width to determine how many square meters we do with 20kg. Then we take that info and work it to hectares and see if we get close to our desired application rate of 200kg/ha. We usually take about 3x20kg buckets to get the setting and the speed correct,but then we know after that we will be applying the correct amounts to the turf without wasting money on extra fertiliser if the setting is out.

Other projects on the course is the 12 tee that we will be seeding shortly with a bent grass to determine the way forward for our course with regards to playability. Our first step was to kill the existing grass and then we will do a shallow hollowtining on the tee top. We will then use the shallow holes to seed into and then topdress with a good growing medium.

We will show you the progress on this tee as we go along. I also sprayed the test blocks on the 15th fairway again with Nominee as part of our Poa control test.

To end my newsletter I remind you of MOVEMBER AND THE DONATION BOXES IN THE PRO SHOP…PLEASE SUPPORT THIS GREAT CAUSE.

Movember 2011
Movember is Changing the Face of Men's Health around the globe. Mo Bro's start the month with a clean-shaven face and for the rest of November (Movember), groom, trim and wax their way into the annals of fine moustachery.

They seek out sponsorship for their Mo-growing efforts, with the support of their Mo Sistas and at the end of the month, celebrate by hosting their own Movember party or attend one of Movember's Gala Partés held in Cape Town and Johannesburg.

All for a good cause of course. Movember strives to highlight the importance of Men's Health, especially with regards to prostrate and testicular cancers. All funds raised in South Africa go directly to CANSA's Men's Health Programmes for prostate and testicular cancers.